Google’s star rating rich snippet change explained

In August 2023, Google announced significant changes to its policies surrounding star rating rich snippets. These eye-catching review snippets appear directly in search engine results. The updates are part of Google’s ongoing efforts to improve the reliability and trustworthiness of the review data displayed to users.

Google reviews have become more influential than ever. In fact, a recent Birdeye survey of 150,000+ customers about the state of online reviews in 2024 found that they now make up a whopping 79% of all online reviews, with the average business receiving 66 new Google reviews last year. 

So, if you’re not on top of Google’s rich snippet policy changes, you could be missing out on many potential customers. After all, psychology has proven that we tend to value businesses more highly when we see positive reviews.

Let’s explore how you can leverage Google’s star rating rich snippet policies to your advantage and dominate the search results.

What is Google’s star rating rich snippet?

Google’s star rating rich snippet is a search engine results page (SERP) feature that displays a business’s average customer review rating, typically shown as a set of stars, directly within the search engine results.

These rich snippets provide users with quick, at-a-glance information about a company’s reputation and customer satisfaction levels. They help searchers make more informed purchasing decisions by highlighting trusted, well-reviewed businesses.

For example, if you search for a local restaurant, the search results may display a rich snippet that shows the restaurant’s overall star rating (e.g., 4.7 out of 5 stars) along with the number of reviews. This information is pulled directly from the business’s review data.

Getting your business featured in these star rating rich snippets can be highly beneficial, as they tend to attract more clicks and conversions than regular search results without the added review information.

This makes optimizing your online reviews and adhering to Google’s policies a critical priority for any business looking to improve its search visibility and connect with potential customers.

What has changed about Google’s star rating rich snippet in 2024?

Google updated its policies around using star rating rich snippets in search results in August 2023. Here is an explanation of the key changes: 

1. Verified first-party reviews only 

Google will now only allow star rating rich snippets to be displayed for product and service reviews directly from the business’s website or app. Reviews from third-party sites like Yelp, TripAdvisor, etc. will no longer be eligible for the star rating rich snippets.

2. Stricter review guidelines

Google is implementing more stringent guidelines for collecting and displaying reviews to qualify for the star rating rich snippet. This includes requirements around review moderation, disclosure of incentives, and how the overall rating is calculated.

These changes aim to improve the reliability and trustworthiness of star rating information shown in Google’s search results. 

Google hopes to reduce fake, incentivized, or otherwise manipulated review data by these measures. This move by Google should give users more accurate and authentic rating information when purchasing decisions.

Businesses must ensure their review collection and display practices fully comply with Google's updated guidelines if they want to continue benefiting from the visibility and click-through rates of the star-rating rich snippets in search.

No more self-serving reviews 

Google has banned what it calls “self-serving reviews”. Google has defined this as “reviews of a business on the business’s site”. 

That means that websites with the schema “LocalBusiness” or “Organization” will no longer be able to display rich snippets in search results. 

You might wonder how this change affects your business’s appearance in search results. Let’s answer some of the questions we’ve heard.

Why has Google mandated stricter review guidelines for rich snippets?

Google has tightened its rich results guidelines to ensure that businesses’ review generation and management practices adhere to its standards for trustworthiness and authenticity.

There are a few key reasons behind Google’s move towards stricter guidelines:

1. Combat fake and manipulated reviews

• Google wants to reduce the prevalence of fake, incentivized, or otherwise manipulated review data that can sometimes pollute online reviews.
• The more stringent guidelines around review moderation, disclosure, and calculation of the overall rating aim to ensure the reviews shown are authentic and legitimate.

Must read: Guardians of trust: How fake review checkers shape your online reputation 

2. Provide more accurate information to the customers

• By only allowing first-party reviews from a business’s website/app, Google can better verify the source and integrity of the review data.
• This helps deliver more reliable and trustworthy information to users making purchasing decisions based on the star rating rich snippets.

3. Maintain the credibility of rich snippets

• Google views star rating rich snippets as a valuable tool to aid users, but the presence of fake or misleading reviews can undermine the credibility of this feature.
• The policy updates are an effort to preserve the usefulness and trustworthiness of rich snippets as a search feature.

For these guidelines, it has asked businesses to meet a few key requirements as well:

• Providing clear instructions to customers on how to leave a review on Google.
• Maintaining an archive of past reviews.
• Promptly addressing any concerns about fake reviews or spam.

All these are done to ensure the integrity of the information Google provides searchers. Failure to adhere to these guidelines could remove a business’s star rating rich snippet.

Does the change in the rich snippet affect all search results?

No, there are plenty of search results that will have rich snippets. You’ll still see rich snippets of books, movies, and recipes. Google’s definition of “self-serving” is limited to businesses and organizations. 

Reviews with product schema will be displayed in Google search results while reviews for businesses won’t. 

Do I need to remove reviews from my website? 

Don’t remove reviews from your website. Reviews are a great form of organic reputation marketing, and displaying a review widget on your website is an easy way to show your website visitors how loved your business is by your customers. You won’t face a penalty. They just won’t be displayed in rich snippets anymore. 

Do you know the 3 easy ways to add Google reviews to your website?

How does this change affect SEO?

Don’t expect any big change in your search ranking. While rich snippets can increase your click-through rate, they don’t directly impact SEO reputation management. 

What if I use a review widget from a trusted 3rd-party provider?

You cannot do that because these reviews are still hosted on your website, even using a third-party provider will still be considered “self-serving”. 

Will this affect my Birdeye profile? 

More than 2 million users list their company on Birdeye. Our custom profiles aggregate reviews from sites all over the internet. If you’ve claimed your profile, you’ll often see these Birdeye pages rank high in search results. These pages will have rich snippets displayed in search results. 

Rich snippets will no longer show on your website, but they will show on your Birdeye profile. Remember, self-serving reviews are reviews posted by a business on its website. Third-party sites, like Birdeye, can still display rich snippets.

Do you know Birdeye’s review generation and review management empowers you to: 
Monitor 200+ reviews from a unified dashboard 

✅Write the perfect review reply with AI
✅Translate reviews and replies 
✅Target and tackle fake reviews
✅Uncover actionable insights from customer reviews
✅Request reviews on auto-pilot

Check out Birdeye’s pricing page and see how you can amplify your online reputation by leveraging Google reviews correctly! 

Does this change affect Google Seller Ratings? 

For those who don’t know, here’s the difference between rich snippets and Google Seller Ratings (GSR).

While they look very similar, there’s one key difference: Rich snippets are for organic search results, while Google Seller Ratings are for paid search results. While rich snippets for business reviews are no longer okay, Google Seller Ratings for businesses will continue.

Knowing how to measure the impact of Google Seller Ratings can increase the clickthrough rate for search ads. So, by all means, ensure your business takes advantage of these ratings and includes them in paid search ads.

So now you know all about the changes in Google’s star rating rich snippet policy. Let’s learn how to earn these star ratings.

How do you get star ratings in Google search results?

Follow these practical tips to get star ratings in Google search results:

1. Prominently display review CTAs across your digital presence.
2. Proactively request feedback from happy customers. 
3. Thoughtfully respond to all customer reviews to showcase your commitment.
4. Monitor reviews regularly and address any fraudulent activity.
5. Integrate a review platform to stay compliant with Google’s rules.
6. Optimize your Google My Business info for accurate star ratings.
7. Use schema markup to boost the visibility of your review data.

There are just three proven ways to take charge of your online reputation management with Google reviews. The secret is to adapt a proactive, holistic approach and watch your ratings shine in Google search.

5 strategies to manage online reviews and optimize rich snippet visibility

Given the ongoing importance of star rating rich snippets, businesses should prioritize review optimization. This means ensuring compliance with Google’s policies, proactively encouraging genuine customer feedback, and showcasing positive reviews prominently.

Here are our five actionable tips to ensure your brand is optimized to take full advantage of this powerful SERP feature in 2024: 

1. Automate review requests
2. Showcase stellar feedback
3. Address negatives head-on
4. Centralize & moderate reviews
5. Optimize your Google Business Profile 

Focus on running the business efficiently, and let Birdeye’s powerful AI platforms revolutionize your approach to reputation management, social media, customer experience, and analytics. 

FAQs on Google star rating rich snippet

Supercharge Google’s star rating rich snippet with Birdeye Reviews

Staying on top of these evolving Google policies is critical for any business seeking to leverage the power of star rating rich snippets. By understanding the requirements and optimizing your review generation and management processes, you can position yourself for maximum visibility in search results with those coveted positions. 

And to streamline this optimization, you can trust Birdeye Reviews. Partnering your rich snippet strategy with Birdeye’s robust review management capabilities, you can easily: 

• Collect reviews from customers
• Respond to feedback 
• Dominate your online reputation

Do all these while ensuring compliance with Google’s guidelines, but only with Birdeye.