Why You Need Product Reviews on Your E-Commerce Site

January 6, 2017

Your e-commerce site must convey credibility and value. One of the best ways to build integrity and worth is by offering customers opportunities to post reviews on products and services. In fact, 61 percent of customers browse reviews before deciding to purchase. If you’re not utilizing customer feedback, you’re missing out on potential support for your company.

The Reason You Need Customer Reviews

To put it simply, customer reviews increase sales. New buyers are hesitant and doubtful when trying products for the first time. Seeing feedback from satisfied individuals eases the uncertainty. The information from reviews can also help with product selection when customers can’t decide what to purchase. Sixty-one percent of customers are more likely to buy from a site that includes reviews – even if they don’t read them.

The reason why reviews are so effective is that people trust them. In fact, customers place nearly 12 times more faith in reviews written by consumers than manufacturers. If you want people to give your products a chance, you need reviews.

Benefits of Customer Reviews

Customer reviews not only help customers, but they also benefit search engine ratings. Each feedback message that patrons leave boosts SEO (search engine optimization).

What customer reviews can do for your site:

• Add fresh content for search engines. Each review is unique, adding to the pages for each product. Not only does this offer new information, but it also increases the number of relevant search terms.
• Increase results for specific product review searches. Customer reviews are an indispensable part of the shopping process. It’s much more likely that people will search for “your items + review.” Using customer feedback is the only way these searches present relevant information.
• Boost click-through rates. When the content is formatted correctly, it helps products stand out against the competition. For example, when you search a product, one result might show stars below it while others don’t. The star ratings attract attention immediately and can lead to a 10–20 percent increase in clicks.
• Help long tail targeting, which are those three and four keyword phrases which are very, very specific to whatever you are selling. Long tail searches are also part of the SEO algorithm. The extra content from reviews improves the chances that your products will be displayed in the right places.

How to Make Customer Reviews Work for You

Reviews help without any interference. However, if you want maximum benefits from customer feedback, make sure it’s in HTML format. Don’t rely on Java, Flash, cookies, etc. Any technology that can reduce accessibility limits what reviews can do for SEO.

It’s also important to reduce duplication. Every review needs its own URL and page to be the most effective. Posts can display on multiple pages, but each should have an address that you or others can link to. Each page should also feature as many reviews as aesthetically possible, maximizing exposure.

Bad Reviews

It might be hard to leave someone’s poor review on your products, but they can be helpful. Negative reviews can up your conversions by as much as 67 percent. People can find out the weaknesses of your wares and decide if they’re negligible. Up to one-third of consumers will assume that your reviews are faked if they don’t see any negatives.

Bad reviews still need to be at a reasonable frequency, however. Most people indicate that three negative comments are enough to change their minds. Three negatives compared to 20 positives, though, might not be so bad.

Customer reviews are an SEO powerhouse waiting to be used. If you’re a business owner, don’t sell yourself short (literally!) by not offering reviews. Let customers add their feedback, and watch your reputation grow.