Product and seller reviews enhance Product Listing Ads because they provide social credibility to interested customers. Keep in mind that product ratings are different from seller ratings.
Product ratings refer to the product being advertised, while Seller ratings refer specifically to the merchant advertising the product.
Because product and seller reviews are so valuable to shoppers, there are a variety of services available to help retailers build up this specific type of credibility on Google Shopping.
Google Seller Ratings & Reviews
Seller ratings are an automated extension that let people know which advertisers are highly rated for quality service. Google gathers seller ratings from reputable sources that aggregate business reviews.
Seller ratings show a combination of information and reviews next to AdWords ads (currently on Google search result pages and Google search partners). These reviews and ratings primarily reflect customers’ overall consumer experience with a business.
Seller ratings will always be marked by the green stars as seen in the example below:
Google Product Ratings & Reviews
Product ratings show on Product Listing Ads with a 5-star rating system and a count of total reviews.
According to Google, these star ratings represent aggregated rating and review data for the product, compiled from multiple sources, including merchants, third party aggregates, editorial sites and users.
A product must have at least 3 reviews in order for product ratings to be eligible to show on Google.com. A merchant must also have 50 reviews total across all products in order to participate in the program.
Below are some examples of a Google Product with a 4.5 star rating:
Comparison of Google Shopping Review Platforms
We compare 12 of the most well-known Google Shopping product and seller review platforms on the basis of products, services, location and price. It’s important to check out the individual platform reviews for a more in-depth perspective:
- Bazaarvoice
- eKomi
- Feefo
- PowerReviews
- Reevoo
- ResellerRatings
- Shopper Approved
- Trustpilot
- TurnTo
- Yotpo
- PriceGrabber
- Bizrate
Bazaarvoice
Who: Bazaarvoice connects brands, retailers, and consumers in the world’s largest shopper network, delivering ROI through reviews, analytics, and targeted media.
Products: Local Inventory Ads, Merchant Center, Product Ratings, Seller Ratings, Shopping Campaigns
Services: Product Reviews, Seller Reviews
Location: France, Netherlands, Germany, Japan, Italy, United States, Australia, United Kingdom, Spain
Price: Bazaarvoice Connections offers two packages:
1. Connections Basic (free) – Reply to shopper questions and view up to 25 customer reviews across all participating retailers in the Bazaarvoice network. After you sign up for the FREE Connections Basic program, you will be automatically eligible to upgrade to Connections Premium.
2. Connections Premium (by quote)
Respond to shopper reviews and queries across all participating retailers. Bazaarvoice’s technology finds the most important reviews across the Bazaarvoice network and collects them in one inbox to make it simple to respond and learn. Connections Premium pricing is tiered based on review volume.
eKomi
Who: eKomi helps retailers gain credibility through ratings and then puts those ratings to work.
Products: Local Inventory Ads, Merchant Center, Product Ratings, Seller Ratings, Shopping Campaigns
Services: Product Reviews, Seller Reviews
Location: France, Germany, United Kingdom, United States
Price: By quote
Feefo
Who: Feefo, multi award winning global Customer Feedback and Ratings solution. Industry leading response rates (average response 1 in 6). Separate Product and Service Reviews. Invitation only guaranteeing feedback matched to genuine transaction. 48 Hour Integration. Business insight analytics.
Products: Product Ratings, Seller Ratings
Services: Product Reviews, Seller Reviews
Location: Hong Kong, Australia, United Kingdom, United States
Price: Free trial, by quote
PowerReviews
Who: PowerReviews delivers software and network products that help consumers make better purchase decisions throughout their journey, across all channels. And as a result help businesses drive sales and improve products and services.
Products: Local Inventory Ads, Merchant Center, Product Ratings, Seller Ratings, Shopping Campaigns
Services: Product Reviews, Seller Reviews
Location: United Kingdom, United States
Price: By quote
Reevoo
Who: Reevoo is a pioneer of Ratings & Reviews services for multi-channel brands and retailers. Our services and solutions harvest the voice of the consumers.
Products: Local Inventory Ads, Merchant Center, Product Ratings, Seller Ratings, Shopping Campaigns
Services: Product Reviews, Seller Reviews
Location: Australia, United Kingdom, United States
Price: By quote
ResellerRatings
Who: ResellerRatings is a web-based business that solicits consumer reviews of online retailers. They’ve captured over 1,940,596 user-submitted reviews for 60,229 stores.
Products: Local Inventory Ads, Merchant Center, Product Ratings, Seller Ratings, Shopping Campaigns
Services: Product Reviews, Seller Reviews
Location: Canada, Israel, United States, United Kingdom
Price: By quote
Shopper Approved
Who: Shopper Approved, the leader in Customer Review software, helps retailers collect up to 70 times more ratings and reviews.
Products: Local Inventory Ads, Merchant Center, Product Ratings, Seller Ratings, Shopping Campaigns
Services: Product Reviews, Seller Reviews
Location: United States
Price:
Small business
- $40 per month (up to 300 accumulated ratings & reviews)
- $79 per month (up to 600 accumulated ratings & reviews)
- $99 per month (up to 900 accumulated ratings & reviews)
Corporate
- $199 per month (up to 2,000 accumulated ratings & reviews)
- $399 per month (up to 5,000 accumulated ratings & reviews)
- $599 per month (up to 10,000 accumulated ratings & reviews)
Enterprise
- By quote
Trustpilot
Who: Trustpilot helps companies collect reviews, build their reputation, drive more traffic, increase online conversion and improve their customer service.
Products: Product Ratings, Seller Ratings
Services: Product Reviews, Seller Reviews
Location: Germany, Australia, United Kingdom, United States, Denmark
Price:
- Free
- Pro – $399 monthly
- Enterprise – $799 monthly
TurnTo
Who: TurnTo Networks is an online interactive platform for merchants and brands, enabling shoppers to get advice from a store’s real customers. TurnTo transforms the “Ask a Question” box into a community-powered sales assistant able to instantly answer most shopper questions, from product information to recommendations to store policies.
Products: Local Inventory Ads, Merchant Center, Product Ratings, Seller Ratings, Shopping Campaigns
Services: Product Reviews, Seller Reviews
Location: United States
Price: By quote
Yotpo
Who: Yotpo is a service to generate customer content, drive traffic, and increase conversions.
Products: Local Inventory Ads, Merchant Center, Product Ratings, Seller Ratings, Shopping Campaigns
Services: Product Reviews, Seller Reviews
Location: France, Germany, United Kingdom, United States
Price:
- Free
- Starter – $25 per month
- Pro- $399 per month
- Powerhouse – $699 per month
- Enterprise – By quote
Google Shopping Seller Review Only Platforms
PriceGrabber
Who: PriceGrabber provides access to millions of ready-to-buy shoppers with extensive optimization tools and commerce solutions. They provide Shopping campaign solutions for merchants of all sizes.
Their clients enjoy high conversion rates of shoppers into buyers, and high-quality external traffic sources, which result in cost-effective sales for merchant partners. They also offer manufacturers a cost-effective medium for increasing sales and branding.
Products: Merchant Center, Seller Ratings, Shopping Campaigns
Services: Seller Reviews
Location: United States
Price: By quote
Bizrate
Who: Bizrate Insights’ tools and resources, combined with customers feedback and opinions, allow online retailers to solve problems and identify opportunities that can lead to growth.
Products: Merchant Center, Seller Ratings, Shopping Campaigns
Services: Seller Reviews
Location: France, Germany, Italy, United States, United Kingdom, Spain
Price: By quote
For more on Google Shopping product and seller ratings / reviews, email [email protected]