Google reviews are the single most powerful trust signal for a small business website. A homeowner who's never heard of you will read three or four of your Google reviews and make a decision in 30 seconds. Displaying those reviews on your own website — not just hoping people check Google — puts them in front of every visitor.
Here are the three main ways to do it.
Option 1: Manual copy-paste (free, simple, works anywhere)
The simplest approach: copy your best Google reviews and paste them directly into your website as testimonials.
How to do it:
- 1.Go to your Google Business Profile and find your reviews
- 2.Copy the review text, reviewer's name, and star rating
- 3.Add these to a testimonials section on your homepage or a dedicated "Reviews" page
What you lose: The reviews won't update automatically when new ones come in. You'll update them manually every few months.
What you gain: Total control over which reviews are displayed, how they're formatted, and where they appear. You can highlight reviews that mention specific services, address specific concerns, or include the reviewer's neighborhood.
This is the right choice for most small business websites that don't change their codebase regularly and want something that just works.
Option 2: Elfsight Google Reviews Widget (easiest automated option)
Elfsight is a third-party widget service that connects to your Google Business Profile and displays reviews automatically. When a new review comes in, it appears on your website.
Setup:
- 1.Go to elfsight.com and sign up (free plan available)
- 2.Connect your Google Business Profile
- 3.Customize the widget appearance (carousel, grid, list — choose what fits your site)
- 4.Copy the embed code and paste it into your website's HTML
Cost: Free plan shows up to 5 reviews with Elfsight branding. The paid plan ($5–$15/month depending on the tier) removes branding and shows all reviews. For most small businesses, the free plan is sufficient to start.
The limitation: the widget is hosted by Elfsight, which means it adds a small external request to your page load. If page speed is a priority (which it should be), test it after adding.
Option 3: Google Places API (developer approach)
If you have access to a developer — or if your website is custom-built — the Google Places API lets you pull reviews directly from Google and display them however you want.
The process:
- 1.Enable the Google Places API in the Google Cloud Console
- 2.Get your Place ID (search "find my place ID" in Google)
- 3.Make an API call with your Place ID to fetch reviews
- 4.Display them in whatever format you want on your site
Cost: Google charges per API call, but at low volume (a small business website), you'll stay within the free tier ($200 in monthly credits, which covers thousands of requests).
The advantage: complete control over design, no third-party dependency, no branding. The disadvantage: requires technical implementation.
Which option is right for you?
- No technical resources, want something this week: Option 1 (manual paste)
- Want automatic updates, willing to pay $5–15/month: Option 2 (Elfsight)
- Custom website with a developer: Option 3 (Places API)
What your reviews section should look like
Regardless of which method you choose, a good reviews section includes:
- At least 4 reviews displayed (fewer looks like you're hiding something)
- Reviewer name and star rating for each
- Review text that mentions the specific service or situation
- A link to "See all reviews on Google" so visitors can verify
The reviews section belongs on your homepage, above the fold on mobile if possible. Don't make visitors scroll to find it — social proof works best when it's visible early.
Need help adding reviews to your website? Reach out here — I can add a reviews section to any existing site or build one into a new site from the start.