Aggregate rating
An aggregate rating is the average score across all reviews of something, together with how many reviews it came from.
Rich results and rich snippets
Rich results are search results enhanced with extra detail pulled from structured data on the page — star ratings, prices, images, FAQs, recipe times..
Definition
Rich results are search results enhanced with extra detail pulled from structured data on the page — star ratings, prices, images, FAQs, recipe times.
Google used to call them rich snippets; the current term is rich results and the two are used interchangeably.
What it looks like in practice
A product result showing four and a half gold stars and “312 reviews” below the title. An FAQ result with expandable questions. A recipe result with a cook time and a photo.
Why it matters
They do not improve ranking, they change how a result looks — and a result with stars is clicked more often than the same result without. Eligibility is not a guarantee: correct markup makes a rich result possible and Google still decides.
Related terms
Review schema markup · Aggregate rating · Star ratings in Google results.
The full reviews glossary defines every term used across this site.
Questions
Related terms
Google Place ID
The unique identifier Google assigns to a place. Find yours below.
Social proof
Social proof is the tendency to judge something by how other people have judged it.
User-generated content (UGC)
User-generated content is any content about a brand created by its customers rather than by the brand: reviews, photos, videos, comments, forum posts, social media mentions..