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:

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Service",
  "name": "Développement de sites web à Montreux",
  "aggregateRating": {
    "@type": "AggregateRating",
    "ratingValue": "5.0",
    "reviewCount": "14"
  }
}
</script>

🔧 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 of Service, 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:

<div class="avis">
  <p><strong>⭐️ 5/5</strong> – Super expérience, très professionnel ! – <em>Julie M.</em></p>
</div>

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:

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Service",
  "name": "Création de sites web à Montreux",
  "aggregateRating": {
    "@type": "AggregateRating",
    "ratingValue": "4.9",
    "reviewCount": "23"
  },
  "review": [
    {
      "@type": "Review",
      "reviewRating": {
        "@type": "Rating",
        "ratingValue": "5"
      },
      "author": {
        "@type": "Person",
        "name": "Nicolas"
      },
      "reviewBody": "Excellent service, rapide et très professionnel.",
      "datePublished": "2024-11-05"
    }
  ]
}

3. Use appropriate `@type`:

Type of siteRecommended Schema TypeFreelance / providerService or LocalBusinessE-commerce productProductTraining / ebookCourse or Product

4. Add verified reviews with trust badge

Use solutions like:

Trustpilot
Google Reviews API
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.

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