Adding Google Reviews to your website can help you gain trust from potential customers. Embedding reviews from Google is incredibly straightforward, although you will likely use a widget to do it. Explore why and how to add Google Reviews to your website and then learn how to collect more reviews.
How to Embed Google Reviews
In most cases, to add or embed Google Reviews you must use plugins or widgets. The exact steps to take will vary based on the plugin or widget you choose, but it should loosely involve the following steps:
Choose which widget to use.
- Create an account on the chosen widget.
- Add Google as a source for reviews (this may involve several steps).
- Have the tool generate the widget.
- Copy the code that the widget gives you.
- Paste the widget into the appropriate spot on your HTML website.
Depending on the widget you choose, some of those steps may involve multiple smaller tasks. But the Google Reviews embed process should always be fairly straightforward, at least on the most highly-rated widgets. And you’ll always want to choose a reputable Google Reviews widget with high ratings, as that protects your information and website.
The above instructions should work for nearly any type of website, from a WordPress website to one you coded yourself to one you had a professional create. There may be minor differences in where you paste the Google Reviews widget code. But the best website builder platforms will make it easy to paste the generated embed code in the appropriate spot.
Google Reviews Embedded Information
The exact information that appears as you add Google Reviews to website pages depends on the specific tool. But in most cases, you will get an overall star rating for your business, possibly with the number of reviews. For individual reviews, the widget should display the person’s name, rating, review, and the date, along with a photo of the person who left the review.
Where to Embed Google Reviews on Your Website?
You can use the above process to embed Google Reviews on website pages. You may want to make a dedicated page on your website for reviews and testimonials, complete with a full-size widget. You may also want to place a smaller review widget with a few reviews above the fold on your home page or at the bottom of various pages of your website. Your “About Us” page is another popular location to share reviews. Of course, don’t forget to put reviews on product pages as well.
Why You Should Embed Google Reviews?
Here are some beneficial reasons to add a Google Reviews to website pages. To start, consider a few important statistics:
- 89% of consumers try to read reviews before buying a product.
- 79% of people trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.
But there are also some specific ways in which having embedded Google reviews on your website will benefit your business.
1. Reviews Provide Social Proof
Reviews are the best way to provide social proof. Remember that social proof refers to how people adjust purchasing decisions and other behavior based on what others do. Another crucial part of social proof is user-generated content, which you should also have on your website.
But embedding reviews is simple, especially with a widget. Moreover, having reviews on your website makes it easy to deliver social proof.
2. Reviews Drive Purchase Decisions
Having reviews on your website can encourage consumers to make purchase decisions. Remember that people trust reviews as much as they trust personal recommendations, so they serve a similar purpose. If someone is already on your website looking at the product or your offerings, they are already far along your sales funnel. Seeing the reviews may be the final push they need to make the purchase.
3. Reviews Increase Trust
Reviews also increase trust in your brand overall. This provides an overall boost to your company’s reputation, further promoting sales and pushing people along the sales funnel.
4, Displaying Reviews on Your Website Is Good for SEO
You may not realize it, but when you display Google reviews, it can help your SEO efforts as well. As the Google reviews widgets update, your website gets new content added regularly. This is one of the many factors that influence your SEO rankings. So, you can think of embedding reviews as a low-effort way to improve your SEO campaigns. Just remember to combine it with other SEO efforts.
5. Displaying Reviews on Your Website Sets You Apart from Other Businesses
Sharing reviews is a simple yet effective way to set your company apart from other businesses. Remember that reviews are one of the common factors that consumers use to decide where to shop. If you have reviews on your website and your competitor doesn’t, you are ahead of the game.
6. Displaying Reviews on Your Website Keeps Visitors on the Page Longer
When you have reviews on your website, you will notice that visitors stay on the page longer because they are more engaged. To start, people may pause on your website to read the reviews. The time they spend reading is more time spent on your website, giving you more chances to convert them.
7. Visitors Connect with Review Writers
Google reviews also do more than just keep people on your website longer. It helps them connect with other consumers who left reviews. This delivers a feeling of community centered around your brand. It also helps encourage website visitors to join the bandwagon and become loyal consumers of your company.
8. Displaying Reviews Encourages More Reviews
Displaying Google reviews on your website also encourages other happy customers to leave reviews. They may feel a social obligation to leave a review because someone else did.
Just the simple fact that you embed Google reviews on your page also shows that you value customer feedback. That may be enough to encourage customers to give you that feedback in the form of reviews.
Other people may just want to leave a review for the chance of it being shared on your website. They may want to see their name on your page.
9. Even Negative Reviews Can Be Somewhat Helpful
As a business, you obviously want to feature positive Google reviews instead of negative ones. But even the occasional negative reviews can be helpful. To start, they show that your reviews aren’t fake, as they aren’t perfect.
But more importantly, less-than-stellar Google reviews give you an opportunity to show off your customer service skills and dedication to customer satisfaction. If your page only has a few negative reviews and you responded to all of them to resolve the issue, this shows that you accept criticism and are willing to make changes. That knowledge can sometimes be as useful as positive reviews, assuming that those negative Google reviews are the minority.
Start Collecting Reviews with Podium
Before you can embed Google Reviews on your website, you need to actually have Google Reviews. Podium makes it easy to collect reviews, and you can even automate the process of sending review requests (and responses!). With Podium, you can watch your number of Google Reviews grow quickly, giving you more to include in your Google Reviews widget while also boosting your company’s reputation and sales.
