What Is the Purpose of an Online Review
Last Updated on June 4, 2021
Why are online reviews important ? Online reviews are playing a larger and larger role in digital marketing and sales. Customers (potential and current) are constantly reading online reviews to discern if they should buy a product, hire a company, visit a destination, or eat at a eating house.
Over the years, the popularity of online reviews has been increasing. The statistics alone prove why online reviews are important :
- In a 2019 study , 61% of U.Southward. online shoppers said the quantity of reviews was of import to them.
- According to a BrightLocal study last year, 87% of customers read online reviews for local businesses in 2020.
- Now in 2021, 93% of customers read online reviews earlier buying a product and 94% of all purchases are made for products with an average rating of 4 stars and above.
Like it or not, online reviews are becoming a key component of your company's overall reputation in the public eye. Permit's break down where these reviews are coming from, how to handle both positive and negative reviews, and how you tin accept advantage of these reviews in lodge to assistance your business organization grow.
Tabular array of Contents
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- Where are reviews coming from?
- How can online reviews help your business?
- How can online reviews hurt your business?
- Getting the right reviews
- Why are online reviews of import?
Where are reviews coming from?
Online reviews come from a number of websites and social media channels. Here are some of the top sites on which customers go out reviews:
Google My Business
- If you haven't claimed your visitor's listing on Google My Business concern, now's the time. Why? Because prospective customers tin can learn fundamental information nearly your company without even having to go to your website. Find out why .
Amazon
- When it comes to online reviews, Amazon is a no-brainer. If y'all take products that are sold on Amazon, chances are, customers have left reviews.
- On every Facebook concern account, there's a tab for reviews where customers tin can either recommend or not recommend your company. These reviews are likewise pulled onto Google search as a star rating nether the Google My Business organisation box.
Yelp
- Yelp is a very pop review site where you can search for simply about any business organisation. In society to see reviews left past customers, you'll take to claim your company'due south folio.
TripAdvisor
- For reviews pertaining to vacations (think rentals, restaurants, tourist spots) TripAdvisor is the site. Many people wait to the reviews on TripAdvisor when planning out a holiday.
Better Business Bureau
- BBB allows customers to search for any kind of business or clemency and leave a review on a scale of A+ to F. If your company fulfills certain credentials you lot'll be marked equally a BBB "Accredited Charity."
Angi (previously known as "Angi'due south List")
- Angi is the identify for finding home services. If you are a roofer, plumber, handyman, etc., Angi likely has a folio for your business with customer reviews.
Buyer-beware when it comes to third-party review websites that accuse for access. While these sites may have some reviews of your business organization, your efforts are best spent where the majority of your audience resides.
How can online reviews help your business?
Online reviews in full general can help provide an accurate profile of your business or organization to potential customers. Every bit a result, this can increase the confidence and trust your audience will have for your organization.
Reviews increase your presence on the web
One of the near obvious benefits of online reviews is that they help y'all to get noticed by more people. Reviews tin can kick offset a conversation about you and give your company a face and a reputation (Of course, this can have both positive and negative effects, which we will discuss later in this post).
Reviews tin benefit your search engine rankings
Reviews can be very helpful for SEO and SEM, peculiarly on Google. Online reviews are factored into Google search results which help to drive your advent in the search listing. In fact, co-ordinate to a Moz study , online reviews brand upwards 15.44% of Google ranking factors. That means the more reviews you have, the more than your proper name will announced, helping to increase your search engine rankings .
Here'southward an case of a search results page for Rachel Pauls Nutrient. Notice that in addition to a title, image, and description, there is besides a five-star rating:
Reviews help you get noticed locally, too. When you wait up a local business on Google Maps, a review volition appear aslope the Google My Business information. In fact, the v-star rating is the first piece of information that appears under the proper name of a company.
Reviews can assist with sales
Maybe you have a potential customer who's on the fence virtually making a purchase. Reviews can serve equally that final nudge that convinces a client to convert.
Our customer, Boogie Wipes, makes more sales thanks to all the customers who leave 5-star reviews. Moms who are shopping for babe wipes are more convinced to buy after reading first-hand reviews from other moms.
Reviews help to improve your business
Not sure if your marketing letters are resonating or if your production is satisfying the needs of your customers? Online reviews can help verify if your efforts are working or wasted. Hearing about a customer'south first-hand feel with your product or services allows y'all to assess where the gaps are and where more attempt tin be given.
How tin online reviews hurt your business?
While there are many pros to online reviews, there are also a few cons, namely negative and simulated reviews. Let's hash out how these reviews could be hurting your business and what you tin can do to change that.
How to respond to negative reviews
Negative reviews. Every business concern owner dreads them. It'south an unfortunate fact, simply most customers are 2 to three times more likely to get out a review after a negative feel than afterward a positive one. Homo nature is wired in such a way that nosotros tend to dwell on angry or frustrating experiences for longer periods of time than on positive experiences. In many ways then, negative reviews tin can speak louder than positive ones. For that reason, it is extremely important that negative reviews are handled in the right manner.
Even if you hate reading negative reviews, read them anyway. Customer feedback is also valuable to disregard. If you have a lot of poor reviews, maybe your business organization really needs to work on improving your customer experience and satisfaction.
Negative reviews can be posted by competitors or disgruntled customers alike. Regardless of how scathing or disquisitional the review is, exit a polite response. If a customer had a negative feel, make a 18-carat amends and even ask follow-upward questions for more details. Ensure the customer that yous appreciate their feedback and volition piece of work to improve their experience.
Responding to reviews improves ratings
Why is responding to reviews so important?
A Harvard Business Review study from 2018 establish that there was a straight correlation between businesses responding to reviews and improved ratings. The study examined the reviews of thousands of hotels on TripAdvisor. The hotels that responded to both positive and negative reviews experienced 12% more reviews, causing their ratings to increase. According to the report, " once hotels started responding, they experienced a sharp driblet in the charge per unit of curt negative reviews. "
The bottom line is — answer, respond, reply! While information technology's nearly impossible for a business to completely avoid whatever negative reviews, the Harvard study proves that responding to negative reviews tin can result in a positive issue.
How to reply to false reviews
What virtually false reviews? When you lot come across a simulated review, accost it quickly and logically. Information technology's important to respond back and accost the claim publicly then that both current and potential customers tin know the truth and run across the owner addressing claims that may be exaggerated or outright false. On Google My Business you can flag a review and study a violation if needed.
As a notation, never buy reviews. Skewed reviews that are overly positive don't provide an honest, unbiased profile of your organisation, service, or product y'all provide. Instead, purchased reviews brand you await imitation because they are faux.
Getting the right reviews
If there could exist 1 key takeaway from this post, it would be this: The more than reviews, the meliorate!
A current, steady stream of objective reviews is the ideal goal for your business or organisation. Having erstwhile reviews will portray your business or organization as outdated. A limited amount (say under 10) provides as well pocket-size of a window into service or product satisfaction. And then get those relevant reviews added upwards! What can y'all do to obtain more reviews from customers?
Ask for a review
Want more reviews? Ask for them! Strategically time when y'all inquire for a review co-ordinate to your client'southward stage in the sales funnel . For instance, after a customer has re-ordered one of your products or services or reached a project milestone, it would exist a good time to ask for a review. Be careful that y'all don't enquire for a review at the incorrect moment. It would be imprudent to ask for a review afterward a user has merely visited your site in one case without calling or buying anything.
When asking for a review, phrase the question along the lines of "How are you enjoying our product?" or "We'd love to hear your feedback!" Point your customer towards ane or ii popular sites where the bulk of your reviews are being seen (ex. Google My Business or Facebook). If y'all miss the opportunity at the fourth dimension of the transaction, y'all can follow up later via email, social media, phone phone call, or in person. Offer an incentive like a time to come discount to encourage your customer to human action now.
Highlight positive reviews
If your customers have written glowing reviews, use them! Highlighting positive reviews through social media, email, or other marketing efforts can be a good way to draw attention to your product or service past letting others speak for you.
Here's an e-mail case from Donald Miller, founder of StoryBrand . In order to incentivize his subscribers to purchase his new book, he highlights the positive reviews on Amazon:
Reviews can also serve as testimonials on your website. Well-placed reviews can help to provide confidence in a user's decision. For example, towards the end of our home page, there's a "success section" where we've added several testimonials.
Is information technology important to have reviews direct on your website? Non necessarily. Depending on your concern, reviews may hinder your user'southward experience. Place where your audition resides and which site and/or social aqueduct makes the most sense for highlighting reviews.
Why are online reviews important?
Online reviews accept increasingly become the front end to your digital reputation. Reviews assist you go noticed, lead to more sales, improve search engine rankings, inform your business, and convince customers to pick up the phone and call you lot. Now's the time to beginning caring almost your online reviews.
Take questions about your online reviews? Click here to talk farther or give us a call: 513-929-4603.
Source: https://www.usdigitalpartners.com/why-are-online-reviews-important/
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