Google reviews from the widget builder are missing after sign-up
Find out why your new account holds fewer Google reviews than the free widget builder showed, or none, and how to bring in the rest.
When you look up your business in the free widget builder and then sign up, your new account connects that business and imports its Google reviews onto the widget you built. You don't click Connect Location or Import yourself. This page covers what to do when fewer reviews arrive than the preview showed, or none.
If a message said the import failed, such as We couldn't import your Google reviews., reload the page first: an import that didn't finish starts again by itself. See The import failed.
For the widget itself, and the screens between sign-up and your dashboard, see Keep the widget you built before signing up.
Check this first
The builder's preview doesn't apply your plan's limits. Your account does, and two of them decide how many of the previewed reviews you get:
- How many testimonials your workspace holds. On Free, a workspace holds 10 written, audio and linked media testimonials across all its projects. The import brings in as many reviews as still fit, newest first.
- How many testimonials one widget shows. That's 10 on Free and 50 on Pro.
Reviews you typed into the builder yourself are copied to your account first, and they use the same room.
When the import ends, a message says how many Google reviews were added to your widget. If that's fewer than the preview showed, a second line reads … of your … Google reviews are on this widget. The Embed code dialog, which Get code opens, repeats that line until you leave the page. It names the plan that shows more on one widget, and See plans opens Plans & capacity in billing.
Reviews your workspace had no room for weren't imported. To get them, upgrade your plan, then import the rest from Review Platforms. The automatic import runs once, so it doesn't run again after an upgrade. See Upgrade to a paid plan.
Reviews that were imported but didn't fit on the widget are in your project, under Approved.
The preview didn't show every review you have on Google
Compare what arrived with the count the builder gave under your business's name, in the line that ends They are imported into your account when you sign up. Don't compare it with your total on Google, which the builder shows next to your business's rating.
The preview and the automatic import follow the same rule:
- They look at your business's 50 newest reviews.
- They keep reviews with written text. A star rating with no words is left out, and so is a review that has photos but no text.
- They keep reviews rated 4 stars or higher. When that left reviews out, the builder's count said (4★ and up). If none of your written reviews is rated 4 or higher, all the written ones are kept.
Your other reviews stay on Google until you run an ordinary import, which takes every star rating. See Import the rest from Review Platforms.
The import is still running
The import starts when your widget's builder opens after sign-up. It usually takes a minute or two, because it also copies the reviewers' photos. While it runs:
- an empty widget's preview reads Importing your Google reviews from followed by your business's name;
- the Embed code dialog says the same, with Draft — importing your reviews… at the bottom;
- the builder has no Publish button until the import ends.
Keep the page open until then. Your browser asks before the tab closes, and Back asks Your Google reviews are still importing. Leave anyway?
If you left, open the builder again: on the Widgets page, under Share in your project's sidebar, click the widget's name. An import that didn't finish starts again by itself, for up to 14 days after you signed up. An import that finished doesn't run a second time, so check the next section.
The reviews are in your project but not on the widget
Reviews from the automatic import arrive approved. Adding them to the widget is the page's last step, so it's skipped when the page is closed or reloaded before the import ends. That step has also failed when you see Your Google reviews were imported, but we couldn't add them to the widget. Add them from the Content tab.
- Open Approved in your project's sidebar and check that your Google reviews are there.
- Open the widget's builder. On the Content tab, click Add beside Selected Testimonials.
- Click the reviews you want, then click Add Selected.
A widget takes only as many testimonials as your plan shows on one widget. See Choose which testimonials a widget shows.
No Google reviews arrived at all
Open Review Platforms under Collect in your project's sidebar. If the Google Reviews tab reads No Google locations connected, your business was never connected, for one of these reasons:
- The preview showed an example, not your business. Until you search for your own business, the builder shows example reviews. Its Google reviews page can open on an example business, with the line Search your business to see your own reviews here. Examples are never imported.
- No business was saved with your widget. The builder's search was busy or couldn't load your business, or you removed the business before you signed up.
- You first opened the widget's builder more than 14 days after you signed up. The automatic import no longer runs.
- The import failed before it connected your business. See The import failed.
Whatever the reason, click Connect Location and import the reviews yourself. See Connect a Google Business location, then Import Google reviews.
If your business has a card on the tab, it's connected: the import failed afterwards, or your plan refused it. See the next two sections.
The import failed
The message was We couldn't import your Google reviews., We couldn't connect your Google business. or We couldn't check your Google locations. The import stopped before it finished. An empty widget's preview also reads We couldn't import your Google reviews from followed by your business's name, until you reload the page.
Reload the page. An import that still owes you reviews starts again by itself, and an empty widget's preview reads Importing your Google reviews from your business again.
If nothing starts, the import either finished or your plan refused it. Look for the reviews under Approved. If they aren't there, import from Review Platforms.
Messages you might see
The import reports its result in a message, shown once.
| Message | What it means and what to do |
|---|---|
| No new Google reviews to add from your business | The import ran and had nothing left to add: the reviews are already on the widget, or the widget already shows as many as your plan allows. |
| A message that ends Upgrade to import more. | Your workspace already holds as many testimonials as its plan allows, so nothing was imported. The automatic import doesn't run again. Upgrade, or archive testimonials you don't use, then import from Review Platforms. |
| A message that starts This would exceed your monthly Google review limit | Your project has imported all the Google reviews its plan allows this month. The automatic import doesn't run again. Import from Review Platforms next month, or after you upgrade. |
| A message that ends Upgrade to connect more locations. | Your project already has as many Google locations as its plan allows, so your business wasn't connected. On Review Platforms, disconnect a location you don't need, or upgrade. Then reload the widget's builder, and the import tries again. |
| An import is already in progress for this location. Please wait for it to complete. or These reviews were just imported. Refresh the page to see them. | An earlier run of the import is still going or has just ended, usually because the page was reloaded. Wait a couple of minutes and reload. If the reviews still aren't on the widget, add them from your project. |
| Too many import requests. Please wait before trying again. | A project can start five Google imports an hour. Wait an hour, then reload the widget's builder. |
| Your Google reviews were imported, but we couldn't add them to the widget. Add them from the Content tab. | The reviews are in your project. Add them to the widget. |
| Any other message | The import stopped before it finished. Reload the page, as under The import failed. |
Import the rest from Review Platforms
After the automatic import, every import is an ordinary one that you run yourself.
- Open Review Platforms under Collect in your project's sidebar. Your business has a card on the Google Reviews tab. If it has none, click Connect Location first.
- Click Import on the card. The Import Google Reviews dialog shows your Monthly usage and, on a plan that limits testimonials, how many testimonial slots remain. With none left, its import button is turned off.
- Choose how many reviews to bring in with Reviews to Import. Tick Auto-approve all imported reviews to skip Pending, then click the button at the bottom.
- Add the new reviews to your widget on its Content tab. The Add list shows approved testimonials only.
An ordinary import continues with the reviews you haven't imported yet, never the same review twice. It takes every star rating, and reviews that have photos but no text. To leave out lower-rated reviews, set a Minimum Star Rating, available on Pro, Premium and Business. Import Google reviews lists each plan's limits.
Still stuck?
Contact us and include:
- your business's name as Google shows it;
- your widget's name, and roughly when you signed up;
- the message you saw, word for word;
- how many reviews the builder showed, and how many your widget has now.
Next steps
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