Changes to Seller Ratings in Google AdWords

Anne Garcia - September 17, 2012

Seller rating extensions are a great way for advertisers to let searchers know that their business is rated well by its customers. In addition, ads with seller ratings continuously show an increase in the click-through rates of ads with the extensions. Google is updating its policies for advertisers in order to qualify for these extensions.

The search engine says that the change is an effort to keep the ratings fresh and relevant. In the past, the search engine would show seller rating extensions only for advertisers that have a minimum of 30 reviews, along with an average rating of four stars. Now, Google will only show seller rating extensions for advertisers that have a minimum of 30 reviews over the last year with the same four-star average.

Google says that the updates to seller rating extensions will improve the usefulness and relevancy for searchers as well as encourage businesses to satisfy their customers and increase positive reviews on an ongoing basis.

Seller ratings extensions will automatically show as soon as the advertiser has meet the criteria of the minimum of 30 reviews and four-star average rating. Advertisers do not have to opt-into this extension and ads with seller rating extensions can be found throughout the search engine results page and not just at the top of the page.