In shortSeller Ratings show your score directly in your Google Ads. The result: a higher CTR and a lower cost per click. Here's how to activate them.
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You're paying for Google Ads clicks. You have happy customers. But your ads still look like everyone else's — text, a link, nothing that stands out. Seller Ratings change that: they show your score directly under your ad, with the yellow stars everyone recognizes. Measurable impact on CTR, mechanical drop in cost per click. Here's how it works and how to activate it.
How do Seller Ratings work in Google Ads?
Seller Ratings are an automatic extension: Google displays a rating out of 5 stars and the number of reviews directly under your ad, without you having to write anything. Google aggregates the data from recognized third-party sources.
Concretely, it looks like this: ★★★★☆ 4.3 — 214 reviews. Visitors see this before clicking. It's social proof injected at the most decisive moment: when they're comparing multiple ads side by side.
This isn't an extension you create manually in your Google Ads interface. You write nothing, you upload nothing. You meet the conditions — Google displays it. You don't meet them — nothing shows up.
What are the eligibility requirements and accepted review sources?
For Seller Ratings to show, Google requires three cumulative conditions:
- At least 100 unique reviews collected over the past 12 months, for the same country
- An average rating of at least 3.5 stars
- Reviews from sources recognized by Google
Accepted sources include Google Customer Reviews (formerly Trusted Stores), Trustpilot, Verified Reviews (Avis Vérifiés), Bazaarvoice, and Google My Business reviews aggregated via partners, among others. Google updates this list regularly — check the official help page for the most current version.
What matters: your reviews need to be concentrated on one or several of these platforms, not scattered across ten obscure tools that fall outside the scope. If you collect testimonials on your site via a homemade form, they don't count here.
That's exactly why choosing the right collection platforms from the start makes all the difference. A well-built wall of love displays your social proof on your site — but for Google Ads, you need verified reviews on sources Google recognizes.
How do you activate review extensions on your Google Ads campaigns?
The good news: if you meet the conditions, you don't need to do anything specific in Google Ads. Seller Ratings are automatic extensions — Google activates them on its end when it determines you're eligible.
But there are two things to check and do:
1. Don't disable automatic extensions
In your Google Ads account, go to Ads and extensions > Automatic extensions > Automatic extensions settings. Check that Seller Ratings haven't been manually disabled. By default they're active — but an old setting might be blocking them.
2. Activate Google Customer Reviews if you haven't already
Google Customer Reviews is the most direct way to get reviews into Google Ads. It's a free program, integrated into Google Merchant Center. It sends an email to your buyers after an order and collects their rating. For e-commerce businesses, it's the fastest path to the 100 required reviews.
3. Sync your other platforms
If you already have reviews on Trustpilot or Avis Vérifiés, Google aggregates them automatically — you don't need to import them. But make sure your domain is correctly associated with those profiles.
The delay between the moment you reach 100 reviews and when Google displays the stars can range from a few days to a few weeks. Be patient.
What's the measurable impact on CTR and cost per click?
Google states in its own studies that Seller Ratings can increase click-through rate (CTR) by an average of 10%. Other industry analyses report increases of up to 17% depending on the niche — particularly in e-commerce and services.
Why does it lower cost per click? Mechanically: a higher CTR improves your ad's Quality Score. A better Quality Score reduces CPC for the same position. You pay less for the same spot.
To put it in perspective: imagine a campaign with an average CPC of €2 and 1,000 clicks per month — that's a €2,000 budget. A 10% CTR increase on the same volume of impressions means 100 extra clicks. And if the Quality Score improves, CPC can drop to €1.80. Over a year, the effect is far from cosmetic.
This isn't the only way to leverage your reviews in your ads. While waiting to reach the 100 reviews required for Seller Ratings, you can use promotion extensions or callouts to mention your rating manually ("Rated 4.8/5 by our customers"). It's less automated, but it's still visible social proof in your ads.
And outside of Google Ads, your best testimonials deserve to be displayed on your landing pages. That's where a wall of love created for free with the yourXP tool does its job: converting the visitor who clicked.
Your customer reviews don't just reassure people — they have a mechanical impact on your advertising costs. Start by centralizing your reviews on the right platforms, reach the 100-review threshold, and let Google do the rest. If you want to go further on displaying your social proof on the site side, sebastiendebollivier.com can help you integrate it cleanly into a custom page.
FAQ
How many reviews do you need for Seller Ratings to show in Google Ads?
Google requires a minimum of 100 unique reviews from the past 12 months for the same country, with an average rating of at least 3.5 stars. Below these thresholds, the extension simply won't show, even if you've enabled the option.
Can you choose which reviews appear in your Google Ads?
No. Seller Ratings are generated automatically by Google from aggregated third-party sources (Google Customer Reviews, Trustpilot, Verified Reviews, etc.). You can't select or manually write the reviews that appear. The only way to influence the result is to increase the volume and quality of your reviews on those platforms.
Do Seller Ratings work for freelancers or small businesses?
Yes, as long as you reach the 100-review threshold. For a freelancer with a limited client base, that can take time. In the meantime, you can use promotion extensions or callouts to mention your rating manually while you work toward automatic eligibility.