How To Get Stars Next To Your Google Search Results

Boost Your Google Search Results With Five Stars

Leaders in managed IT services guide clients through all aspects of business technology, including the steps necessary to obtain a strong Google presence. As the top search engine in the world, Google is the go-to for many web users, and it’s essential to be highly visible and accessible on this platform.

If people are searching for your business or something similar, then they will appreciate up-to-date business details and reviews. Here’s what you need to know about having stars appear with Google search results related to your business, using a technique called review schema markup.

What is Review Schema Markup?

Review schema markup is an innovative process that generates review snippets to appear in Google listings. Managed IT service providers help business managers take advantage of this markup method to aggregate reviews and appeal to a broader audience.

Also called structured data, schema markup was formed by the top search engine companies to establish general vocabulary to be used across multiple web components to produce high-quality search results. Schema markup results with star ratings and photos are more visible and appealing to web visitors compared to results with simple headlines and descriptions.

Why Does Your Business Need Schema Markup?

Reviews can reveal a lot about your business, and you want these testimonials to be visible to as many people as possible. If you only have reviews on a website page, this information is practically hidden away and only visible to current customers. You could be missing out on new visitors who would likely be impressed by excellent reviews, so customer feedback should be a priority in generating new leads. The more information that’s included in search engine results, the better, with review snippets and aggregate ratings at the top of the list. These details entice visitors to click on the link and visit your website.

How Does Schema Markup Happen?

Schema markup is most popularly used for reviews, recipes, apps, events, videos, instruction articles, and business listings. To get stars and associated reviews to appear in a Google search result for your company, you need to follow a few key steps.

1. Collect all reviews across Google business listings, Facebook, Yelp, Angie’s List, Better Business Bureau, and even private reviews sent in by customers.
2. Identify a page you would like to test the review snippet, preferably a landing page with your business name visible.
3. Ensure the selected page has SEO-optimized content. The stronger the keywords and meta description, the better visibility you will have across search engines.
4. Decide whether you want to use a general review schema featuring one review or an aggregate review with multiple stars combined to reach one set rating, such as in app stores. Aggregate reviews are used for reliable review schema.
5. Nest the aggregate star rating in the snippet as part of the local business schema. It should look something like this: This is my local business > This is a star review from my business > This star rating is aggregated from multiple reviews.
6. Add the markup code to the chosen page with the code snippet below, or try using Google’s free Structured Data Markup Helper tool to finalize the code.

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<span itemprop="geo" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/GeoCoordinates"><meta itemprop="latitude" content="##.####"><meta itemprop="longitude" content="-###.####"> </span> Business hours are <time itemprop="openingHours" datetime="Mo,Tu,We,Th,Fr 08:00-17:00">08.00 a.m. to 17.00 p.m. Monday to Friday</time> <span class="rating-desc" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Product"> <span itemprop="name">COMPANY NAME</span> <span itemprop="aggregateRating" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/AggregateRating"> Rated <span itemprop="ratingValue">5</span> / 5 based on <span itemprop="reviewCount">23</span> reviews. | <a class="ratings" href="LINK">Read Our Reviews</a> </span>

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Elevate Your Local Business Listing

If you want your business to shine brighter than the competition, adding stars to Google listings through schema markup is a smart move. The best managed IT service providers can provide further details on your options for Google listings and help you navigate this process to get more out of every single review. A trusted digital marketing firm with high-tech solutions is the best way to capitalize on star reviews and compelling digital content for search engines.