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Check out Part I of this series to understand the importance of SEO and customer reviews.
Customer reviews significantly impact SEO, particularly for eCommerce businesses, as they contribute to keyword-rich content, fresh updates, user engagement, and local SEO benefits, all of which are crucial for improving search engine rankings.
Customer reviews often include long-tail keywords that potential buyers use when searching for products. These naturally occurring keywords can help your website rank higher for relevant searches, expanding your reach and attracting qualified leads.
It also shows you what is important to your customers. There could be opportunities for new product launches, variation of colours and creation of new content.
Search engines favour websites that regularly update their content. Reviews provide fresh, unique content that keeps your pages active and relevant in the eyes of search engines. According to Google, websites that are updated regularly tend to be crawled more often, which can improve search visibility.
Reviews are a form of user-generated content (UGC), which adds authenticity and relevance to your site. Google values authentic and relevant content because it directly answers search queries, providing a better user experience.
A study by BrightLocal shows that 92% of consumers trust UGC-like reviews more than traditional advertising, highlighting the impact on both SEO and consumer trust.
Read more: Increase sale with User-Generated Content
Reviews can boost user engagement by encouraging visitors to spend more time interacting with your content, increasing dwell time and lowering bounce rates. Both higher engagement time and reduced bounce rates are positive signals to search engines, indicating that your content is valuable and relevant.
According to Moz, engagement metrics are significant factors in Google’s ranking algorithms.
Positive reviews on platforms like Google My Business can greatly enhance a business’s visibility in local search results, increasing the likelihood of appearing in the Local Pack - Google’s highlighted section of top local businesses relevant to the user’s query.
The Local Pack typically features three local businesses, and having numerous positive reviews can make your business more prominent in these results, boosting local foot traffic and online conversions.
REVIEWS.io is an authorised Google Seller Ratings partner, allowing businesses to display seller ratings on Google Ads. This addition of gold stars next to your brand can significantly increase click-through rates (CTR) and reduce PPC costs, making your Ads stand out against competitors.
According to Google, Ads with seller ratings can see a 10% boost in CTR on average.
Positive reviews on external sites can lead to natural backlinks to your website, which are critical for SEO as they signal to search engines that your site is authoritative and trustworthy. High-quality backlinks are one of the top ranking factors for Google, and reviews on third-party platforms provide an organic way to gain these valuable links.
Clearly, customer reviews have a role to play in your holiday sales strategy. So, what’s the best way to leverage the kind of reviews that boost your SEO results, credibility, and, inevitably, sales? Try these tactics to leverage customer reviews for your business.
Start by soliciting more reviews from your customers. Encourage reviews by timing your ask with specific moments in the customer journey: shortly after the purchase, after someone has had a good experience with customer support, or when someone renews their service or re-orders a product. Capitalize on those key moments when brand affinity is strong.
Then, make the review process as simple and straightforward as possible. Give your customers the option to leave a star rating with or without commenting. Provide direct links to your review platform of choice in texts, on-site prompts, social media outreach, and emails. You may even consider using QR codes on receipts that lead to a review flow.
Incentives for reviews are a tactic to be used with care. Some customers might consider your incentive a bribe for a good review — which can backfire and compromise review authenticity. Use small tokens of appreciation, such as a 10% discount or entry to a monthly prize drawing.
REVIEWS.IO is a great way to streamline the review collection and management process. It offers features like:
By implementing these strategies and leveraging a platform like REVIEWS.IO, you can significantly increase the quantity and quality of customer reviews for your business.
Share your reviews far and wide, especially if you’re getting great feedback. Here are a few places to feature your customer reviews.
By strategically placing reviews in key areas and using engaging formats, businesses can leverage customer feedback to build trust and drive conversions.
Getting reviews is just the first step. Engaging with feedback is nearly as important — but it’s a step that many small businesses neglect to take.
There are two reasons to respond to reviews. First, customers are looking for a response. Remember, nearly 90% of consumers would buy from a business that responds to both positive and negative reviews, compared to less than 50% of customers who would consider buying from a business that never responds. Taking the time to comment or answer a query in a customer review shows that real people are behind the brand, building credibility.
The second reason to respond is that it will impact your local search ranking. Google uses a business’s review management and response activity as criteria for local search visibility ranking. Regularly monitoring review sites like Google Business, Yelp, and TripAdvisor help you address negative feedback promptly and boost your SEO.
To understand more about the importance of responding to all reviews, check out this guide: Why You Should Respond to Reviews.
A good mix of positive and negative reviews is healthy — it shows potential customers your company is real. However, too many negative reviews can start to discourage sales. Take steps to get the kind of review content that’s helpful to your business and customers alike.
Start by encouraging customers to provide specific feedback on product features. Ask for information about how they use the product or service to get more informative reviews. And, highlight reviews from verified purchases to further build trust and credibility. Showcase top-rated reviews on product pages and marketing materials to leverage social proof.
If you can, optimize for keywords by integrating relevant keywords naturally into review titles and content to enhance search visibility. You might even include these keywords in your response to relevant customer feedback.
Finally, don’t forget to take advantage of the technical assets available to you — such as schema markup and review filters. Allow users to sort and filter reviews by rating, date, or helpfulness for improved user experience.
Schema markup is a standardized format for structured data that helps search engines understand the content on your web pages. It's a form of code that provides search engines with explicit clues about the meaning of a page.
“Websites that use schema markup will rank better in the SERPs than companies without markup,” said marketing expert Neil Patel. “One study determined that websites with markup rank an average of four positions higher in the SERPs than those without schema markup.”
By implementing this markup, you're essentially providing search engines with structured, machine-readable data about your reviews and ratings. This data allows search engines to display this information in a visually appealing way directly in the search results, potentially improving your visibility and attracting more clicks to your website.
Customer reviews should be a cornerstone of every inbound and outbound marketing effort made on behalf of your business. Share positive reviews on all your marketing outreach — your website, social media, email campaigns, and SMS marketing. The more opportunities you have to showcase your brand’s strengths, the better.
Customer reviews impact your website's SEO in several key ways. First, they provide keyword-rich content, as customers naturally include terms in their reviews that potential buyers search for. This helps your site rank higher for relevant searches, expanding your reach. Reviews also offer fresh, unique content that keeps your site active in the eyes of search engines, leading to more frequent crawls and improved search visibility.
Additionally, reviews are a form of user-generated content (UGC), which search engines value for its authenticity and relevance. They increase user engagement by encouraging visitors to spend more time on your site, which improves dwell time and reduces bounce rates—both positive signals to search engines.
Lastly, reviews enhance local SEO by boosting your visibility in local search results, especially through platforms like Google My Business. Positive reviews can also lead to higher click-through rates on Google Ads, thanks to seller ratings. Altogether, customer reviews are an essential tool for improving SEO and attracting more qualified traffic to your website.
In short, no. Google evaluates the quantity of reviews, not necessarily the content of the review itself. Negative reviews impact your brand’s reputation but still add to the volume, diversity, and usefulness of your customer reviews. Keep in mind, however, that responding to negative reviews quickly is essential to both your SEO success and brand reputation.
In conclusion, customer reviews are a powerful asset for boosting your SEO and enhancing your brand’s visibility, especially during the competitive holiday season. By encouraging and leveraging customer feedback, you can generate fresh, keyword-rich content that appeals to search engines and builds trust with potential customers. Strategically placing and promoting these reviews across your site and marketing channels will not only improve your rankings but also guide shoppers through the buying journey, ultimately increasing sales and brand loyalty.
Don’t wait—start optimizing your review strategy now to ensure your business stands out this holiday season. For expert guidance on integrating reviews into your SEO plan, reach out to eComOne.
Contact eComOne for a comprehensive SEO strategy consultation, and book a demo with REVIEWS.io to see how customer reviews can drive SEO and conversions. Elevate your online presence and optimize your business for year-round success by connecting with eComOne and leveraging the power of REVIEWS.io.
