How to embed Google reviews on your website

The short answer

There are five ways to show your Google reviews on your website, from simplest to most work:

1. Link to your reviews on Google. A button that opens your profile is free and always up to date.
2. Add a few quotes or screenshots by hand. Free, but Google says you need each reviewer's consent.
3. Embed a Google map of your business. Free, and it gives visitors a way into your profile.
4. Pull live reviews with Google's Places API. It returns up to 5 reviews per request and comes with strict display rules.
5. Use a third-party widget. Quick to set up, usually a subscription, and the vendor has to follow the same Google rules.

Whichever you pick, embedded reviews won't put review stars next to your business in Google search. Google doesn't allow that for reviews a business shows about itself.

Which method fits your site?

The table sums up the trade-offs. Each row links to its section, where the rules come with a link to the Google page they're from. Effort is our estimate; prices were checked on Google's pages on 11 October 2026.

Our advice for most local businesses: start with a link and three or four quotes you have permission to use. Move to a live display only if you have a developer, or if keeping quotes current becomes a chore.

Option 1: Link to your reviews on Google

The simplest way to show your reviews is to send visitors to them. Google's map guidelines say you're welcome to link to Google Maps from your website with text or a button, such as "View on Google Maps" (from its geo guidelines). To get the link, Google's help page on sharing from Google Maps gives this path on a computer:

1. Open Google Maps and search for your business.
2. At the top left, click Menu, then Share or embed map.
3. Click Send a link, then Copy link.

Put it on a button such as "Read our reviews on Google". Next to it, add a second button that opens the review form, so happy customers can add their own. Google's page on creating a review link or QR code says to find it in your Business Profile under Read reviews, then Get more reviews. Our free review link and QR code generator builds the same kind of link from your business name or Place ID.

If you show the Google logo on the button, Google's brand guidance on customer reviews says to use one of its official logos (the Google G or the full wordmark) and not "any unofficial logos, badges, or lockups".

Option 2: Add quotes or screenshots by hand

A handful of real quotes near your phone number or booking button does a lot of work. But Google's brand guidance on customer reviews is direct: "User reviews belong to the person who wrote them, even if they're written on your business's listing." It says you must get the reviewer's consent to use their review in your marketing, "such as on your website or in print or digital ads". Google Maps' terms of service also say not to copy its content unless Google's permissions page or the law allows it.

Google suggests asking for permission by replying to the review, and says it can't give you the reviewer's contact details. If the reviewer is a customer you already have an email or phone number for, you can simply ask them. A reply could read like this (an example, not a real review):

Thanks, Dana. We're glad the new boiler is keeping the house warm. Would you mind if we shared your review on our website? If that's fine, just reply here.

Once you have a yes, a few habits keep the quotes honest and useful. These are our advice:

• Copy the words exactly. Shorten with an ellipsis if you must, but don't change what the person said.
• Show the first name and the month. A dated quote is easier to believe than an anonymous one.
• Link each quote to the review on Google. Google's page on managing reviews shows how: open your business in Google Maps, go to Reviews, select More next to the review, then Share review and Copy link.
• Swap in newer quotes every few months. Static quotes age, and a page full of reviews from years ago says the wrong thing.

Screenshots follow the same consent rule. They're harder to read on a phone and invisible to screen readers, so if you use one, write the quote out in the alt text too.

Option 3: Embed a Google map of your business

A map doesn't list your reviews. It earns its place on a contact page by showing where you are, so pair it with the review link from option 1. Google's geo guidelines say you don't need permission to embed a Google map on your website. The sharing help page gives the steps:

1. Open Google Maps and search for your business.
2. At the top left, click Menu, then Share or embed map.
3. Click Embed a map, then Copy HTML, and paste it into your page.

Developers can do the same with the Maps Embed API, whose place mode shows a marker at your business. Google says Maps Embed API requests are "available at no charge with unlimited usage"; you do need an API key. Google doesn't document exactly what the embedded place card shows, so check your page after you add it. Either way, keep the attribution that comes with the map. Google's guidelines say not to remove or crop it.

Option 4: Show live reviews with Google's Places API

If you or your developer want reviews that update on their own, Google's Places API is the official source. You'll need your business's Place ID (our guide on how to find your Google Place ID shows where) and a Google Maps Platform project with an API key. Before you start, know three limits.

You get 5 reviews, chosen by Google

Google's Places API reference describes the reviews field as a "List of reviews about this place, sorted by relevance. A maximum of 5 reviews can be returned." You can't page through your full history or choose which five appear.

Each request costs money past a free cap

Reviews are billed under the Place Details Enterprise + Atmosphere SKU. On 11 October 2026, Google's pricing page listed 1,000 free requests a month for that SKU, then $25 per 1,000 at the first tier. Check the page before you build, because prices change.

You can't store the reviews

Google's Maps Platform terms say customers will not "copy and save business names, addresses, or user reviews" and will not cache Maps content except where the service terms allow it. The Places API policies say the Place ID is the exception and can be stored indefinitely. In practice, that means you fetch reviews when the page needs them, not copy them into your own database once a night.

Google's display rules

The same policies page sets out how the reviews must appear:

• Credit every author. Show the avatar, name and profile link when space allows; the avatar is the minimum.
• Link each review to its source. Visitors must always be able to open the review on Google Maps, using the link the API provides.
• Show Google Maps attribution. Use the Google Maps logo, or the text "Google Maps" where space is tight, and keep it in the same box as the reviews.
• Explain the order. Include a clear notice of how the reviews are ordered and filtered. By default, Google orders them by relevance.
• Show the visit date for places in France. Google requires it there.

Google also recommends showing each review's relative date ("2 days ago"), saying when a review was translated, and telling visitors that Google checks for and removes fake content but doesn't verify reviews.

For less code, Google's Places UI Kit has a Place Details element that renders details such as opening hours, website and reviews for a place, with Google's attribution built in. It is billed under its own Places UI Kit SKU, so check that price too.

Option 5: Use a third-party review widget

Many companies sell widgets that connect to your Business Profile and show your reviews in a carousel, a grid or a badge. You paste a snippet of code, and the widget does the rest. Setup is quick, and most charge a monthly fee.

The rules don't go away because someone else wrote the code. Before you pick one, ask the vendor these questions. They're our checklist, built from the Google rules above:

• How does it get the reviews? Google's Places API is the official route. Copying reviews off Google Maps conflicts with Google's terms.
• Does it show each author and link back to Google? If it uses the Places API, Google requires both.
• Does it hide low ratings? Many widgets let you show only 4 and 5 star reviews. With Places API content, Google requires a notice of how reviews are filtered.
• Does it add review markup to your page? If it does, switch that off. The next section explains why.
• What happens when you stop paying? Find out whether the widget disappears or leaves an empty box.

A widget also adds a script to every page it sits on. Put it where reviews help a decision, such as your contact or booking page, rather than on every page of the site.

Will embedded reviews show stars in Google search?

No. Google's review snippet guidelines say that if the business being reviewed controls the reviews about itself, its pages using LocalBusiness or Organization structured data are "ineligible for star review feature". Google names this exact case as an example: reviews placed on the business's own website "through an embedded third-party widget (for example, Google Business reviews or Facebook reviews widget)".

So don't add Review or AggregateRating markup for your own Google reviews, and check that no widget adds it for you. Your stars already show where they count: on your Business Profile in Search and Maps.

Structured data still helps Google read your business details. Our free local business schema generator builds LocalBusiness JSON-LD with your address, hours and map location, and it leaves ratings out on purpose.

What makes reviews on your site convincing?

Google doesn't rule on this, so this part is our advice. Visitors who read reviews on your site are deciding whether to call you, and a wall of identical 5 star quotes can look curated. Recent reviews with dates, a mix of services, and a link to see every review on Google read as more honest. Reviews that mention a specific job ("fixed the leak under the sink the same day") do more than "Great service".

Your replies help too, because they show someone answers. Our guide on how to respond to Google reviews covers what to write. To keep up without writing each reply yourself, Mekomi's AI review replies draft one for every new Google review, in the reviewer's language. Once you switch auto-reply on, 4 and 5 star replies can go out during your opening hours, up to a daily cap, while every 1 to 3 star review and any complaint waits for your approval.

And the surest way to have good reviews to show is to get more of them. Our guide on how to get more Google reviews has the wording and timing.