Yes, but a Places API (New) display has conditions. The application must publish 2 publicly accessible documents, Terms of Use and a Privacy Policy, incorporating Google's corresponding terms. Each displayed review needs author credit and a direct Google Maps path to the individual source review. The display must explain its ordering and filters.
Is it legal to put Google reviews on your website?
Google's Places API policies allow a website to display Google reviews through an implementation that follows the policies and applicable law. Google requires every Places API (New) application, including Autocomplete (New), to provide publicly accessible Terms of Use that incorporate Google's Terms of Service and a Privacy Policy that incorporates Google's Privacy Policy. Google also says those requirements do not guarantee full legal compliance in every jurisdiction.
How do I embed Google reviews on my website?
Google's Places API (New) documentation describes requesting Place review data and rendering the returned fields while preserving the display requirements. Billing must be enabled on the project, every API or SDK request needs an API key or OAuth token, and Google's usage documentation describes pay-as-you-go SKU billing. The current Places API reference defines Place.reviews as relevance-sorted and limits one Place response to 5 reviews.
What must appear beside each Google review?
Google's Places API policies require each displayed Places API review to credit its author and give end users direct access to that individual source review on Google Maps through googleMapsUri. Google's documented attribution resources are the author's avatar, name, and profile link. When space is limited, the author's avatar is the minimum. The current Review reference also exposes the rating range 1.0 to 5.0, publish time, and a content-reporting link, although optional fields need not appear in every response.
How should a website explain the order or filters?
Google's Places API policies require a review display to include a clear notice explaining how the reviews are ordered and filtered, including any search criteria applied. Google says the default order is relevance. A selected or filtered set should therefore be identified as a set, not presented as the complete review history.
Can I cache Google reviews on my server?
Google's Places API policies say not to pre-fetch, cache, or store Places API content beyond the permitted exceptions. Google explicitly exempts place_id from the caching restrictions and allows that identifier to be stored indefinitely. The exception applies to the place identifier, not to a retained copy of review text.
How many Google reviews can a website show from one response?
The current Places API reference limits Place.reviews to a maximum of 5 reviews per Place response, sorted by relevance. That is a response limit, not a complete export of a profile's review history. A site should describe the reviews it shows as returned or selected reviews rather than as every review the profile has received.
How do I add a Google review button or QR code without a website?
Google Business Profile Help documents a shareable review link and QR code for asking customers to leave a new review. Open Business Profile, choose Read Reviews, then Get more reviews. Google says QR codes can be generated only in a computer browser and suggests receipts, thank-you emails, the end of a chat, and an in-store QR display as placements. This is a review-request flow, not a live feed of existing review text.
Will embedded Google reviews earn stars in Google Search?
Google Search Central says a business-controlled LocalBusiness or Organization page is ineligible for the review-star feature when it marks up reviews about itself. The guidance includes embedded third-party Google Business reviews widgets in that self-serving example and says not to aggregate reviews or ratings from other websites. If multiple individual reviews are marked up, the guidance says to include an aggregate rating; it does not guarantee a rich result.
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Sources
- Google Maps Platform, Places API policies: public documents, applicable law, attribution, caching, and review ordering; checked 2026-09-24
- Google Maps Platform, current Places API reference: `Place.reviews` and `Review` fields, updated 2026-08-06 and checked 2026-09-24
- Google Maps Platform, Places API (New) usage and billing: SKU billing, project billing, and request credentials; checked 2026-09-24
- Google Business Profile Help, review links and QR codes: menu path, browser limit, and suggested placements; checked 2026-09-24
- Google Search Central, review snippet structured data: self-serving reviews and aggregate-rating guidance, updated 2026-09-08 and checked 2026-09-24
Common questions
- Can I show only my five-star Google reviews?
- A five-star-only display is a filtered subset. Google's Places API policies require the notice to identify the ordering and filter instead of making the subset look like the complete review record. Google's documented default order is relevance, not a five-star-only view.
- Can a WordPress plugin add Google reviews to my website?
- A WordPress plugin does not remove the Places API requirements if it displays Places API content. Google's Places API policies still require the public Terms of Use and Privacy Policy documents, author attribution, a direct link to each source review on Google Maps, an ordering and filter notice, and compliant handling of stored content. Google's usage documentation still requires billing and request credentials for the API project.
- Can a website show all of its Google reviews?
- Not from one current Place response. The Places API reference limits `Place.reviews` to a maximum of 5 reviews, sorted by relevance, while the Places API policies restrict storing review content for later display. A website should not describe that response as a complete archive of the profile's reviews.
- Does embedding Google reviews improve local ranking?
- Google Search Central's review-snippet guidance addresses review-star eligibility and self-serving review markup. It does not establish a ranking benefit from embedding Google Business reviews on the business's own website. Treat an embed as a display and source-access choice, not as a promise of improved local ranking.
- How do I request Google reviews without a website?
- Google Business Profile Help says a business can create and share a review link or QR code from Read Reviews, then Get more reviews. QR creation is available in a computer browser. Google suggests sharing the link or QR code on receipts, thank-you emails, at the end of a chat, or on an in-store display, so a website is not required for this review-request flow.
More on this subject in the answers library, and on the Maps Agent blog.