--- title: "How to Add Google Reviews in Elementor?" url: https://theplusaddons.com/docs/add-google-reviews-in-elementor/ date: 2023-10-28 modified: 2026-09-21 lang: en author: "Aditya Sharma" description: "The Social Reviews widget can show the reviews on a Google business listing. It needs two things from Google: a Places API key and the Place ID of the location...." image: https://theplusaddons.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/How-to-Add-Google-Reviews-in-Elementor_-1024x536.jpg word_count: 1239 --- # How to Add Google Reviews in Elementor? ## - Social Reviews widget shows Google business listing reviews and needs a Google Places API key plus the location’s Place ID. - The Plus Addons for Elementor Pro includes Social Reviews only in Pro, and Elementor free must be installed and active. - Google Places API requires billing enabled on the project, and the setup also enables Places API and Maps JavaScript API before creating an API key. - Google returns at most five reviews per request, while the widget caches results with Refresh Time set to 1 day by default and truncates review text at 100 characters unless Text Limit is turned off. The **Social Reviews** widget can show the reviews on a Google business listing. It needs two things from Google: a **Places API key** and the **Place ID** of the location. Both come from Google, not from The Plus Addons. The first half of this page gets them; the second half puts them into the widget. For the full settings tour of the **Social Reviews** widget, see [Social Reviews Widget Settings Overview](https://theplusaddons.com/docs/social-reviews-widget-settings-overview/). ***Requirement - This widget is a part of The Plus Addons for Elementor Pro, make sure it's installed & activated to enjoy all its powers.*** [LIVE WIDGET LINK](https://theplusaddons.com/elementor-widget/reviews-wall/?utm_source=tpae&utm_medium=docs&utm_campaign=text) ## Before You Start - **Edition:** **Pro** — **Social Reviews** ships only in The Plus Addons for Elementor Pro. The widget does not exist in the free plugin at all: no widget file, no CSS and no JavaScript, so there is nothing to fall back to.- **Prerequisite:** [Elementor](https://wordpress.org/plugins/elementor/) (free) installed and active.- **Widget to enable:** go to **The Plus Addons > Widgets**, search for **Social Reviews** and turn its toggle on.- **Prerequisite:** a **Google Places API key** (the Google Cloud project needs billing enabled) and the location's **Place ID**.- **Prerequisite:** your server must be able to make outbound HTTPS requests. Facebook and Google are called **server-side** while the page renders, not by the visitor's browser. ## Create a Google Places API key These are Google's own screens and Google changes them from time to time. The sequence below is the one this page has carried; if a screen looks different, the names of the things you are looking for are still the same. - [Open the Google Cloud console](https://console.cloud.google.com/projectcreate) and create a project if you do not have one. ![Creating a project in the Google Cloud console.](https://theplusaddons.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/google-places-api-1.png) - From the dashboard, open the menu and go to **APIs and services** > **Credentials**. If you already have a project you can go straight to [the Credentials page](https://console.cloud.google.com/apis/credentials).- Go to **Library**. ![Opening the API Library.](https://theplusaddons.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/google-places-api-2.gif) - Search for **Places API**, open it and click **Enable**. ![Enabling the Places API.](https://theplusaddons.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/google-places-api-3.gif) - Add your billing details if you have not already. Google requires billing on the project even for the free tier. ![Starting the billing setup.](https://theplusaddons.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/google-places-api-4.png) ![Completing the billing details.](https://theplusaddons.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/google-map-api4-1024x795.png) - Back on the project dashboard, also enable the **Maps JavaScript API**. You can search for it in the Library as well. ![Enabling the Maps JavaScript API.](https://theplusaddons.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/google-places-api-5-1024x619.png) - Open **Credentials** in the sidebar and click **+ CREATE CREDENTIALS** > **API Key**. ![Creating an API key.](https://theplusaddons.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/google-places-api-6-1024x473.png) - Copy the key from the popup and keep it somewhere safe. ![The new API key.](https://theplusaddons.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/google-places-api-7.png) ## Find the Place ID - [Open Google's Place ID finder](https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/places/web-service/place-id#find-id).- Search for the location whose reviews you want.- The **Place ID** appears in a tooltip on the map. Copy it. ![Finding a Place ID on Google's map tool.](https://theplusaddons.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/find-google-places-id.gif) ## Put them into the widget - Edit the page with Elementor and drag the **Social Reviews** widget onto it.- In **Content > Content**, leave **Type** on **Reviews** and pick a **Style** and **Layout**.- Open the first item under **Social Reviews** and set **Source** to **Google**. ![The Source dropdown inside a Social Reviews row.](https://theplusaddons.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/socialreviews-source.webp) - Paste the API key into **Access Token** and the Place ID into **Page/Place ID**.- Optionally set **Language**, **Max Results** (default **6**), **Rating Icon** and **Category (For Filter)**. ![Google reviews on the published page.](https://theplusaddons.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/social-reviews-grid-demo.png) ## The five-review limit Google's Place Details response carries at most five reviews, whatever number you put in **Max Results**. The widget's **Performance** section is meant to work around that by keeping what it has already fetched, so the set can grow over time as new reviews arrive. > *This cap, and whether the stored set really does grow past five, come from the plugin's code and Google's own documentation. Neither was measured for this revision — no API key was used at any point while checking this page.* ## How It Behaves - **Google is called by your server while the page renders**, and the answer is cached for the **Refresh Time** set under **Content > Extra Options**. The default is **1 day**.- **Google's own error text is shown to the visitor.** With a key Google rejects, the card reads **The provided API key is invalid.** and **REQUEST_DENIED** — that wording comes from Google, not from the plugin.- **Review text is shortened by default.** **Text Limit** is on at 100 characters, so longer reviews end in a **Show More** link. ## Limitations - **Google's error is passed straight through, with a misleading prefix.** A wrong key renders **Error No : 200**, **The provided API key is invalid.** and **REQUEST_DENIED**. The 200 is the HTTP status of a request that succeeded and came back carrying an error — it is not an error code, so do not go looking one up.- **Review text is truncated out of the box.** **Text Limit** is on by default with **Limit Count** at **100** characters, so longer reviews end in **...Show More** before you change anything. Turn **Text Limit** off under **Content > Extra Options** to show reviews in full.- **Reviews are fetched on your server, and cached.** Nothing is requested from the visitor's browser, so a source that works on one host can fail on another that blocks outbound requests. **Refresh Time** (default **1 day**) decides how often the request is repeated.- **Load More and Lazy Load do not currently load anything.** On a published page with six manual reviews, **Maximum Posts Display** at 3 and **More Post Loading** set to **Load More**, clicking the button left the count at three, changed the button to **Loading...** permanently and raised a JavaScript error. **Lazy Load** likewise never went past the initial count. No credential was involved, so this is not an API problem. Until it is fixed, show every review you want visible.- **Google needs billing enabled on the project**, even to stay inside the free tier. A key created without it will be rejected.- **At most five reviews come back per request.** See the section above. ## Not verified So you know exactly what has and has not been checked: - **A wall of real Google reviews.** This page was checked without ever entering a real access token, API key or place id, so what the finished Google feed looks like once connected was not observed for this revision. Everything below that does not need a credential was checked on a published page.- **The five-review cap on the free Google Places API**, and whether **Performance** plus **Save Data** accumulates more than five over time. Read from the code and from Google's own documentation, not measured.- **Language** (Google rows). The control exists; its effect on the returned reviews was not observed.- **Performance, Save Data and Delete All Transient.** The cached path was never exercised — what is written here comes from the panel's own notes and defaults.- **The Style tab.** Only the three content **Style** presets were rendered; no colour, typography or per-source styling control was exercised.- **The Google Cloud console steps themselves.** Google's screens change often and were not walked through for this revision; the sequence and screenshots above are the ones this page already carried. ## Troubleshooting ### The card says The provided API key is invalid That message is Google's. The key is wrong, has not had the **Places API** enabled, has no billing on its project, or is restricted so that your server cannot use it. ### It says Error No : 200 Ignore the number. 200 is the HTTP status of a request that reached Google successfully and came back carrying an error, so it is not an error code to look up. The useful part is the text next to it. ### Only five reviews show That is Google's limit per request, not a widget setting. Raising **Max Results** will not change it. ### The reviews never update They are cached. Lower **Refresh Time** under **Content > Extra Options**; the shortest option is **1 hour**. ## Related Docs - [Social Reviews Widget Settings Overview](https://theplusaddons.com/docs/social-reviews-widget-settings-overview/)- [How to Add Google Badges in Elementor?](https://theplusaddons.com/docs/add-google-badges-in-elementor/)- [How to Add Facebook Reviews in Elementor?](https://theplusaddons.com/docs/add-facebook-reviews-in-elementor/)- [How to Show Social Reviews in Carousel Slider in Elementor?](https://theplusaddons.com/docs/show-social-reviews-in-carousel-slider-in-elementor/) ## Frequently Asked Questions **Q: What do I need before adding Google reviews in Elementor?** A: The Social Reviews widget in The Plus Addons for Elementor, The Plus Addons, Plus Addons for Elementor, POSIMYTH needs two Google values: a Places API key and the Place ID for the location. It also depends on Elementor being installed and active, plus the Pro version of The Plus Addons because the widget ships only there. One practical gotcha is server access: the page says your server must be able to make outbound HTTPS requests because Google is called server-side while the page renders. **Q: Why do only five Google reviews show even when I raise Max Results?** A: Google caps the Places Details response at five reviews per request, so increasing Max Results does not change that limit. The widget’s Performance section is meant to keep what it has already fetched so the set can grow over time as new reviews arrive, but that behavior comes from the plugin’s code and Google’s own documentation. For anything visible right away, plan around the five-review ceiling instead of expecting Max Results to override it. **Q: Why does the card say The provided API key is invalid?** A: That message comes from Google, not from The Plus Addons for Elementor. The usual causes are a wrong key, Places API not enabled on the project, billing not enabled on that Google Cloud project, or a restriction that prevents your server from using the key. In practice, this is a setup problem on the Google side, so the fix is usually about the project configuration rather than the widget itself. **Q: Why does it show Error No : 200 when my Google reviews fail?** A: The number 200 is just the HTTP status of a request that reached Google successfully and came back with an error. It is not an error code to search for. The useful part is the text beside it, such as The provided API key is invalid and REQUEST_DENIED. That means you should focus on the API key and project setup instead of treating 200 as the real failure. **Q: How often do Google reviews refresh in the widget?** A: The reviews are cached while the page renders on your server, and Refresh Time controls how often that request runs again. The default is 1 day, so stale results are expected until the cache expires. If updates feel slow, lower Refresh Time under Content > Extra Options; the shortest option mentioned on the page is 1 hour. That tradeoff matters because shorter refreshes mean more frequent calls to Google. **Q: What should I use if I want to show Google reviews inside Elementor without code?** A: The Social Reviews widget in The Plus Addons for Elementor, The Plus Addons, Plus Addons for Elementor, POSIMYTH is built for that exact job. It pulls reviews from a Google business listing using a Places API key and a Place ID, then displays them inside Elementor with selectable style and layout options. For a full settings walkthrough, [Social Reviews Widget Settings Overview](https://theplusaddons.com/docs/social-reviews-widget-settings-overview/) covers how the widget behaves once those Google values are in place.