Google’s rating system has always been synonymous with a star rating system for search ads and organic listings. Previously, businesses and services were rated by a zero to the five-star rating scale. These ratings are submitted by users who have previously used a business’s product or service in the past.
First reported by a digital marketer in the UK, Google is now testing a new percentage system to rate a business’s products or services in place of the brightly colored star system on a number of search results in the UK. The percentage system ranges from zero percent to one hundred.
Expanded Character Count for Text Ads
The change from the original star rating system to a more subtle, all-text version of the rating system is an interesting departure because of the change in color scheme and character count. There is speculation that the change has something to do with the expanded character count of text ads in the near future. The change in character count will have a significant impact on ad copy used on ad text due to the significant increase of characters per ad.
Minimalistic Approach
The move away from the star rating system can also be attributed to the new minimalistic direction that Google ads are heading. Last month, Google ads saw an aesthetic change from their yellow ad label to a green ad label in an effort to minimize the number of colors used on SERPs in hopes that it will make it easier for mobile users to scan pages.
Will it Transition to the US
There has not been any news as to if and when Google plans to bring the update to users in the US. Upon further research, it is difficult to even duplicate the results of a SERP to feature the percentage rating system instead of the star rating system.