Guides · Online stores
How to Get Google Seller Ratings: Earn Store Stars the Right Way
By Josh Croom · October 27, 2026 · 11 min read
To get Google seller ratings, which Google now calls store ratings, you need about 100 eligible reviews from real buyers in the last 24 months and an average of 3.5 stars or more. The steady way there is to ask every buyer once, a few days after the box arrives, through Google Customer Reviews or a review app that sends its reviews to Google.
Two ads for the same filter
9:14 PM. A shopper searches late at night for a replacement filter for her coffee maker, and two ads show the same filter at nearly the same price. One ad carries gold stars and a review count, and the other shows only a price and a store name she's never heard of.
She taps the one with stars. Nothing was wrong with the second shop, and it may even ship faster, but it gave her nothing to go on. A stranger uses those stars to decide whether to trust a shop with her card number, and Google shows them only after enough real buyers have reviewed the shop.
coffee maker water filter
Google's bar for store stars
Google sets three numbers before stars show on your ads, and each one comes from its Merchant Center help pages.
- 100eligible, unique reviews a store generally needsfrom orders that were fulfilled
- 24months of reviews Google countsa rolling window, so old reviews age out
- 3.5stars out of 5, the lowest average that shows on adsfor paid text and Shopping ads
Seller ratings, store ratings and product ratings
Seller ratings and store ratings are the same thing. Google's help pages now call them store ratings and still use the old name in places, and Google can show them on text ads, Shopping ads and its unpaid shopping results across Search and YouTube. A store rating grades your whole shop on things like shipping, service and returns.
Product ratings are different. They grade one item, not your whole shop, and they show on that item's Shopping ads and listings. Google lets a shop into its Product Ratings program once it has 50 or more reviews across all its products.
| Kind of stars | What it rates | Google's bar |
|---|---|---|
| Store ratings, once called seller ratings | Your whole shop: shipping, service and returns | About 100 reviews in 24 months, and 3.5 stars for ads |
| Product ratings | One item | 50 or more reviews across your products |
Where Google gets the reviews
Google builds your store rating from a few sources: its own Google Customer Reviews program, review apps that partner with Google, shoppers who review your store on Google itself, and its own shopping research. It also filters out reviews it doesn't trust, such as spam or reviews that don't show a purchase took place.
Google Customer Reviews is the most direct path. It's a program inside Merchant Center, and it shows each buyer a one-click opt-in on your checkout page as soon as they finish the purchase. Buyers who opt in get an email from Google a few days after the estimated delivery date, and it asks them to rate their experience.
Google requires you to show that opt-in to every customer after checkout, not just the ones you think are happy, and you can't change its wording. New reviews also take a while to count. Google says there can be a delay between a new review and its addition to your rating, so a busy month of asks shows up later.
Why the first reviews matter most
Why a perfect 5.0 isn't the goal
The same study found shoppers were most likely to buy when the average sat between 4.0 and 4.7 stars. Past that, the closer the average got to a perfect 5.0, the less likely they were to buy.
That pattern suggests shoppers trust a mix more than a wall of perfect scores. So leave the three-star reviews up, and when one arrives, answer it and fix what it points to.
How to get Google seller ratings, step by step
Start with Google's own review program, and then build the asking habit around it.
Step 1
Check where you stand
Google's help page gives a lookup address: google.com/storepages?q= followed by your shop's web address. It shows whether you have a store rating yet, so you know how far you are from the bar.
Step 2
Turn on Google Customer Reviews
In Merchant Center, add the Google Customer Reviews program and put its opt-in code on the page buyers see when they finish checking out. Google requires the opt-in to show to every buyer, so set it up for all orders.
Step 3
Use one review app for product stars
If you want stars on each product too, pick one review app that sends its reviews to Google. Check that it sends the low reviews along with the high ones, because Google's rules for product ratings ask for all of them.
Step 4
Ask after the box arrives
Time your ask for a few days after delivery, because a buyer can't judge a product they haven't used yet. Google's own survey works the same way and goes out a few days after the estimated delivery date.
Step 5
Ask each buyer once
Send one short email with a thank-you, the ask and one link. If they've already left a review, don't ask again, because a second ask feels like pressure.
Step 6
Never pay for stars
Don't offer a discount, a gift or a drawing for a review, and never ask for five stars. Never post reviews from staff, family or friends, or copy reviews from another site.
Step 7
Answer the low ones in public
Reply where the review lives, such as your product page or your review app. Say sorry, own what went wrong and offer to make it right by email or phone. Google doesn't show replies to store reviews, but the next shopper on your site can read yours, so never argue.
Step 8
Show stars where people decide
Put the star average and the review count near the Add to Cart button, with a link to read them all, because that's the moment a shopper is deciding.
Step 9
Read the reviews for fixes
Comments like "runs small" or "didn't fit my model" tell you what's missing on the product page. Add that detail to the page, so the next buyer gets the answer before checkout.
What to send each buyer
Send this a few days after delivery, once the buyer has had time to use the product. Fill in the parts in parentheses, and keep it to one link.
Hi (first name), your (product) should be with you by now. How is it working out? A short review helps the next buyer pick the right one: (link). Thanks for buying from (store name).
It fits great. Leaving one now.
What puts stars at risk, and what builds them
What puts your stars at risk
- Asking only the buyers you think are happy.
- A discount or a gift in exchange for a review.
- Reviews from staff, family or friends.
- Hiding or deleting the low reviews.
What builds stars that last
- Asking every buyer once, after delivery.
- A plain thank-you and one link.
- Reviews only from people who bought.
- Public replies to the low ones, with an offer to fix it.
What the FTC says about review rewards
The FTC's review rule, announced on August 14, 2024, bans rewards for reviews that have to say something positive or negative. It also bans fake reviews, along with insider reviews that hide their tie to the business. Asking only happy buyers isn't named in the rule, but the FTC says it could still break the FTC Act.
Google's own rules for Customer Reviews point the same way, since the opt-in has to reach every buyer. The simplest habit that fits both is one plain ask to every buyer, with nothing attached.
How long it takes to qualify
Work it out from your own numbers. Take the orders you ship in a typical month and the share of buyers who leave a review today. Multiply the two to get your reviews per month, then divide 100 by that number to see how many months it takes to reach the bar.
If the answer comes out longer than two years, your oldest reviews age out before you reach the bar. You need more reviews each month to get there, and asking every buyer once, at the right time, is the part you control.
Google also counts store ratings separately for each country. Reviews from buyers in one country build your rating there, so a shop that sells in two countries is building two ratings.
Why your stars might not show yet
If you think you've cleared the bar and the stars still aren't on your ads, check these five things first.
- You have fewer than about 100 eligible reviews from the last 24 months in that country.
- Your average has slipped under 3.5 stars, which takes the stars off your paid ads.
- The web address in your ad doesn't match the domain your reviews belong to, and Google requires the two to match.
- Your newest reviews haven't reached your rating yet, since Google doesn't add them the moment they arrive.
- Store ratings show by default, but someone may have turned them off in your Google Ads account.
What stars do for your ads
Google says store ratings on text ads lift click-through rate on the Search network by 2% on average, so treat that number as a guide rather than a promise for any one shop.
On your own product pages, the Northwestern study is the better guide, because it measured what reviews did to actual purchases. Store stars can help a shopper pick your ad, and the reviews on your product page help her decide once she's there.
Are you on track for store stars?
Answer five quick questions, and your answers stay on your device.
Is Google Customer Reviews, or a review app that sends reviews to Google, turned on for every order?
Do you ask for a review a few days after delivery, not at checkout?
Does every buyer get the same ask, whether you think they're happy or not?
Do you answer low reviews in public, on your site or in your review app, within a few days?
Do your product pages show the star average near the Add to Cart button?
You've built the habit that earns store stars. Keep asking every buyer, and check Google's lookup page each month as the reviews add up.
You're close. Fix the first question you answered No, because each order without an ask is a review you won't get back.
Start with Google Customer Reviews this week, since it's the most direct path from a finished order to a review Google counts.
Set it up this week
Tick each one off as you go. Your ticks stay on this device.
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How we help online stores
We run Google Shopping and Performance Max campaigns for online stores, where store and product stars can show right on the ad. You can see what that costs on our pricing page.
If you'd like a second look at your reviews, your feed and your Shopping ads, book a call with Miguel. He'll walk through where your stars stand today and what might keep them off your ads.
Questions people ask
How many reviews do you need for Google seller ratings?
Google says a store generally needs at least 100 eligible, unique reviews from the last 24 months, counted for each country. Ads show the stars only while the average stays at 3.5 stars or higher.
Are seller ratings the same as store ratings?
Yes. Google's help pages now call them store ratings and still use seller ratings in places. Either way, they rate your whole shop, while product ratings rate a single item.
Do I have to turn on seller ratings in Google Ads?
No. Google shows store ratings on your ads by default once you qualify, and you can turn them off if you'd rather not show them.
Why aren't my seller ratings showing on my ads?
You may have fewer than about 100 reviews from the last 24 months, or an average under 3.5 stars. Your ad's web address may not match the domain your reviews belong to, or your newest reviews may not have reached your rating yet.
Can I offer a discount for a review?
Don't. The FTC bans rewards tied to a positive or negative review, and the cleanest habit is to ask every buyer once with nothing attached.
See how we run Shopping ads for online stores
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