
May 10, 2025
Why Your Stars Aren't (Yet) Appearing on Google
Learn how to showcase your client reviews with star ratings in Google results. A simple guide plus advanced tips to boost your visibility in 2025.

About
Justin Cappelle
I am Justin Cappelle, a freelance web developer in Switzerland, specializing in creating customized, high-performance websites optimized for SEO. My goal: to transform your online presence into a true growth driver. Contact me for a free audit of your site.
Displaying stars in Google results is one of the most powerful ways to grab attention, improve your click-through rate (CTR), and instantly build trust. But it's not automatic.
Here’s what you’ll see when it works:
⭐ 5.0 – (14 reviews)
Right below your title in Google.
And that’s a huge visibility boost. But Google only shows them under certain specific conditions.
Step by step: how to make your reviews appear in Google
1. Have visible reviews on your site
This seems logical… but many forget it:
Your customer reviews must be displayed on the page you want to rank.
They must look like genuine reviews (name, rating, text, date…).
2. Add JSON-LD markup (structured reviews)
You need to add an invisible script in the HTML code of the page.
Here’s an example for a service:
🔧 Where to place it?
In the <head>
of your site, or just before </body>
.
3. Ensure Google understands your data
➡️ Test your page here:
👉 Google Rich Results Test
❗ Mistakes to avoid
Not having visible real reviews.
Using an incorrect schema type (
Article
instead ofService
,Product
, etc.).Having reviews only in image form.
Giving a 5.0 rating on all pages without justification (Google hates that).
🧠 Advanced section: boost trust and your chances of display
1. Show your reviews in an actual readable HTML block (not just in JSON)
Google wants what's declared in JSON-LD to be visible to visitors.
Example of a review block:
2. Add additional (rich) fields
Enrich your markup with:
review
: to detail each review.author
: to name the customer.datePublished
: to prove authenticity.
Advanced example:
3. Use appropriate @type
:
Type of siteRecommended Schema TypeFreelance / providerService
or LocalBusiness
E-commerce productProduct
Training / ebookCourse
or Product
4. Add verified reviews with trust badge
Use solutions like:
Or display your own client reviews with date + name + photo
5. Create a "review wall" on a dedicated page
The more transparent and precise you are, the more Google will want to display the stars.
⚙️ Bonus: example of configuration I set up for my clients
✅ Page with review wall sorted by service
✅ Dynamic JSON-LD script per page
✅ Custom widget displaying live average
✅ Automatic schema.org compliance test
✅ Synchronization with Google Business Profile
✅ Anti-spam & anti-fake review script (to avoid Google penalties)
🧑💼 Do you want stars in Google? Let’s talk.
I am Justin Cappelle, a web developer & SEO consultant based in Switzerland.
I help my clients make their sites more visible, more credible, and more efficient on Google.
🎯 If you want me to:
Install stars in your Google results
Optimize your site for local, mobile, and technical SEO
Deploy advanced strategies to double your traffic without paying for Ads
📩 Contact me, and I’ll show you SEO methods that few agencies master (yes, even the most expensive ones).