GMB "Reviews from the Web"

[Bryan Bloom]

We have a client that has amazing reviews online - they are review sites like Yelp, HomeAdvisor, etc... even Facebook.

But those reviews do not show up on their GMB listing under "Reviews from the web" section. Clearly other companies do get them. All our clients are moving companies (service area businesses) not sure that matters.

In the attached image you can see a company that does have results for Review from the web. My understanding from reading one of Joy's posts was that Google will only show results if they show up on the 1st page of the SERP's for the branded search for the company. Like in the image you see review stars for Yelp, Facebook and Movers.com

2 of them show up in the GMB listing.

I have a customer that has great review site SERPs and no results show in the GMB Reviews from the web.

Does any one have any ideas, or guidance on how this works and also how to influence or assist in getting those reviews to show up on the Reviews from the web part of the GMB listing?

Will schema help?

Why in some cases do the review site results NOT show up on the first page of SERP results?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts or suggestions.

Bryan - Happy Thanksgiving!

 

[OneBlessedDude]

I have seen them add and remove them tottally randomly. One week a listing has 3 different data pulls, other week 1. I've tried schema, "same as", connecting them all over the web via company prolfiles on the site etc etc. My conclusion it's set to random lol.

 

[Phil Rozek]

@bryanbloom, you may see pretty much any site but Yelp in there. Yelp used to show in the "Reviews from the web" section until mid-2011, when Yelp demanded that Google stop scraping its reviews.

If you want reviews on YOUR site to show up in that section, Schema should help. But I haven't noticed that Schema on third-party review sites determines when third-party reviews show up in your KP. Google's good at extracting "average ratings" from most or all review sites.

You might be able to bump some of those review sites by building an "on the web"-type page, of the kind described in this thread: Citations not indexed | Local Search Forum

Though you might want to link to the "Reviews" section of a given listing - the specific URL where the reviews are. (They're not always visible on the exampledirectory.com/directory/yourcompany, or whatever the "main" or "about" URL is.)

 

[Bryan Bloom]

I have seen them add and remove them tottally randomly. One week a listing has 3 different data pulls, other week 1. I've tried schema, "same as", connecting them all over the web via company prolfiles on the site etc etc. My conclusion it's set to random lol.

Thanks Tim. At least I know we are not going insane! It does seem random, but as Joy has noted, it does seem to follow whatever shows on the first page of the SERPs.. Crazy, and thanks!

 

[Bryan Bloom]

@bryanbloom, you may see pretty much any site but Yelp in there. Yelp used to show in the "Reviews from the web" section until mid-2011, when Yelp demanded that Google stop scraping its reviews.

If you want reviews on YOUR site to show up in that section, Schema should help. But I haven't noticed that Schema on third-party review sites determines when third-party reviews show up in your KP. Google's good at extracting "average ratings" from most or all review sites.

You might be able to bump some of those review sites by building an "on the web"-type page, of the kind described in this thread: Citations not indexed | Local Search Forum

Though you might want to link to the "Reviews" section of a given listing - the specific URL where the reviews are. (They're not always visible on the exampledirectory.com/directory/yourcompany, or whatever the "main" or "about" URL is.)

@Phil Rozek thank you so much for this post. 1) Yelp is the review mafia. I read the complaint they made about Google. Sheesh! Most clients I know have a love/hate Yelp relationship. Doesn't surprise me Yelp doesn't play nice...
2) For Schema would you markup your home page with sameas schema sameAs - schema.org I can't figure out any other markups to connect the review sites with the website and KP. 3) OK I have to ask, is the phrase "Knowledge Panel" and your "GMB listing", basically the same, interchangeable phrase?
3) Thanks for the suggestion from the Whitespark post. Funny I read that when it came out and missed that one, but essentially you are just uploading your current citation spreadsheet? Seems like it could help.

Thanks again!

 

[Digitaldar]

Are the business names/handles the same across multiple platforms? I thought in your screenshot I saw something about BRAND Moving Company and in another instance BRAND Incorporated?

I would have thought the schema of "same as" would help :-(

 

[Bryan Bloom]

Thanks @Digitaldar Yes we are trying to make sure they all match and I am sure this is part of the issue, but if you notice in the example I took above, sometimes Google put the reviews on the GMB listing as long as the source showed up in the first page ;-) Crazy!