Can a Local Business Use Review Schema to Get Star Ratings in Google?

By Bill Stilwell · Last reviewed October 16, 2026

The short answer

Review structured data is code that tells Google about a review or an average star rating on a page. A local business can’t get star ratings in Google for reviews about itself that it shows on its own website. Google calls these self-serving reviews, and the rule covers reviews you paste in and reviews shown through a widget. Review markup is still allowed on things like product pages, as long as the reviews are real and visible on the page.

What this means

There are two kinds of review markup:

A single review. One person’s review of one thing, with their name and rating.
An aggregate rating. The average score from many reviews, like 4.7 out of 5 from 38 reviews.

Google says review snippets can show for certain types of things, including products, books, recipes, events, courses, software, and local businesses. But for local businesses and organizations, there’s a catch. Google says pages using local business or organization markup aren’t eligible for stars if the business being reviewed controls the reviews about itself.

Say Green Valley Landscaping puts its best Google reviews on its home page and adds review markup around them, hoping for gold stars in search results. That’s a self-serving review. Google won’t show stars for it. The reviews can still sit on the page and help customers. The markup just won’t earn stars.

Now say Tall Pines Garden Center sells planters online, and customers leave reviews right on each planter’s product page. Those reviews are about a product, collected from real buyers. Product review markup can fit there (see 19.6.3 Product Structured Data).

Why it matters

Wasted effort. Many local businesses pay for review schema plugins expecting stars. For reviews about the business itself, Google won’t show them.
Risk of a penalty. Google’s general structured data rules say misleading markup can lead to a manual action, which removes rich result eligibility for the site.
Trust. Markup that claims ratings visitors can’t see, or ratings copied from other sites, misleads people.
Legal exposure. Fake or bought reviews can break federal rules, whether or not they’re marked up (see 11.3.5 Fake Review Rules).

Who this applies to

Anyone who shows reviews or ratings on a website, or has a web person suggesting review schema.

Most local service businesses, like plumbers, roofers, cleaners, and salons, can skip adding review markup for reviews about themselves. Show the reviews for customers instead.

Product sellers who collect reviews on product pages, and sites that review other businesses, are the main cases where review markup fits.

How to do it

List every page on your site that shows reviews or ratings.
For each page, ask: is this a review of my own business, collected or picked by me? If yes, don’t rely on review markup for stars. Google says it isn’t eligible.
Keep showing real reviews on those pages for customers. Get permission before you quote a customer by name (see 11.1.13 Testimonial Permission).
For product pages with reviews from real buyers, check that each review has the reviewer’s name, the rating, and the item being reviewed. Google requires an author name, the item reviewed, and the rating.
If you use an average rating, it needs the average score and either the number of ratings or the number of reviews.
If you list several reviews on one page, Google says to include an average rating too.
Make sure every marked-up review is visible on the page. Google says the review content you mark up must be easy for visitors to find on that page.
Don’t pull in ratings from other websites. Google says not to aggregate reviews or ratings from other sites.
Remove any review markup a plugin added to your home page or service pages for your own business reviews. It does nothing for stars and can confuse audits.
Test the pages (see 19.6.6 Testing Structured Data).

What proof to keep

A list of pages with reviews and a note on whether each has review markup and why
Rich Results Test results for pages with review markup
Testimonial permissions for any customer you quote (see 11.1.13 Testimonial Permission)
The date you removed any self-serving markup

Keep these in your website records folder.

Common mistakes

Buying a plugin for “Google stars.” Many plugins add markup to your own business reviews. Google won’t show stars for those.
Using a widget to get around the rule. Google’s rule covers reviews shown through embedded third-party widgets too, like a widget that pulls in your Google or Facebook reviews.
Marking up reviews visitors can’t see. Hidden ratings in the code break Google’s rules.
Copying your Google rating into your site’s code. Google says not to aggregate ratings from other websites.
Picking only the five-star reviews and marking them up as your rating. That misleads people and doesn’t match the real average.
Writing reviews yourself or paying for them. That’s a legal problem, not just a search problem (see 11.3.5 Fake Review Rules and 14.10.3 Review Gating and Incentives).

When to get help from a pro

Your web developer: if you’re not sure what markup your site or plugins add. Questions to ask:

Does any plugin add review or rating markup to our home page or service pages?
Is every review in our markup visible on the page where it’s marked up?

An attorney: if you’re unsure whether the way you collect or show reviews follows federal rules (see 11.3.5 Fake Review Rules).

Bill’s note

[Bill: add a short story or lesson here. For example, a client who paid for a “review stars” plugin that never worked, or how you decide where reviews go on a local business site.]

If you’d rather have this done for you, SiteSmarty can check the structured data on websites it manages.

How I did this for SiteSmarty

[Date I did this:]
[What I actually did, step by step: which SiteSmarty pages show reviews, and whether any have review markup]
[What it cost and how long it took:]
[What surprised me or what I’d do differently:]
[Screenshot or photo to add, with private info blurred: Rich Results Test result for the SiteSmarty home page]
[Result so far:]

Questions people ask

Why don’t my review stars show in Google? If the reviews are about your own business and you control them on your own site, Google won’t show stars for them. That’s Google’s self-serving review rule.

Can I mark up my Google reviews on my website? You can show them, with permission where needed. Marking them up won’t earn stars, and Google says not to aggregate ratings from other sites.

What is a self-serving review? A review about a business that the same business controls on its own site, either typed in or shown through a widget.

Which pages can use review markup? Pages about specific things like products, recipes, books, or events, where real users left the reviews and the reviews are visible on the page.

Do review stars matter for my Google Business Profile? Your profile shows its own Google reviews. That has nothing to do with website markup (see 14.6.3 Review Responses).

Audit check

Question: Is review markup used only where Google allows it, with real reviews that are visible on the page?
Pass looks like: No review markup for the business’s own reviews on its own pages. Any product review markup has an author, rating, and item, matches visible reviews, and passes the Rich Results Test.
Fail looks like: Plugin markup on the home page for the business’s own reviews, hidden ratings, ratings copied from Google or other sites, or made-up reviews.
Evidence to collect: The review page list, Rich Results Test results, and testimonial permissions.

Where this fits

Do this first: 19.6.1 Local Business Structured Data, 11.1.13 Testimonial Permission

Do this next: 19.6.5 Event Structured Data

Sources

Google Search Central, "Review snippet (Review, AggregateRating) structured data" (checked October 16, 2026)
Google Search Central, "General structured data guidelines" (checked October 16, 2026)

This page explains general rules and Bill's own experience. It is not legal, tax, or insurance advice. Talk to a qualified professional about your situation.