Product reviews and ratings: how to show social proof on product pages
Shoppers read reviews before they buy. See how to show ratings on the product page, mark them up for search and collect more of them.
2 min read
Area
Trust & policies
Severity
Medium
Fix effort
Large
Stores failing
19%
Of 159 stores we scanned where this check applies, 19% fail it and 49% pass. See all benchmarks.
Reviews are the most persuasive content on a product page, because they come from people who bought. This check looks for star ratings or written reviews on the product page, and for review data in the page markup that search engines can read.
Why it matters
A new shopper has only your word for how good a product is. A rating from other buyers carries more weight than any description you write. Pages with reviews also tend to answer questions that the description leaves out, such as how an item fits or how it holds up after a month.
Ratings in the markup can show as stars in search results, which lifts the click rate on the listing.
What the audit looks at
The audit looks for ratings or reviews on the product page, and for review data search engines can read.
What usually causes it
- No review app installed, or one installed but its widget not placed on the product template
- A review widget that loads late or fails, so the page shows nothing
- Reviews collected but kept on a separate page and not shown with the product
- Ratings shown on screen but missing from the structured data
How to fix it
Show customer reviews on product pages. The effort is large, development work that takes a project.
- Ask for reviews after delivery with an automated email; that single flow produces most of the reviews a small store has.
- Show the rating near the price and the reviews themselves further down.
- Do not hide negative reviews. A page of nothing but five stars reads as fabricated.
- Mark reviews up with Product and AggregateRating schema so stars can show in search results.
How to check it yourself
- Open three product pages and look for a rating near the title and written reviews lower down.
- Run a product URL through Google Rich Results Test and look for review or aggregate rating fields.
- Check that reviews appear on mobile and not only desktop.
Frequently asked questions
How many reviews do I need?
There is no fixed number. A handful of honest reviews is better than none, and shoppers read a mix of scores as more believable than all five stars.
Can I show reviews from another platform?
Yes, as long as they are real reviews of that product. Keep the source honest, and follow the rules of the review platform you use.
Related checks
Check your own store
See whether your store passes this check
Paste your store URL. The audit loads your pages in a real browser and shows the result for this check with the evidence behind it.