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Price and star ratings next to your Google link: what you can set up yourself
You'll come away knowing that the price and stars next to your link don't come from your Google profile but from your own website, that Google can show them mainly on product pages and never with reviews about your own business, and how to check with Google's tool whether the data is set up correctly.
You search for a product you sell and see that a store shows the price and four stars right under the link, and you don't. You go into your Google profile, check every field, and can't find where to turn that on. It's not there: that data comes from markup on the website itself that Google reads when it crawls the page, and even then, Google decides whether to show it. If a platform built your website, that platform is the one who adds that markup or not, so ask them what's built into your site before you start this course. And there's a limit worth knowing before you begin: star ratings from reviews about your own business don't show up next to your website's link.
This course goes page by page through your website: which ones can carry a price, which ones shouldn't even if you charge for that service, when a star rating helps and when it gives away that you don't have real reviews, and what availability data turns into a lie if you leave it sitting too long. It ends with the check in Google's tool that tells you what it sees on your site, and where to look to confirm it's actually showing.
This is for anyone who already has their website published, especially if you sell products, and wants to set up the price and rating so Google can show them next to the link. If you don't have your own website yet, you'll need that first.
- Tell which pages on your website can carry a price and star rating next to the link, and which ones shouldn't touch them.
- Decide which pages you want the price to show on and which ones you don't, based on whether you charge a flat rate or give quotes.
- Calculate how many real reviews of a product you need published before you show its rating.
- Check with Google's tool what price and rating it reads from your website, and look in Search Console to see if it's actually showing.
You should already have your website live, with the service or product pages you want to show up on Google.
The 6 lessons
In the order it makes the most sense to read them.
- 1
The Price-and-Stars Card Doesn't Come From Your Google Business Profile
You'll know that the price and stars next to your Google link come from your website's code, not your Google profile, that reviews you publish about your own business don't earn stars there, that Google doesn't guarantee showing them, and what you need in place before you go after them.
5 min - 2
Not all your pages deserve that card
You'll be able to tell which pages on your website can carry a price and star rating next to the link, and which ones should never touch them.
4 min - 3
A set price or a quote: what number to give on each page
You'll decide which pages give a set price and which ones lead to a quote, knowing that Google only considers showing a price next to the link on product pages, and that a price you don't honor later makes the customer feel misled.
4 min - 4
Show a product's rating once it can withstand a bad review, not before
You'll know which reviews can earn stars next to your link, the ones about a product you sell, not the ones about your own business, how many you should have written on your page before showing the rating, and the test for knowing if it can already withstand a bad one.
4 min - 5
Available now or by appointment: the info that expires if you don't touch it
You'll decide on which pages it's worth saying something is available, whether that's a product in stock or an open slot, and what fixed review schedule you'll commit to so that data doesn't go stale.
5 min - 6
The check that tells you if the data is set up correctly
You'll know which page to start with when adding price and stars for Google, that there's no switch that turns it on, and how to check with Google's Rich Results Test that the data is set up correctly, even though whether the card shows up, and when, is Google's call.
4 min