How to add Google reviews to your website comes down to three decisions: how you’ll keep them current, where you’ll display them, and which reviews will help visitors understand your business.
This guide is for small business owners and the people who manage their websites. We’ll walk through adding a synced review widget, choosing a layout, and putting relevant reviews on the right pages. We’ll also cover WordPress and an important limitation around review stars in Google search.
Choose how you’ll display your reviews
You can manually add customer quotes to a page, or use a connected widget that imports reviews and keeps them synced.
Manually adding quotes gives you control over the design, but it creates ongoing work. Someone has to check for new reviews, update the page, and maintain any rating or review count displayed alongside them. A screenshot has a similar problem: it shows a moment in time.
A connected widget handles the updating. BrandTrust.reviews imports your existing reviews from connected sources and keeps them synced automatically, so new reviews can appear without another round of copying and pasting.
It also lets you choose which reviews to feature while keeping the overall rating honest. The headline star rating and total count reflect all reviews, not just the featured ones.
That distinction matters. Choosing a useful customer story for a service page is an editorial decision. Presenting a handpicked selection as your overall rating would give visitors a different impression.
Before you start
Have these three things ready:
- The Google business listing you want to connect.
- Access to edit the website where the reviews will appear.
- A page and placement for your first widget.
If you manage several locations, confirm which listing belongs to each location before connecting sources. A visitor reading about one office should be able to tell whether the reviews describe that office or the business as a whole.
Start with one page. It’s easier to check the layout and review selection there before repeating the setup across your site.
How to add Google reviews to your website, step by step
1. Connect your Google review source
Create a BrandTrust.reviews account and connect the Google review source for your business. Follow the connection instructions in the product, then check that the imported reviews belong to the correct listing.
Look at the review text and source labels before moving on. This is especially useful when businesses have similar names or multiple locations.
The Google reviews widget page explains the Google-specific option.
BrandTrust.reviews displays and manages existing reviews. It does not send review-request campaigns, so connecting your listing is separate from asking customers to leave feedback.
2. Choose a layout that fits the page
Available layouts include grid, list, masonry, popup, and badge.
Choose based on the space available and how much review text visitors need to read:
- Grid: Useful for showing several reviews together in a dedicated section.
- List: A straightforward option when longer comments deserve room.
- Masonry: Arranges review cards of different lengths in a staggered layout.
- Badge: A compact rating display that visitors can click to open a popup with reviews. It works well in a hero section or sidebar.
A homepage might have room for several review cards. A hero section or sidebar can use a badge to make reviews accessible without taking up much space.
Keep the design consistent with the page. Readable text, clear spacing, and recognizable source labels help visitors explore your reviews.
3. Select relevant reviews
Choose reviews that answer questions a visitor might have at that point.
For a plumbing company’s water heater page, feedback about installation, communication, or cleanup is relevant. A general compliment about the business may be better suited to the homepage.
BrandTrust.reviews lets you filter, order, tag, and choose reviews to feature. Use those controls to make a section useful, while keeping each customer’s meaning intact.
Featured reviews and the headline rating serve different purposes. The featured reviews provide specific experiences. The rating and count provide the broader picture, reflecting all reviews rather than only your selection.
4. Add the widget to your website
BrandTrust.reviews offers a one-line JavaScript embed for websites and a native WordPress plugin.
For the JavaScript option, copy the embed code provided by the product and place it in the part of your website that accepts custom code. The exact location depends on your website builder and page editor.
The product works with Shopify, Wix, Squarespace, Webflow, Framer, and plain HTML websites, as well as WordPress.
Use the instructions for your platform when placing the code. For example, the Shopify reviews page and Wix reviews page provide platform-specific starting points.
After adding the embed, preview the page and check the published version. An editor preview alone may not show exactly what visitors will see.
5. Use the native plugin for WordPress
If your site runs on WordPress, the native plugin is another way to display your reviews.
The BrandTrust.reviews plugin renders reviews on your own server. Views served through the native plugin do not count against plan limits.
Follow the plugin’s setup instructions to connect your account and place the reviews on the intended page. Then check the result within your actual theme and page layout.
You can learn more on the WordPress reviews widget page.
Server rendering is useful, but the finished page still needs checking. Your theme, images, other plugins, and overall page design all contribute to the visitor’s experience.
6. Check the page on desktop and mobile
Before treating the setup as finished, review the published page at different screen sizes.
Check that:
- Review text is readable without awkwardly narrow columns.
- Longer reviews fit the layout.
- If you use a badge, the review popup opens and is easy to read and close on mobile.
- The source of each review is clear.
- The rating and review count are understandable.
- The review section leaves the page’s main action easy to find.
Compare how the page loads before and after adding the widget. If the section feels crowded, reduce its footprint or try a simpler layout.
Then check back after new reviews have synced to confirm that your selection rules still produce a useful section.
Put reviews where they answer a question
A dedicated testimonials page can be useful, but it doesn’t have to be the only place you display customer feedback.
Think about what the visitor is deciding on each page.
On a homepage, broad feedback about reliability and customer experience can introduce the business. On a service page, specific feedback helps explain what working with you is like. On a location page, local experiences help establish which team or office the review describes.
A badge in a hero section gives visitors a compact way to explore reviews early. In a sidebar, it keeps feedback accessible alongside the main content.
Each placement should earn its space by helping someone evaluate the offer on that page.
Use keyword auto-tagging for service and location pages
Manually sorting reviews becomes more work as your collection grows.
BrandTrust.reviews can auto-tag reviews by keyword, allowing reviews that mention a particular service or location to flow onto the matching page automatically.
For example, a salon could use service terms such as “color” or “haircut” to organize relevant feedback. A home services business could use specific service names.
Choose terms carefully and check the matches. A broad keyword can appear in more than one context. Start with a small set of clear terms, review the results, and adjust as needed.
For agencies managing several client sites, this can reduce the recurring work of finding and placing relevant reviews.
Keep sources and ratings clear
You may eventually want to display feedback from more than Google.
BrandTrust.reviews supports combining multiple sources in one widget, with each review labeled by where it came from. Supported sources include Google, Facebook, Etsy, eBay, and WooCommerce. TripAdvisor is available in limited access.
If you combine sources, give the section an accurate heading. “Customer reviews” is more appropriate than “Google reviews” when the section includes feedback from several platforms.
The same principle applies to your presentation of the overall rating. Make it clear what visitors are looking at, and let the complete rating and count provide context for the individual reviews you feature.
Understand what review schema can do
BrandTrust.reviews generates AggregateRating review schema. Structured data describes information in a format search engines can process.
However, adding schema does not guarantee review stars in search results.
Google says reviews about a local business or organization on its own website are ineligible for its review-star feature under the self-serving review rules. This includes reviews displayed through a third-party widget. See Google’s review snippet guidelines.
Add Google reviews to help people evaluate your business while they’re on your website. Don’t build the case around a promise of search stars, higher rankings, or a particular revenue outcome.
Frequently asked questions
Can I add Google reviews to my website for free?
BrandTrust.reviews has a free plan with no credit card requirement and no trial timer. Paid plans offer different usage allowances and features. To check which option fits your site, see current plans.
Will new reviews appear automatically?
BrandTrust.reviews keeps connected review sources synced automatically. Which reviews appear in a particular widget depends on your filters and selection settings. Automatic syncing removes the need to copy each new review into the page manually.
Can I choose which reviews to feature?
Yes. You can filter, order, tag, and select featured reviews. The headline rating and total count still reflect all reviews, not just the featured selection. That lets you show relevant experiences without presenting a curated selection as the whole picture.
Do I need to write code?
You don’t need to build a review widget yourself. BrandTrust.reviews provides a one-line JavaScript embed and a native WordPress plugin. You will need access to edit your site and follow the setup instructions for your platform.
Start with one page and a review section that helps visitors make a decision. You can try the BrandTrust.reviews free plan with no credit card and no trial timer.