Why Online Reviews are Important for Customers & Businesses

Why are customer reviews important?

Customers value online reviews and testimonials because they help them create trust. This is especially true for ecommerce sales, because customers cannot question store staff for product details prior to purchasing. Here are some particular reasons why prospective buyers should read online reviews.

The vast majority of consumers (93%) say online reviews influence their shopping decisions. As a result, it is not an exaggeration to claim that internet reviews can make or break your company's success.


Consider the last time you purchased something from Amazon. One of the first things you probably looked at was the product's overall star rating. That rating is a result of individual web reviews.


In fact, star ratings are so powerful that consumers continue to accept them despite the fact that 42 percent of Amazon reviews are thought to be fraudulent. In other words, gathering, tracking, and managing consumer feedback should be an important element of your digital marketing operations.


Continue reading to find out why online reviews are so crucial, which review sites are the most important, and how you can get more reviews.


Key Points

  • Consumers rely on online reviews to make purchasing decisions.
  • Customers are 63% more inclined to trust brands with online reviews than brands without feedback.
  • A lack of feedback makes purchasers feel more risky, making them less likely to purchase.

Include social proof

Online reviews provide social proof to potential clients, instilling trust in you and your company. To be honest, buyers are unlikely to believe all you say about your company. Personal recommendations and word-of-mouth, on the other hand, are far more effective.


Positive reviews reassure potential customers that they can put their trust in your brand, products, or services.


This is supported by data. Reviews were crucial in up to 84 percent of consumers' purchasing decisions. Furthermore, 68 percent form an opinion about a product or service after examining one to six reviews.


Unfortunately, almost everyone has had a negative experience with a company, whether online or in a physical location. Online company reviews assist potential clients in overcoming any reservations or concerns.

Increase brand trust

Online reviews can help your consumers trust your brand. Potential clients are more likely to trust your brand if they know that other people have had favourable experiences with it. Reviews boost brand trust and the possibility that customers would buy from you.

Expertise is validated by online reviews.

In the eyes of prospective customers, online reviews can authenticate your knowledge. They demonstrate that you have effectively assisted others in overcoming a certain obstacle or achieving a specific goal (or that your expertise results in high quality products).


Anyone can make statements about how incredible their product or service is, but it does not mean those assertions are real. You demonstrate your competence and authority by offering evidence of success through internet reviews.


Most people trust peer-reviewed web reviews more than industry promises. If there is no third-party evidence to back up a claim, consumers are less likely to believe it. Good reviews are an excellent approach to substantiate your claims.

What is the significance of internet reviews for businesses?

Online reviews are important for businesses just as much as they are for customers, but for different reasons. For example, they help businesses build closer ties with potential customers and allow them to demand higher prices for their products. According to one survey, buyers were willing to spend 22% extra for some products if the company had a good reputation.


Extend your reach

One of the more underappreciated benefits of online reviews is that they allow your brand's online exposure to extend beyond your website and social media channels. Customers can discover about your company on reputable third-party websites such as Google, Angi, and Yelp. You can also actively communicate with your audience on these sites by replying to reviews, asking questions, and addressing any issues that emerge.


And, unlike many marketing mediums, this increased reach costs nothing other than the time you spend connecting with customers.

Impact purchasing decisions

Online reviews have a direct impact on your target market's purchasing decisions. According to one study, having as few as five reviews increases the likelihood of a product selling by 270 percent when compared to those with no evaluations.


Online reviews are an important component of the buying process, particularly near the bottom of the funnel. When customers compare items or services, they frequently select those with more positive internet ratings. A lack of feedback makes purchasers feel more risky, making them less likely to purchase.

Online reviews aid in the confirmation of authority.

Reviews also help to validate the authority and competence of your brand. The more reliable a brand appears to be, the more trustworthy it appears to be.


People who read reviews presume that the author has previously used the product or service in question. When a potential consumer reads a positive review about your firm, it demonstrates that you are a true authority in your field. When they see that you have successfully assisted others in overcoming issues and achieving positive outcomes (or just in falling in love with your product), they are more likely to believe your claims.

Boost E-A-T

Expertise, Authority, and Trustworthiness (E-A-T) is a key factor in how the Google algorithm ranks material in search results. Google strives to provide searchers with content that is expert-backed, published by a reputable source, and as trustworthy as possible. The more a page fulfils all three of these criteria, the higher it is likely to rank in search results.


Online customer reviews can significantly improve your website's E-A-T. When Google sees a large number of positive reviews for your brand on different third-party sites, it indicates that your brand has a strong reputation.


These favourable signals increase the likelihood that Google will rank your website higher.


Improve the internet visibility of your brand.

Customer feedback is equally crucial for SEO. For starters, they can boost your local search ranks, resulting in increased foot traffic to your stores. Second, reviews are addressed several times in the Google Quality Rater Guidelines (QRG).


Take a look at section 2.6.3, which discusses business customer reviews.


Look for reputation information and evaluations from a range of sources for firms.


It is critical to understand that the QRG have no direct impact on search engine rankings. It is, nevertheless, a strong indication of what Google values.


Third, if you generate content that focuses on branded review keywords, you will be more likely to appear in those crucial bottom-of-funnel searches. Do not, however, generate false reviews in an attempt to cheat the system. Earn and clearly display favourable feedback.

What are the most influential online review sites?

There are numerous venues for customers to offer feedback, but which customer review platforms should you prioritise?

Google evaluations

Google reviews should be highlighted because they are frequently displayed directly in search results and have an impact on your SEO.


Your Google My Business profile provides a wealth of information that potential consumers may find useful. This contains your contact information, reviews, website, operating hours, and so on. Potential clients will almost certainly click on your profile and read your reviews (or lack thereof). Given the importance of excellent Google reviews for your organisation, it is critical to obtain them.

Facebook

With billions of monthly active users, it's extremely vital to receive excellent Facebook evaluations. When someone goes to your brand's Facebook page, they should find a lot of good feedback. This increases the likelihood that people will visit your website and follow you on social media.


Another advantage of having favourable reviews on Facebook is that your overall rating might be included in the sponsored adverts you present on the network. As a result, you will improve the likelihood that someone will click on an ad.


Yelp

While Yelp reviews are valuable for all types of businesses, they are especially significant for businesses that operate in a specific location.


Yelp is frequently used by searchers to locate nearby companies such as a coffee shop, vehicle repair shop, and so on. Users skim the overall ratings as they navigate through the search results. The higher the average rating, the more likely a person will choose that company.

Angi

Angi specialises in local services such as home remodelling, duct inspection, and house cleaning. If your company offers any of the listed services, Angi should be near the top of your review priority list.


Angi also has the ability to send quotations to potential clients and collect qualifying leads in addition to presenting customer feedback.

BBB (Better Business Bureau)

Another third-party site that displays corporate reviews is the Better Business Bureau (BBB). It not only displays client evaluations, but it also tells whether or not your brand is BBB certified. This grade is based on a variety of factors, including years in company, complaint history, complaint response, and other factors.


Positive customer feedback combined with a high BBB rating can dramatically boost a customer's trust in your brand.

Trustpilot

Trustpilot is a well-known online review platform where people can leave feedback on anything from car dealerships to airlines to mortgage brokers to shoe stores.


When a searcher enters terms like best X or top-rated X, their pages frequently appear in the search results. When a user navigates to a page, they will see the most highly rated brands. The greater your Trust Score, the more positive ratings your brand has. A higher Trust Score leads to a stronger brand reputation and, in most cases, greater sales.

TripAdvisor

If you work in the travel sector, TripAdvisor ratings are important to your success. Consider how many inquiries people have while planning a trip. What should they do? Which restaurants should you try? Are there any enjoyable activities nearby?


TripAdvisor reviews can have a significant influence on customer decisions. Customers will likely prefer a better-rated brand if your brand has too few reviews or too many one-star ratings.

Review sites for the industry

Industry-specific review sites might be beneficial, especially if your company is in an industry that is not typically represented on the larger sites. Even if they can't locate it on the major sites, reviews on these sites might provide potential clients with the assurance they need to trust your company.

How to Use Online Reviews to Help Your Brand

You may utilise internet reviews to manage your brand in a variety of ways.


First and foremost, clearly promote your favourable evaluations on your website to provide users with social evidence. You can also include your reviews into your marketing materials. Share positive consumer comments on social media or in marketing emails on a regular basis.


Furthermore, some review websites provide badges if you rank highly in your sector or category. These badges can be included in email signatures and displayed on your website.


Also, don't overlook the SEO benefits of internet reviews. Identify the terms your target audience uses throughout the deliberation stage of the purchasing cycle.

Favorable feedback

Clearly, you want as many positive evaluations as possible. If your product or service is good, you will undoubtedly receive some favourable feedback from satisfied clients. However, there are extra steps you can take to enhance the number.

How to Increase Online Reviews

There are a variety of tactics you can employ to increase the number of good evaluations you receive.


The easiest and most obvious method is to ask for reviews directly. Create a simple email that is automatically delivered to buyers after a certain time period if you sell a goods. This email should make it as simple as possible for customers to post a review, whether that means embedding a form right within the email or including direct links to Google, Yelp, and other review sites.


There are also methods to encourage customers to post a review. A modest discount on future purchases or a promo coupon for free shipping may be all that is required to elicit a review. In exchange for a review on a site like Capterra or Trustpilot, SaaS companies frequently give access to additional resources.


Another strategy to get more favourable reviews is to conduct a post-purchase survey that asks about the customer's happiness with things like checkout, delivery, and product quality. If the survey has a remark section, you can collect favourable comments and display them in a variety of ways.

How to React to Positive Feedback

When you receive a positive review, you must respond to it. It is not necessary to provide a lengthy or in-depth response. It only needs to demonstrate that you appreciate your consumers and are committed to engage with them on an ongoing basis. This not only strengthens your relationship with your audience, but it also motivates other consumers to leave reviews.

Negative feedback

It's critical to have a strategy in place for both reducing the quantity of bad reviews you receive and responding to them.

How to Reduce Negative Reviews

You can utilise a few basic tactics to limit the quantity of negative reviews you receive.


The most obvious is to provide a superb customer experience from beginning to end. This encompasses not only the product or service's quality, but also much more. It also entails giving items such as:


  • A path for quickly locating certain products or services.
  • A simple checkout procedure
  • A user-friendly website
  • A sufficient amount of information to make the most informed purchasing decision
  • If more information is required, there is an obvious contact mechanism.

Another efficient strategy to avoid negative feedback is to provide detailed responses to frequently requested questions. This guarantees that new clients understand what they're getting into and aren't caught off guard.


Finally, think about including a solid guarantee with your goods or service. Customers are considerably more likely to contact you before writing a negative review if they know you are devoted to providing them with the finest possible experience. This provides you with the option to address the issue.

How to Handle Negative Reviews

You will invariably receive some unfavourable feedback. Instead of dismissing it, use it to demonstrate your dedication to your customers. Respond directly to the review, apologise for any issues, and offer a concrete solution to the problem.


Even if this does not completely satisfy the dissatisfied consumer, it displays that you genuinely care about your customers. Others who read the unfavourable review will notice that you sincerely try to resolve the issue, which increases how many people regard your company.

Spend money on reputation management.

Your brand's reputation is more important than ever. People buy from companies they believe in, and they warn others about those they don't.


When it comes to your brand's reputation, the relevance of internet reviews becomes even clearer. They have an impact on client purchasing behaviour, search engine rankings, perceived authority, and, eventually, your bottom line.


Whether you own a multinational corporation or a small local business, investing in your internet reputation will only benefit you. Failure to do so can have serious ramifications.

FAQs

What is the significance of online reviews?

Consumers value online reviews because they provide social proof, authenticate expertise, and help to develop brand confidence. They are significant for businesses because they affect purchasing decisions, validate authority, and demonstrate customer trust.


What are the most effective online review platforms?

Google, Angi, Facebook, Yelp, Better Business Bureau, and Trustpilot are the most trustworthy venues for online reviews.