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THOUGHTS / BEGINNERS GUIDE 5 Jun 2026 8 MIN READ

What Are Google Rich Results? How to Get Stars, FAQs, and Ratings Showing in Search

When you search for something on Google, you may notice that some results look quite different from the standard blue link and grey description. Some show yellow star ratings and a count of reviews directly beneath the business name. Others display a list of expandable questions and answers. Some list event dates, the price of a product, or “4.8 — 312 reviews” without you having to click anywhere at all. These are called rich results — and for a small business, earning them can make your listing stand out dramatically from every competitor appearing beside you.

Google rich results are enhanced search listings that display extra visual information — review stars, FAQ panels, event dates, product prices, or business hours — directly on the search results page. They are powered by structured data (sometimes called schema markup) added to a website’s code. They are not paid for and not guaranteed, but adding the right structured data significantly increases your chances of earning them. For most small businesses, the two most valuable types are review stars and FAQ panels.

Google has always tried to give searchers the most useful answer as quickly as possible. Rich results are an extension of that idea — rather than making someone click through to five different websites to compare ratings, Google surfaces that information directly on the search results page. For the business that earns a rich result, this means more visibility, more trust signals on display, and often a higher click-through rate than competitors showing a plain text listing.

The reason not every business automatically gets rich results is that Google needs to be confident the information is accurate and structured in a way it can read reliably. A website that simply says “our customers love us” somewhere in the body text is not enough. Google needs the information presented in a specific machine-readable format — this is what structured data means.

What Types of Rich Results Are There?

Google supports dozens of rich result types, but for a small UK business website, a handful are genuinely relevant:

  • Review stars. A score out of five and the number of reviews, displayed beneath your link in search results. This is one of the most powerful rich results for local businesses. Seeing “4.9 — 47 reviews” next to a plumber’s website builds instant trust before anyone has clicked anything.
  • FAQ panels. A list of expandable questions and answers shown beneath your search listing. If you have a well-structured FAQ page or FAQ section on a service page, Google may display two or three of those questions directly in the search results. Someone researching a service can read the answers without clicking — but they also see your business name answering those questions with authority.
  • Local business information. Opening hours, phone number, address, and a link to your website shown alongside your Google Business Profile listing. This is partly managed through your Google Business Profile rather than your website, but structured data on your website helps reinforce it.
  • Events. If you run workshops, classes, exhibitions, or any time-specific events, structured data lets Google display the date, time, and location of upcoming events directly in search results.
  • Products. For businesses selling products online, structured data can show a product’s price, availability, and rating in search. This is primarily relevant for e-commerce shops rather than service businesses.
  • How-to steps. Step-by-step instructions shown as a numbered list directly in search results. Useful if your website includes practical guides — for example, a decorator’s website with a guide on how to prepare a wall before painting.

How Do Rich Results Actually Work?

Behind every rich result is a layer of code on your website called structured data. It is written in a format called JSON-LD (which sounds technical but is really just a standardised way of labelling information) and placed in the head of your web page. Rather than writing “our rating is 4.8 out of 5 based on 120 reviews” in plain English, structured data marks that information up in a way that Google can read unambiguously: here is a rating, here is the score, here is the maximum possible score, here is the number of reviews.

Google then reads this structured data when it crawls your website, checks that it matches the visible content on the page (it will not show stars if there are no real reviews to back them up), and decides whether to display it as a rich result. It is not automatic — Google has final say and will not always show a rich result even when the structured data is correct — but having the structured data in place is the prerequisite.

You do not need to write this code yourself. Many website platforms (WordPress, Squarespace, Wix) have plugins or built-in settings that add common structured data automatically. If you have a custom-built website, a developer can add it. Google also provides a free tool called the Rich Results Test that lets you check whether your website currently has any structured data and whether it is likely to be eligible for rich results.

The Difference Between Rich Results and Your Google Business Profile

It is worth clarifying a common point of confusion. When you see stars and reviews next to a local business in the Google Maps pack — the cluster of three businesses shown with a map — those stars come from your Google Business Profile reviews, not from structured data on your website. You do not need to do anything to your website to earn those; you just need genuine reviews on your Google Business Profile.

Rich results from structured data are different — they appear in the standard search results (the list of blue links below the map pack) and require code on your website. Both matter, but they work independently. A business can have five-star Google Maps ratings without any structured data on its website, and vice versa.

What Should a Small Business Actually Do?

The most accessible starting points for most small businesses are:

  • Add FAQ structured data to your service pages. If your website has a frequently asked questions section — or even just a few questions and answers near the bottom of a service page — adding FAQ schema markup is relatively straightforward and gives Google a clear opportunity to show your content as an expandable FAQ panel in search. It also signals to AI search tools like Google AI Mode that your content answers real questions clearly.
  • Add local business structured data. This marks up your business name, address, phone number, opening hours, and geographic area served. It reinforces your Google Business Profile information and helps Google connect the dots between your website and your local listing.
  • Add review structured data if you aggregate reviews on your website. If you feature customer reviews directly on your website (not just linking to Google or Trustpilot, but actually displaying the content), you can mark those up with structured data to qualify for review star rich results in search. You cannot markup reviews hosted on external platforms using your own website’s code, however — that would require the reviews to be genuinely on your site.
  • Check your current status with Google’s Rich Results Test. Search for “Google Rich Results Test” and enter your website URL. It will tell you whether any structured data exists, whether it is valid, and which rich result types you are potentially eligible for. It is free and takes about thirty seconds.

Rich results are one of those website improvements that genuinely compound over time. A business with star ratings visible in search earns more clicks, those visitors leave more reviews, better reviews improve the rating, and the rating attracts more clicks still. Getting the structured data in place is the first step in that cycle — and it is one most small business websites have not yet taken.

Frequently asked

Do rich results cost anything?
No. Rich results are earned through the quality and structure of your website’s content — they cannot be bought. Adding the structured data that makes them possible is either included in your web platform, handled by a plugin, or a one-time job for a developer. There is no ongoing fee and no way to pay Google to show them. The star ratings that appear in the Google Maps pack (which come from Google Business Profile reviews) are also free — they reflect genuine customer reviews, not advertising.
Why are my competitors showing star ratings in Google but I am not?
There are a few possible reasons. The most common is that their website has structured data (schema markup) for reviews, while yours does not. Another possibility is that they have significantly more reviews on platforms Google recognises — though website-based structured data and platform-based reviews work differently, as explained above. It is also worth checking whether what you are seeing is a Google Business Profile listing (from the map pack) or a rich result in the standard search results, as they are powered by different things and require different actions.
Can I add structured data to a Wix or Squarespace website?
Yes, though with varying degrees of ease. Wix has built-in structured data for some types (local business, events) and adds it automatically when you fill in your business details. Squarespace adds basic structured data for products and events. For more specific types like FAQ schema, you may need to use a third-party app or manually add a code embed. WordPress gives the most control through plugins such as Yoast SEO or Rank Math, which add structured data through a settings panel without requiring any coding. If your site is custom-built, your developer can add any schema type you need.
If I add structured data, will rich results definitely appear?
Not necessarily. Google has final discretion and does not guarantee rich results even when valid structured data is present. The structured data makes you eligible — it does not automatically trigger the display. Google considers factors such as whether the data accurately reflects what is on the page, whether the reviews are genuine, and whether showing the rich result would genuinely improve the searcher’s experience. In practice, well-implemented structured data on a reputable website is likely to earn rich results over time, but there is no fixed timeline and no way to force it.

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