Google announced that its Trusted Stores program is now helping to power seller ratings on AdWords text ads, and in Product Listing Ads for Google Shopping.

“This integration provides shoppers with valuable information, while giving participating retailers a free and easy way to earn the ratings they deserve,” says Google Shopping group product manager Brian Marquardt. “Advertisers who display seller ratings on their ads typically see a boost in AdWords click-through rates, with higher ratings generally resulting in higher click-through rates.”

“Millions of people now see the Google Trusted Stores badge on retailer sites and in Google ads every day,” says Marquardt. “In fact, we’ve more than tripled US store participation in the last year. Because shoppers value the badge, many of these stores are seeing sales growth. For instance, OnlineShoes measured a 4.2% sales increase from the Google Trusted Stores badge, and AutoAnything saw an increase of 5.2%.”

Google first launched Trusted Stores back in 2011, but began testing the badges on search ads last spring with certain qualified merchants and advertisers.

Earlier this month, Google announced the further expansion of Google Shopping into 8 more countries, as well as the expansion of Google Trusted Stores into 3 more.

Images: Google