Should you use seller ratings in Google Ads campaigns?

You may have seen seller ratings appear in Google ads-or may appear in natural search Where are they tested.

They are one- to five-star ratings that are sometimes shown in search and shopping ads.

You may be wondering if these ratings can (or should) be added to your own Google Ads campaigns.

Unfortunately, not every advertiser is eligible to use seller ratings.

Although technically speaking, seller rating will not incur additional costs, the reality is not that simple.

Let’s take a closer look at the seller ratings in Google ads so that you can determine if they are a good complement to your paid search marketing activities.

What is the seller rating?

Let’s first clarify what we mean Seller Rating.

Here is an example of a shopping ad that includes them (the ratings are circled in red):

This is an example from a search text ad (ratings are circled in red):

Google screenshot, November 2021

As you can see, the seller’s rating is one to five stars. Google collects these ratings from different sources that aggregate business reviews, such as Google itself and other organizations (such as Trustpilot).

The rating also includes the number of reviews received by the company or product.

Seller rating is an automatic extension

Seller ratings are an automatic extension, so you can’t control when and how often Google includes them in your ads.

However, you can decide not to apply them or Delete them completely, If you choose.

In our experience, seller ratings tend to get an impression through advertising in about one-third of the time (although this may vary by industry).

Generally, you need to accumulate at least 100 seller ratings from a country in the past 12 months before you can show this extension.

Once you reach the 100 rating marks, they will start to appear. Be prepared to track performance so you can see if they have any impact.

Usually, once all the requirements are met, we see these extensions appear soon, but others suggest that the process can take up to six weeks.

As a safeguard, if your rating is less than 3.5 stars, your seller rating extension will not be displayed.

Therefore, if there is a problem that causes your rating to drop, you don’t have to worry about the one-star or two-star ratings appearing with your ad.

What is the cost of seller rating?

This is where things get a little confusing.

According to Google, there is no additional charge for using this extension. As usual, you only pay when people click on your ad.

But there are more stories.

In the past 12 months, meeting the requirement of at least 100 reviews has been challenging for some advertisers.

Of course, Google counts its own Google customer reviews into its number, but the number may not be enough.

Therefore, most advertisers will have to work with third-party vendors to collect customer reviews to meet these minimum thresholds.

Companies such as Trustpilot and Yotpo specialize in providing such services. Naturally, they charge a monthly fee for their services, which can add up.

Costs vary by demand and supplier, so it is worth shopping around to find a competitive price. (You can find a list Seller rating providers are here.)

Use a grain of salt to promise results

If you decide to look for a third-party rating provider to work with, please have reservations about their hype.

Some vendors will claim that including seller rating extensions will improve ad rankings. Improve quality score And increase the flow rate by up to 10%.

A simple ad extension seems unlikely to do all of this-especially if you have done a good job in ad ranking, quality score, etc.

Usually, getting such results requires a holistic advertising approach, including all the tools in your arsenal, from ad formats to messaging to keywords.

Yes, seller rating ad extensions may play an important role.

But don’t expect them to do all this alone.

Should you test the seller rating extension?

Given everything we have covered, when should you enable the seller rating extension and test it?

The answer is: it depends on the situation.

As mentioned above, we have never been able to expand from seller ratings to Higher click-through rate. This effect has never been so obvious or clear.

Nonetheless, this does not mean that seller ratings are not a good idea for some advertisers.

Here are some situations where it might make sense to test seller rating extensions:

All your competitors are using them

In some retail markets, almost every advertiser includes seller ratings in their ads.

The absence of this extension may attract the attention of potential buyers, so you’d better join it.

None of your competitors use them.

If none of your competitors use seller rating extensions, you can use them as a way to stand out.

They may be worth a try.

You are competing with big brands

If you want to compete with large retail brands such as Home Depot, Costco, or IKEA, seller ratings may be a good way to shift some attention from them to you.

In short, if you think seller ratings might bring a little boost to your ads, then give it a try.

If you don’t see any significant improvement in them, you can consider turning them off until the situation changes and you are ready to test them again.

Seller ratings: another tool in the marketing arsenal

Every business and advertiser is different, so only you can decide whether the seller’s rating is worthy of your Google Ads account.

Unfortunately, the test becomes more complicated due to the minimum number of reviews required.

However, don’t let the extra burden let you down.

If you have a hunch that seller ratings might be suitable for you and your business, please give it a try!

More resources:

Featured image: Viktoria Kurpas/Shutterstock