Google Reviews Widget: Embed Reviews on Your Website (2026)

You have 60 good Google reviews and they are all sitting on a Maps listing that visitors to your website never see. Putting them on the site is the obvious move, and there are three genuinely different ways to do it, with very different costs and constraints.

Quick answer: A Google reviews widget displays your Google Business Profile reviews directly on your website. You can embed Google reviews using a testimonial tool like Prooflet (imports your Google reviews plus 30 other platforms, one-time pricing from $59), a display-only widget like Elfsight (live sync, but view-capped monthly pricing and no collection), or the Google Places API (free tier, but developer work and a hard limit of five reviews). Prooflet is the easiest option if you also want to collect new testimonials; Elfsight is the simplest if you only need to mirror what is already on Google.

The three methods compared

Method 1: Import into a testimonial tool (recommended)

This is the right default for most businesses, because your Google reviews are rarely the only proof you have. You probably also have LinkedIn recommendations, a G2 profile, a few emailed compliments, and customers who would record a video if asked. A testimonial platform puts all of it in one place and publishes it through one widget.

In Prooflet the flow is: connect your Google Business Profile, select the reviews you want, and they land in your testimonial library alongside everything else. From there you choose a Wall of Love, carousel, grid, or floating badge and paste one line of code.

Pros: combines Google reviews with testimonials from 30 or so other sources and with video and text you collect yourself. One-time pricing from $59, so a traffic spike never raises the bill. The widget loads in under 50ms and reserves layout space, so it does not damage Core Web Vitals.

Cons: imported reviews are a snapshot, so a new Google review appears on your site when you re-import rather than instantly.

Best for: any business that wants its website to show all of its proof, not just the Google slice.

Method 2: A display-only widget like Elfsight

Elfsight and similar widget libraries connect to your Google Business Profile and render reviews live. Add a place ID, choose a layout, paste the embed code.

Pros: genuinely simple, and new reviews appear without you doing anything.

Cons: it only displays. There is no way to collect a video testimonial, no branded collection form, and nothing to do with the compliment a customer sent you by email. Pricing starts around $6/mo but is capped by monthly widget views, so growing traffic pushes you up the tiers. Third-party widget scripts are also a common source of layout shift.

Best for: businesses with plenty of Google reviews that need nothing more than a display layer. The trade-off is covered in detail on our Elfsight alternative page.

Method 3: Build it yourself with the Google Places API

The developer route. You request your place details from the Places API, receive reviews in the response, and render them however you like.

The catch is the one that surprises everyone: the Places API returns a maximum of five reviews, and you cannot choose which five. If you have 200 reviews, you get five of them. For locations you own, the Google Business Profile API gives fuller access, but it requires verification and considerably more work.

Pros: total control over markup and styling, no third-party script, no subscription.

Cons: the five-review ceiling, a Google Cloud billing account, caching to stay inside quota, and ongoing maintenance when the API changes.

Best for: teams with developer capacity and a strong reason to avoid third-party scripts.

Rules to follow when you publish Google reviews

• Do not edit the review text. You may truncate with a visible ellipsis and a link to the full review, but never reword it.
• Attribute every review. Reviewer name and, where you can, their photo and a link to the original.
• Do not hide the bad ones to fake a rating. Showing a curated selection is normal; displaying an average that your actual reviews do not support is deceptive and is enforceable under FTC rules in the US.
• Do not add Review schema to imported Google reviews. Google's structured data guidelines exclude reviews collected from another site, and marking them up can trigger a manual action.

Do embedded reviews help rankings?

Not directly, and it is worth being precise because a lot of widget marketing implies otherwise. Embedded reviews add unique text to the page and tend to increase time on page and scroll depth, which are useful. What they do not do is produce star ratings in search results, because the reviews were collected by Google rather than by you.

Star ratings in search come from first-party reviews you collect yourself, on a page about the thing being reviewed, marked up correctly. That is a reason to collect testimonials directly rather than only mirroring Google. If local visibility is the goal, our guide on how Google reviews impact local SEO covers what actually moves the needle.

Which should you choose

If your Google reviews are the only proof you have and you want them on the site this afternoon, a display widget is fine.

If you want your website to show everything, Google reviews plus LinkedIn recommendations plus video from your best customers, import them into one place instead. That is what Prooflet is for: import from 30 or so platforms, collect new video, text, and audio through a branded form, and publish it all with one line of code, paid once rather than monthly. See how the widget works or compare plans.

Either way, keep asking for reviews. The widget is the easy part; the asking is what fills it.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How do I add Google reviews to my website?

Three ways. Import them into a testimonial tool like Prooflet and embed one line of code, which also lets you mix Google reviews with testimonials from other sources. Use a display-only widget like Elfsight, which pulls live from your Google Business Profile. Or call the Google Places API yourself and render the results, which needs a developer and returns only five reviews.

2. Can I show Google reviews on my site for free?

Yes, within limits. Prooflet has a free forever plan including imported Google reviews. Elfsight's free tier is capped by monthly widget views. The Places API has a free monthly credit but still requires a billing account and development work.

3. Why does the Google API only return 5 reviews?

The Places API returns a maximum of five reviews per place and gives you no control over which five. This is a documented limit, not a configuration mistake. If you need every review, you have to use the Google Business Profile API for locations you own, or a tool that has already solved the collection problem.

4. Is it against Google's rules to embed reviews on my site?

No, displaying your own Google reviews is allowed, but you must not alter the review text, you should attribute reviews to their authors, and you must not show only positive reviews in a way that misrepresents your rating. Cherry-picking to fake a rating can also breach FTC rules in the US.

5. Will a reviews widget slow down my website?

It can. Widgets that load synchronously or inject an iframe before layout block rendering and cause layout shift, which hurts Core Web Vitals and therefore rankings. Look for a widget that loads asynchronously and reserves its layout space. Prooflet's widget loads in under 50ms and reserves space to avoid shift.

6. Do embedded Google reviews help my SEO?

Indirectly. Embedded reviews add unique content and increase time on page, both of which help. They do not produce star ratings in Google's search results, because Google does not allow Review schema for reviews you collected from Google itself. First-party testimonials you collect are what can support review rich results.