How to Get Product Reviews in Google Shopping

If you’re in the ecommerce world, hopefully you understand how fruitful Google Shopping can be for ecommerce growth. It’s a no-brainer of a channel and amazing for reaching customers while they’re in the actual shopping mindset. If you’re NOT using Google Shopping then you’re missing out on a ton of opportunity and giving your competition the ability to snatch your customers mid-scroll when they don’t see your products listed in the Google Shopping Feed.

The Importance of Google Shopping Product Reviews

Today, however, we want to focus on adding product reviews to your Google Shopping listing. Side-note, if you’re not currently on Google Shopping, then keep reading as we discuss that briefly below as well. Social proof (in this case, customer reviews) is currently by far the top factor that influences someone to purchase. If they are good reviews, these are gold for your business! And putting them in front of a customer right when they are comparing your product to a different brand’s products is certainly a pivotal point. With that in mind, it only makes sense to list your product reviews on each of your Google Shopping product listings.

Think about it — if you were wavering between two different products or brands, side-by-side, and one had 4.5 stars and the other didn’t show any reviews, which would you purchase? Reviews have a huge influence on the purchase decision!

With that in mind, let’s go through the steps to get product reviews in Google Shopping…

Step 1: Setup Google Shopping

Note: These steps assume you’re on a modern ecommerce platform like Shopify Plus, BigCommerce Enterprise, or another one that’s similar.

1. Set up a Google Merchant Center Account.

2. In your ecommerce store, install a Google Shopping Feed app.

If you’re on Shopify, you can use the basic app, Google Shopping Feed, or the more advanced app, Advanced Google Shopping Feed.

Pro Tip: Paying for the Advanced app or a feed manager such as DataFeedWatch will you allow you to optimize your feed for even bigger wins.

If you can’t install an app or get a dynamic feed from your ecommerce store, there is still hope! Consider using Google Sheets to create a product sheet that will supply the product feed for Google Shopping. However, you will need to be diligent about manually updating details such as pricing, inventory, etc. If Google senses this feed is not up to date, they will eventually ban you from Shopping.

3. Add your product feed to Google Merchant Center.

Step 2: Integrate Your Reviews App

1. Be sure you’re using a customer reviews app on your ecommerce store that has an official integration with Google Shopping.

There are only a handful that do. Also, check that you’re paying for a tier that allows Google Shopping access. This is often a higher price point.

If you’re looking for an amazing customer reviews app, here are our all-star recommendations:

Stamped.io: This is typically the lowest-cost option. You will have to go through a manual review process with Google to get approval to use the reviews shopping feed.

Okendo: This tends to be mid-range in terms of cost. We love how flexible Okendo is when it comes to what users can review on.

Yotpo: Although this is one of the most expensive options out there, they have credibility in that they were the original disruptor in the space and have a great product to this day.

2. Build your customer reviews.

As we mentioned, customer reviews are one of the top factors that influence a customer to purchase. We all know from personal experience that good reviews are often the tipping point when we’re weighing the decision to buy a product. So supply the best product and customer service you can, and then incentivize customers to post a review!

No, there isn’t a gaming opportunity to gather as many reviews as possible. But if you use any of the platforms recommended above, you can actually go back and request reviews from previous customers!

3. Add your reviews shopping feed to Google Merchant Center.

Each review plugin will have different instructions, so the process will look different depending on what you’re using. Keep in mind that if you’re new to Merchant Center, the reviews feed is not automatically enabled. You’ll need to contact Google, receive approval for your store, and then you will be able to add a reviews feed to your account. This approval will require you to have reviews already published, and they will assess how good they are, so keep your review game strong!

In Closing

We can’t say it enough. Customer reviews are the lifeblood of any ecommerce company and are invaluable for building trust, acquiring purchases, and expanding your customer list. Get yours started today, provide the best customer experience possible, and then syndicate your reviews for success!