In order to maximize your online sales and success, your reviews should be placed strategically at every decision point along the buyer journey, including your website, on 3rd-party review sites, Google Ads, Google Shopping, your online and offline ads and emails, and social media.
Because user reviews play such a crucial part in the purchasing process, making them easily accessible to potential customers online is vital to both your website traffic and your conversion rate—and ultimately to your success.
Displaying your reviews in only one place limits the number of people that see them. Instead, you should be pushing them wherever you can throughout the buyer journey or conversion funnel. Shout those reviews from the cyber-rooftops!
Think of it this way, the more places that people see your reviews, and the earlier in the research process they see them, the more likely they are to visit your site and trust you.
Everywhere on your website! Don’t spam your website with reviews, but having a review widget that rotates through some of the best reviews on your home page is compelling to consumers, and creates instant trust for your site.
You should also have a seller reviews page that focuses solely on reviews you have collected, as well as product reviews on your product category page, and on your individual product pages.
Having seller ratings (reviews about your website) are important to tell visitors that your site is trustworthy, and then product reviews on product pages tell than that your products are trustworthy as well... completing the trust loop.
You can syndicate reviews to social media sites like Facebook, and even encourage your customers to leave testimonials on your social media pages. Many people turn to social media to ask questions, voice concerns, or talk about an experience with a company, so having reviews there can streamline that process by providing answers.
As of Q1 in 2021, there were 224 million reviews on Yelp. It’s one of the most popular review sites out there, and consumers trust Yelp to provide honest feedback. While some people will leave passive reviews on Yelp (read more about passive reviews here), those reviews tend to be more negative. If you are actively collecting reviews and syndicating them to Yelp, those millions of people that will potentially see you on Yelp will get a more positive impression of you.
Google is the single most used search engine in the world. With over 40,000 search queries every second on average, it’s clear that many people go to Google to find products, companies, and solutions.
When you syndicate your seller ratings reviews to Google, and you are running Google Ads, your average star rating, and the total number of seller rating reviews will appear underneath your ad, increasing click-through rates by 20-30%.
Product reviews can also be syndicated to Google and appear in your Google Shopping Ads, Product Listing Ads, and organic search.
And don't forget Google My Business. Even as an ecommerce site, you can and should claim your Google My Business page to send reviews to, appear in search, and get a powerful backlink to your site. To see the Google My Business qualifications you can read the Google support documents.
Ultimately, the name of the game is to get as many reviews on as many review sites as possible if you want to improve your online visibility, reputation, traffic, and trust (conversions).
If you really want to get your brand and your reviews seen in multiple places and search results on the web, consider the Shopper Approved Review Destinations tool.
With Review Destinations, you can send a pre-determined percentage of your reviews to other 3rd-party review sites, such as TrustPilot, Sitejabber, Google My Business, Reseller Ratings, Shopper Approved, and more.
Syndicating your reviews allows you to more comprehensively and seamlessly manage your online reputation across the internet and improve your SEO at the same time.
If you are selling your product online from a website and another 3rd-party website or marketplace, be sure to collect reviews in those places as well. Especially on the marketplaces such as Amazon, Walmart, and eBay where shoppers frequently make purchase decisions based on price and reviews.
Competition is fierce in marketplaces, so make sure you’re putting your best foot forward when it comes to having as many online reviews as possible.
Displaying your reviews across the web on multiple sites and social media ensures that interested customers are easily able to find reviews on you and your products. This increases brand visibility as well as building social proof that helps shoppers learn that they can trust your company. Increased trust leads to credibility, conversions, and a competitive edge.