Google Reviews Integration Plugin

Introduction

The Google Reviews Integration plugin allows you to display Google Maps reviews directly on your listing detail pages. This helps build trust, improve credibility, and give visitors real social proof from Google.

The plugin pulls official data from Google Places API (New) and shows a limited set of reviews along with key business information, fully integrated into your eDirectory site.

What This Plugin Does

When enabled, the plugin displays up to 5 Google reviews on the listing detail page, including:

⭐ Average rating

👥 Total number of reviews

🔗 Link to the business page on Google Maps

🌍 Language and region support, based on your site’s locale

🔄 Sorting option for visitors:

• Most relevant
• Most recent

Requirements

Before using this plugin, you must have:

• A Google Cloud Platform (GCP) account
• Billing enabled on your GCP project (required by Google)
• A Google Places API (New) key
• Access to your eDirectory admin panel (sitemgr)

How to Configure the Plugin

Step 1: Create a Google Places API Key

1. Go to the Google Cloud Platform's API Console.
2. Create or select an existing project.

3. Enable Billing for the project: to enable billing for your project, refer to this article: How to Enable Billing

4. Navigate to Library

5. Search for Places API (New) and click on it.

6. Click to enable it

7. Now, navigate to APIs & Services by accessing this link: Google Cloud Platform's API Console.
8. Click on the "Credentials" option

9. Click on Create Credentials and then on Create an API Key

Step 2: Restrict the API Key (Mandatory)

To prevent unauthorized use and unexpected costs, you must restrict your API key.

Restrict by IP address

1. Name your API key "Google reviews", for example.
2. Select the option "IP addresses (web servers, cron jobs, etc.)"
3. Add the IP address(es) of the server where your eDirectory runs

⚠️ Without IP restriction, third parties could use your key, generating unwanted requests and charges.

Recommended additional restriction

• Under API restrictions, allow only Places API (New)
• Click on "Create"

• After clicking on "Create", the API key will be displayed, click in the option to copy it.

Step 3: Add the API Key to eDirectory

1. Log in to your site manager (sitemgr)
2. Navigate to Settings > General Settings> Plugins tab

3. Find the Google Reviews plugin settings and paste the copied API key in the Google Reviews field.

4. Save your changes
5. Navigate to Content > Listings > Listing templates
6. Choose a template to edit.

7. Click to add a widget and add the Google Reviews widget to your template.

8. Save Changes

9. After setting it up, the reviews will display on the listings.

Google API Costs: What You Need to Know

Google charges per API request, based on usage and requested data. With this plugin, the following calls usually occur:

A) Text Search (to find the Place ID)

• Endpoint: places:searchText      
• Typical tier (SKU): Text Search Pro
• Used to locate the business based on name and address

B) Place Details (to fetch reviews and data)

• Endpoint: /v1/places/{placeId}      

  When reviews are requested:

  • Tier (SKU): Place Details Enterprise + Atmosphere
• This is the highest cost part of the integration

C) Fallback (without reviews)

If reviews cannot be retrieved:

• Tier (SKU): Place Details Enterprise
• Only rating and review count are fetched

📌 Practical summary

A listing page with reviews enabled typically triggers:

• 1 × Text Search Pro request
• 1 × Place Details Enterprise + Atmosphere request

Most of the cost comes from Place Details with reviews.

Where to check pricing

Google pricing varies by region and usage volume. For up-to-date pricing, consult the Google Maps Platform Pricing page and look for:

• Places API – Text Search Pro
• Places API – Place Details Enterprise
• Places API – Place Details Enterprise + Atmosphere

Best Practices to Reduce Costs

• 🔐 Always restrict your API key by IP
• 🏠 Ensure listings have complete and accurate addresses
• 📊 Monitor usage in GCP → Billing → Reports
• 🚨 Set up billing alerts and budgets in Google Cloud

Frequently Asked Questions

1) How does a listing get matched to a Google Business Profile?

The plugin searches for the business profile using a combination of:

• Listing title
• Address lines
• City / region / country
• ZIP / postal code
• Additional location context

Match quality depends primarily on how accurate and complete the listing data is.

✅ If the listing has a correct business name and full address, the likelihood of an incorrect match is low.

⚠️ If the listing data is incomplete or ambiguous (generic name, missing ZIP/city, multiple businesses with the same name), the chance of mismatch increases.

2) Can we show more than 5 reviews?

No. Google Places API returns a maximum of 5 reviews in its response. This limitation is defined by Google’s API behavior, not by our widget or UI.

3) How are reviews imported? Does the sponsor or sitemgr need to do anything manually?

There is no manual import process. Reviews are retrieved from Google on demand and rendered automatically in the listing detail page widget.

Operational overview:

• Sitemgr: Configures the Google API credentials once.
• Sponsor: Typically does nothing, assuming the listing data is accurate.

The widget loads the review data in the background (via AJAX) when the listing detail page is accessed.

4) Does the plugin affect Google ranking?

Not directly. Displaying Google reviews on a page is not a guaranteed ranking factor or SEO boost.

What it can help with:

• Improved trust and conversion (social proof)
• Potential indirect engagement signals

However, ranking impact is not predictable and should not be promised.

5) Is any information stored locally?

We do not store review content locally. We store only the place_id (the unique identifier of the Google Business Profile). This avoids repeatedly performing the discovery step, which:

• Reduces API usage
• Improves performance
• Improves matching consistency

6) How does Google charge for usage? Is there a risk of overage due to bots?

Google charges per API request (“billable event”), depending on which Places endpoint is used (e.g., search vs. details).

The plugin typically triggers:

• A one-time (or occasional) “find the place” request if no place_id  exists
• A Place Details request each time the listing detail page loads and the widget fetches rating/review data

Google does not charge per review — it charges per API call.

Example estimate (Essentials tier)

• Place Details (Essentials): ~$5 per 1,000 requests (after free monthly allowance)

Example:

• 10,000 widget loads ≈ $50
• 100,000 widget loads ≈ $500

Actual costs vary by region and volume.

Bot spikes & overage risk

The widget loads in the background via AJAX.

Many bots do not execute JavaScript and therefore may not trigger API calls. However, this cannot be guaranteed — sophisticated bots can still generate requests.

Recommended protections:

• Restrict your API key (IP and/or referrer restrictions)
• Set quota limits on Places API
• Configure billing alerts and budgets in Google Cloud
• Monitor usage reports regularly
• Use WAF or bot protection if recurring bot spikes occur

7) Is Google charging “per review”?

No. Google charges per Place Details API request, which may include:

• Rating
• Review count
• Up to 5 reviews

The cost driver is:

The number of times the widget loads

(not the number of reviews a business has)

8) Why don’t some listings show reviews?

Possible reasons include:

• The business cannot be found (incomplete or incorrect title/address)
• The business has no public Google reviews
• API key restrictions or missing permissions
• Billing not enabled in Google Cloud
• API quotas or limits reached

9) How accurate is the profile matching?

Matching is based on:

• Listing title
• Address fields
• Location hierarchy
• ZIP/postal code

With complete and accurate listing information, the chance of a wrong match is low.

The biggest risks are:

• Incomplete addresses
• Missing ZIP/city
• Businesses with very similar names in the same area

Conclusion

The Google Reviews Integration plugin is a powerful way to enhance your listings with trusted, real-time Google review data. With proper configuration and API key restrictions, it provides great value while keeping costs under control.

If you need help setting up your API key, server IP restrictions, or widget placement, our support team is happy to assist.