Note: This feature requires an API key, which is only available to users with an Agency plan.
The default embeddable “Review Stream” widget is a Javascript widget loaded asynchronously. It is not indexed and has no SEO impact.
If you use our Joomla module (or Drupal or WordPress versions), the content is presented in structured data markup and is indexed by Google. This is a legitimate SEO practice. We have not seen it penalized and in fact it can often yield benefits like rich-snippet stars in the SERPs. There are a number of reasons why this works and is white-hat:
- The stream assembles genuinely original content, re-publishing only snippets of each review pulled from disparate sources
- Each review is shown with attribution and links back to the original source per Google’s guidelines
- Our approach respects the interests of the client (we only show the reviews you want to show), the original publisher (with snippeting and links), and the consumer (with proper attribution of reviews and not allowing the client to manipulate the ratings).
All of these practices reflect good Internet citizenship and a long-term view towards building marketing value in the “voice of the customer”.
Latest release: Version 1.5
This update addresses Google’s August 2016 schema markup guideline updates. We’ve added the option to apply schema markup only to your directly collected reviews, or to disable it entirely (both of these changes can be applies in the Structure > Modules > Review Stream > Options).
While module users may need to adhere to these new schema guidelines in the future, there is no current evidence that Google is enforcing them. And in the worst-case scenario, compliance is as simple as turning the schema off using the settings mentioned above.
The Joomla Review Stream module lets you add your Review Stream to your Joomla site with rich snippet schema markup. To add the review stream to your Joomla site, first ensure that you have received an API token from us, then follow the instructions below.
1) Download our Joomla module
Download the latest version from the Joomla Extensions Directory.
2) Upload the module to your Joomla account
From your main Joomla admin panel, click Install Extensions under the Extensions menu.
Select the module file (leave it in .zip format) and click Upload & Install.
3) Configure the Joomla module
Back in your Control Panel, navigate to Structure > Modules.
Be sure to publish the module by ensuring the Review Stream entry is displaying a check mark in the Status column. Then click the module title to open its settings.
Under the Module tab, select the position where you’d like the widget to appear.
Under the Menu Assignment tab, select the pages where you’d like the widget to appear.
Important: Under the Options tab, you must do the following in order for the Review Stream to display:
- Add in your API token
- Add the shortname of the profile whose review stream you want to show
- Set the Show reviews and/or Show Aggregate Rating settings to Yes. They will be set to No by default.
Other Settings Info
- Review Schema: select your schema type, or no schema to disable schema completely.
- Use schema only on reviews collected directly?: switch this setting to ‘Yes’ to remove schema markup from your third-party reviews.
- Advanced: Joomla’s built-in caching should cache the review content and prevent the module from making these requests on every page load.
However, we have also updated the Review Stream module with an Advanced setting to Use Caching to ensure that this content is cached. If you update the module and then save your module configuration with Use Caching (which is the default), be assured that the review content is being cached and performant.
- Display reviews: you can choose to display your Review Stream in the default ‘List’ format, or in ‘Carousel’ format (example below)
- Randomize reviews: displays a random selection of reviews in random order
- Default review count: The default number of reviews to display in the review stream