Display your Google Business reviews right on your website, so visitors can see what people are saying about you without leaving your site.
Why This Matters
Your Google reviews are some of your most powerful social proof — real people, verified by Google, sharing their experience. But those reviews live on Google, and most of your website visitors will never see them.
By connecting Google Reviews to Trustie, you bring that social proof directly onto your site. Plus, Trustie adds special code behind the scenes that tells search engines “this page has reviews.” This can help your reviews appear as star ratings directly in Google search results — those gold stars you sometimes see below certain listings. Google calls these rich snippets, and they can significantly increase clicks to your site.
What You’ll Need
- A Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) with at least one review
- A Google Cloud account (free to create)
- About 15 minutes for the initial setup
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Step 1: Find Your Place ID
Your Place ID is Google’s unique identifier for your business location. Here’s how to find it:
- Go to Google’s Place ID Finder
- In the search box on the map, type your business name and address
- Click on your business when it appears in the results
- You’ll see a Place ID that looks something like
ChIJN1t_tDeuEmsRUsoyG83frY4 - Copy that ID — you’ll need it in a moment
Can’t find your business? Make sure you’re searching with the exact name and address that appears on your Google Business Profile. If your business doesn’t appear, you may need to claim or create your Google Business Profile first.
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Step 2: Get a Google API Key
An API key is like a password that lets your website talk to Google’s systems. You need one so Trustie can fetch your reviews from Google. Getting one is free for typical usage.
- Go to the Google Cloud Console
- If you don’t have a Google Cloud account, you’ll be prompted to create one (it’s free)
- Click Select a project at the top, then New Project
- Give it a name like “My Website” and click Create
- Once the project is created, go to APIs & Services > Library in the left sidebar
- Search for Places API and click on it
- Click the blue Enable button
- Now go to APIs & Services > Credentials in the left sidebar
- Click Create Credentials at the top, then API key
- Your new API key appears — click the copy icon to copy it
Important: Google requires billing to be enabled on your Cloud project, even for the free tier. You almost certainly won’t be charged anything for typical website usage (the free allowance is generous), but you do need to add a payment method. Think of it like signing up for a free trial that asks for a card — they won’t charge you unless you go well beyond normal usage.
Securing Your API Key (recommended)
While your API key will work immediately, it’s good practice to restrict it:
- Click on your newly created API key in the Credentials list
- Under Application restrictions, select HTTP referrers
- Add your website domain:
yourdomain.com/* - Under API restrictions, select Restrict key and choose Places API
- Click Save
This ensures your API key can only be used from your website and only for the Places API.
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Step 3: Connect in Trustie
Now that you have your Place ID and API key:
- In your WordPress dashboard, go to Trustie > Settings (or Tracksies > Trustie if you have the full suite)
- Click the Google Reviews tab
- Paste your Place ID into the Place ID field
- Paste your API Key into the API Key field
- Click Test Connection
If everything’s set up correctly, you’ll see a success message with your business name and current rating. If you see an error, check the troubleshooting section below.
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Step 4: Display Google Reviews
Add this shortcode to any page or post:
[trustie_google_reviews]This displays your Google business name, overall star rating, and up to 5 individual reviews with a “View on Google” button.
Good to know: Trustie uses Google’s Places API to fetch your reviews — the simpler setup option that only needs a Place ID and API key. The Places API returns a maximum of 5 reviews at a time, ranked by Google’s “most helpful” algorithm (factoring helpful votes, author authority, and recency). Your aggregate rating and total review count reflect all your reviews; only the individual review display is capped at 5.
Google also offers a second API called the Business Profile API that returns all your reviews with no cap — but it requires a more involved OAuth setup where you log in with the Google account that owns your Business Profile. Trustie doesn’t support the Business Profile API yet; if this matters to you, let us know — it helps us prioritise.
Where to Put Google Reviews
Some popular placements:
- Homepage — builds immediate trust
- About page — reinforces credibility
- Contact page — reassures people before they reach out
- Your reviews page — alongside product reviews and testimonials using
[trustie_reviews_page] - The floating widget — Google reviews automatically appear in the widget when the feature is enabled
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Sync Settings
Trustie caches your Google reviews locally so your pages load fast and you don’t make unnecessary API calls.
- Sync frequency: How often Trustie checks Google for new reviews. The default is daily, which is plenty for most businesses — your Google reviews don’t change that often.
- Minimum rating: Only import reviews at or above this star rating. Most people leave this at 1 (show all reviews) since a mix of ratings looks more authentic than all 5-stars.
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The “Copy to Google” Feature
Here’s a clever bonus: when someone submits a testimonial on your site, you can prompt them to also leave a Google review.
After submitting, customers see a “Copy to Google” button. One click copies their testimonial text to the clipboard, and a second click opens your Google Business Profile where they can paste it as a Google review.
This works because you’ve already set up your Place ID — Trustie uses it to link directly to your Google review form.
To enable this: It’s automatic once your Place ID is configured. You can toggle it in Trustie > Settings > Testimonials.
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Common Questions
How much does the Google API cost?
For typical website usage, nothing. Google’s free tier includes thousands of API calls per month. A single page load uses one API call, and since Trustie caches results for 24 hours, even a busy site will only make a few calls per day.
Can I show more than 5 Google reviews?
Not through Trustie’s current setup. Trustie uses Google’s Places API, which caps every integrator at 5 reviews (Google-imposed). Your overall rating and total review count are accurate — those reflect all your reviews — but only 5 individual reviews can be displayed.
Google does offer a second API (the Business Profile API) that returns all your reviews, but it requires OAuth authentication with the Google account that owns the business profile, plus Google Cloud project approval. Some reviews plugins support this route; Trustie currently doesn’t. If un-capped Google reviews is a must-have for you, tell us — we’re evaluating it for a future release.
In the meantime, the strongest on-site social proof comes from pairing your 5 Google reviews with native product/store reviews collected through Trustie’s review request emails. Same widget, no cap.
Do Google reviews appear in the floating widget?
Yes! When the Google Reviews feature is enabled, your Google reviews automatically appear as a tab in the floating widget alongside your other review sources.
Will this help my SEO?
Yes. Trustie adds special code behind the scenes that tells search engines about your business and its reviews. This can make your star ratings appear directly in Google search results (those gold stars below certain listings), which can significantly increase clicks to your site.
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If Something Goes Wrong
“Invalid API Key” error:
Double-check that you copied the full API key from Google Cloud Console. Even one missing character will break it. Try generating a new key if you’re not sure.
“Places API not enabled” error:
Go back to Google Cloud Console > APIs & Services > Library, search for “Places API”, and make sure you clicked the blue Enable button.
“Billing not enabled” error:
Google requires a billing account even for free usage. Go to Google Cloud Console > Billing and add a payment method. You won’t be charged for typical usage.
“Place not found” error:
Your Place ID might be incorrect. Go back to Google’s Place ID Finder and verify it matches your business exactly.
Reviews don’t update:
Trustie caches Google reviews for 24 hours. If you’ve received new reviews on Google, wait for the cache to refresh, or reduce the sync interval in Trustie > Settings > Google Reviews.
Reviews show on the page but not in the widget:
Check that the Google Reviews feature is enabled in Tracksies > Settings > Features. The widget only shows Google reviews when the feature toggle is on.