In today’s age of e-commerce sites and online shopping, it is not easy to judge the quality of products before hitting the BUY NOW button.
It is all the more difficult as you do not get to physically see or feel your purchase before it is delivered at your doorstep.
Hence, what is it that buyers consider apart from the aesthetics of the product on the photo?
It is the star ratings (the Google Seller ratings) embedded on the product catalog that they look at, regardless of whether you are making a purchase from an e-commerce giant or a startup.
Seller ratings are almost indispensable for both the customer and the seller.
Studies have shown that more than 80% of buyers trust online seller ratings as much as they do personal recommendations.
And 90% feel that seller rating is the thing to look out for to evaluate the trustworthiness and quality of a product or service.
From the point of view of a seller, ratings can increase sales and conversions by almost 50% in some cases.
This is in addition to revenue growth as seen for Amazon which has had a sharp growth year on year consistently over the last decade.
This is primarily because good seller ratings instill a sense of reliability and credibility in the minds of the customer about the seller.
There are two types of ratings in Google Shopping. The first is the product ratings which are specific product and service related.
The other is seller ratings which are critical to a seller for increasing trust and establishing a level of confidence with buyers.
Seller ratings in the form of stars or reviews give instant feedback to customers about the quality of a product as well as provide information on the experience of previous customers.
As a seller, if you are looking to take your business to the next level and to guide it to exponential growth and development, you should first understand how to get seller ratings on Google.
What are Google seller ratings?
Google seller ratings are a part of Google ads extension. It is visible on the ad on a scale of one to five.
This is automatically awarded by Google after collating information from different sources and is shown on the body of an ad.
It is the discretion of Google whether to display the ratings or not. A few key performance indicators are taken into account to arrive at the ratings.
The concept of seller ratings mainly holds true for e-commerce platforms, but today, other industries are using Google seller ratings to increase their share of the market.
While it is true that Google independently works to arrive at the ratings, you too can follow certain norms to ensure that you get the best of seller ratings from the tech giant.
Improving Your Google Seller Ratings
Some actions that you take will tell you how to get seller ratings on Google and as a seller what steps to take to improve them.
Give accurate merchant data
All the data that you have given on Google Merchant Center should be accurate in all respects.
Wrong information might lead to some excellent reviews given by customers not finding their way to your company.
Contact customers for reviews
Generally, it is human psychology to protest a bad experience and take a good one for granted. Similarly is the case with reviews.
Customers are more likely to post a review when they are dissatisfied instead of the other way around. Hence, getting feedback from your satisfied customers is critical to get good seller ratings.
After you receive confirmation of delivery, send emails to buyers and ask for reviews of their overall experience. It will also help to improve your services.
Be positive with bad reviews
Getting bad reviews is a part of a business but how you react to them is crucial. React positively to bad reviews by apologizing for the cause of the grievance and promise to rectify it at the earliest.
Once the matter is amicably settled, send an email and ask if the customer will kindly modify the review. Most of them will, once they are happy with the experience of dealing with you.
Provide premium service
This should be on the top of the list for you. Reviews are based on customer experience on your site so give this aspect the maximum attention.
Focus on accurate product description and photos, quick shipping with reasonable charges, a customer-centric refund policy, updated inventory, and quick replies to all queries.
This brings up the most important point now, that is, how to get seller ratings on Google.
Getting Seller Ratings on Google
Getting Google seller ratings is an automated process and an extension of Google AdWords but will only be given if some conditions are fulfilled.
The number of unique reviews received by the seller
Initially, it was 30 over a period of 12 months but now that has been increased to 150 over the same period.
Further, the reviews should have been received at sources trusted by Google, details of which will be seen next.
This has been justified in a press release by the Google AdWords support team.
“Our tech team found that the historical minimum of 30 reviews was prone to some quality issues. Increasing the threshold of required reviews allows us to have additional data on which to generate Seller Ratings, allowing for more stable scores to be generated.”
Composite Rating
For ratings to show up on the ad, the compounded rating from all sources should not be less than 3.5.
Since these ratings appear on ads in both desktops and all mobile devices, it helps customers judge the true worth of your business, leading to sales and quick growth.
Google’s trusted sources for reviews
As seen earlier, one of the conditions of Google to award ratings is the receipt of 150 reviews over 12 months from trusted sources.
Who are these trusted sources of Google?
Google Trusted Stores
The store is owned by Google and encourages customers to leave a review. You can sign up for free after completing an application.
Currently, the service is available in the US, UK, Australia, Germany, France, and Japan.
Google Customer Reviews
Customers get a chance to provide feedback after making a purchase. Once your application to this tool is accepted, a code has to be included in the website.
Customers completing a transaction will get a link to a survey that has to be filled up. It is an option for them to immediately comment on their checkout experience.
This Google tool is available in most countries around the world.
Other third-party services
Google also relies on a few trusted third party sites on the Internet. These include TrustPilot, Verified Reviews, Trusted Shops, StellaService, Bazaarvoice, Feefo, PriceGrabber, ResellerRatings, Bizrate, and more.
These sites have different policies and pricing structure and hence it is advisable to check on them separately.
Wrapping Up
After completing the formalities, do not expect the reviews to instantly convert to the corresponding Google seller ratings. There is a lag of about 4 to 6 weeks for this to happen.
Once you crack how to get seller ratings on Google puzzle for your business, you will be on your way to quick growth and development.
