If there’s one thing we’re the experts on, it’s Ratings and Reviews. Which is why we’ve literally written the (digital) book on it.
We have created this Guide to enable you to optimize your Ratings and Reviews strategy for 2023. It’s rammed full of practical steps you can apply today, all through the lens of what we know – through our own extensive data – consumers are looking for right now.
How important are Ratings and Reviews?
Ratings and reviews allow customers to share their experience with a product or service, and give it an overall star rating.
Shoppers rely on this content to make more informed purchase decisions. In 2021, ratings and reviews were defined by consumers as the top factor impacting purchase decisions over the past year, surpassing price, free shipping, brand, and recommendations from family and friends.
Now, consumers tend to change their opinions due to a myriad of factors – the economy, their individual purchasing preferences at any given time or even the day they’re asked. So this is unlikely to conclusively remain the case for ever more.
But as a reviews vendor – this was the first time we had observed such a trend and it’s testament to growing reliance on reviews to generate purchasing decisions.
Ratings & Reviews Have Always Been Important. They’ve Become Even More Important.
This trend of the growing importance of Ratings and Reviews is highlighted in various different research projects we have completed in recent times.
Percentage of Consumers Who Consult Reviews When Shopping Online
- 99.9 % in 2021
- 97 % in 2018
- 95 % in 2014
Percentage Who Consider Reviews an Essential Resource When Making Purchase Decisions
- 98 % in 2021
- 89 % in 2018
- 86 % in 2014
Consumers rely on them to such an extent that the percentage who consult product reviews when shopping online is 99.9% (yes, you read that right). 98% now think of them as essential when considering products online, up from 86% eight years ago.
Now, there is often a difference between what people say and what they do. But the conversion metrics back this up too.
The Impact of Reviews on Conversion
- 128 % Lift in conversions when visitors interact with reviews
- 19.8 % Lift in conversions when visitors are served reviews
Reviews in an Economic Downturn
At the start of 2023, the economy is a hot topic due to hyper-inflation, mass job layoffs and significant uncertainty. Naturally at times like these, budgets become heavily scrutinized.
So the inevitable question for brands and retailers is: where should we invest at times like these?
Most popular shopping considerations for consumers
Reviews are more valued by consumers than other marketing investments
- Price 93%
- Ratings & Reviews 68%
- Trustworthiness of brand 51%
- Familiarity with Products or Brands 43%
- Family/Friends Recommendations 37%
- Values of the Manufacturing Brand 22%
- Search Engine Ranking 15%
- Brands/Influencers on Social Media 12%
Not surprisingly, price shot up to the number one determinant of purchase decisions for 2023 (the above responses are based on preferences during the 2022 Holiday season). However, when it comes to other marketing and brand initiatives, ratings and reviews stand head and shoulders as the most valued by shoppers.
Reviews Through the Customer Journey
Digital Impact of Reviews
As demonstrated above, ratings and reviews clearly have significant on-page conversion impact – that is the decision made by a shopper while on a product page on whether to purchase an item. But they also have a notable impact on driving visits to these pages in the first place.
- 89% Of consumers conduct pre-purchase research on Google or an equivalent search engine (where ratings and reviews are typically very visible)
- 47%Of consumers are more likely to click through from a Social Media Post/Ad due to ratings and reviews highlighted
- 46%Of consumers are more likely to click through from a marketing email due to ratings and reviews highlighted
- 82%Of consumers rely on ratings and reviews to determine which products to further explore when they first land on a website.
Regardless of the exact route taken during the customer journey, reviews lead to significantly more traffic.
Pages with reviews account for 40% of all Product Pages on the internet but 88% of all web traffic.
In-Store Impact of Reviews
There has been much discussion about how customer journeys are no longer linear, involving multiple touchpoints across different channels.
In many cases, in-store shoppers are doing plenty of research before making an in-store purchase.
In fact, 99% research products online before setting foot in a store. In addition, a large portion of consumers – 92% – pull out their phones to do research while shopping in a physical store location. Though shoppers of all generations do this, younger consumers tend to do it more frequently.
So it is perhaps no surprise that 84% look for positive ratings and reviews when considering in-store purchases.
84% of consumers look at ratings and reviews when considering in-store purchases
What does a good ratings and reviews footprint look like in 2023
Review Volume
We get asked a lot: how many reviews do I need to be successful? The answer is: it depends. Ultimately, this will be dictated by the channel you are looking to stand out on and what you are trying to achieve.
However, the general rule is the more, the better.
Review Volume Impact on Traffic
Review Volume Impact on Conversion
And we see the same “more is merrier” philosophy when it comes to on-page conversion.
Not every business will have the resources to collect 5000+ reviews. But there are significant lifts in each of the ranges so focusing on review collection should always be a priority.
Average Star Rating
Aside from the review count on a product, the average star rating is another key element consumers look for.
Star Rating Impact on Traffic
Average Star Rating Impact on Conversion
The takeaway here for ecommerce practitioners wondering what targets they should set themselves: anything above 4 stars is good, 4.25 stars better, 4.5 stars better still and 4.75 stars the “North Star” goal.
All the while, you need to underpin any targets you do set yourself with the context of the specifics of your own business (e.g. vertical you operate in and competitors you’re up against, pricepoint of your product, etc). Ultimately, consumer expectations – which are a big part of how shoppers approach submitting ratings and reviews – are dictated by a number of factors that are likely unique to your business.
These results make one thing completely clear: consumers pay attention to the average rating. That might sound obvious in and of itself but remember star ratings are rounded to the nearest half star – in other words, both a 4.75 average rating and a 5.0 average rating will appear as a 5 star on a product page. There is a significant difference between the conversion rates in both of these bands. This means that shoppers clearly look beyond the star visual when deciding whether to purchase a product.
One finding – again – is clear and unmistakable. Consumers don’t trust 5-star average ratings. This supports much of our research: we have found a sizable proportion of consumers are suspicious of perfect 5-star ratings, including 46% of shoppers overall and 53% of Gen Z shoppers.
Review Recency
Recency is a MAJOR consideration for consumers.
Nearly all – 97% – of consumers consider review recency to be at least somewhat important when weighing a purchase decision:
Importance of Review Recency
How important is the recency with which reviews are written to you when considering buying a product?
Specific Review Recency Expectations for Consumers
In an ideal world, how recently do you like to see that review content was left on a specific product when assessing whether to purchase it?
Consumers value review quality
Review quality – the depth of specific information and context included within a review – is a key consideration for many consumers.
The Vast Majority of Consumers Go Beyond the Basics and Read the Actual Review Content
When you read product reviews, how often do you look beyond the basic information (i.e. review volume count, review date and average star rating) to dig deeper and read the actual review content?
Those Who Read Reviews do so to get Feedback on Many Topics
When you read reviews, what specifically are you looking for in the content of the reviews themselves?
- To learn about bad experiences reported with the product 84%
- That the product has been used in the same way I intend to use it 78%
- To check the product performs as claimed by the manufacturing brand 73%
- Sizing information (when shopping for clothing and shoes) 70%
- Long-term durability 64%
- Imagery or photos of the product from a real-life shopper 57%
- To assess value for money 57%
- That the review comes from someone who has used the product more than once 53%
- That the person who writes the review is similar to me 22%
When it comes to the information consumers actually value in the review itself, again there are many.
Consumers Value Many Aspects of Individual Reviews
Which of the following types of detail included within individual reviews do you find useful or would find useful when reading them?
- A picture/image of the product from someone who has used it 65%
- Longer, more descriptive reviews 59%
- Stories and accounts that relate to and are consistent with how you intend to use the product 57%
- Aggregated pros and cons pulled from all the reviews submitted 54%
- “Most positive review” vs “most negative review” pulled from all reviews submitted 45%
- The tag/badge signifying how the reviewer obtained the product 42%
- A video of the product from someone who has used it 36%
- Demographic profile information 19%
- Longer, more descriptive title 17%
The key takeaway from this is that you should seek to collect – as much as possible – quality reviews in addition to volume.
Imagery and Video
Shoppers want user-generated image & video more than ever
Types of Photos Consumers Value More
What kind of product photos are more valuable to you: professional photos supplied by the brand/retailer, or those supplied by another customer?
There is a 106.3% lift in conversion when shoppers interact with a user-generate image or video online.
Online shoppers depend on visual content – including photos and videos – when making purchase decisions. But not just any visual content will satisfy their needs. A staggering 99% of consumers look for visuals submitted by other consumers prior to making a purchase.
Imagery and video provide exceptional real-life examples of the product in actual everyday use. How does it hold up under the typical strain customers put it under? Does it look, feel and smell as described? Is performance in line with, worse or better than expected?
Visual media enables each of these questions to be answered with precision and in great detail. In doing so, it generates exceptional authenticity and trust. So aim as much as possible to incorporate visual media into your UGC strategy.
What Information Should the Ideal Customer Review Incorporate?
When thinking about how to generate review content that will convert the best, always remember the purpose of displaying user-generated content is to build buyer confidence.
Reviews are a great vehicle for building confidence with customers by delivering an authentic depiction of your products.
Building a “perfect review” and considering all the elements entailed is therefore grounded in this overall concept. How do you hone and elevate the trustworthy voice of your customers?
Review Collection
Making the ask
The first step to maximizing review collection is asking.
You may get lucky and capture some content without, but most people need at least a gentle nudge. Others may need considerably more.
The more creative you can get, the more successful you are likely to be. But here are some of our top tips.
Email request
A post-purchase email asking for a review is a staple for most brands.
And with good reason: it’s the most important review collection technique. From our experience, it generates up to 80% of ALL ratings and reviews content dependent on the brand.
Although this should go without saying, they must be personalized based on the specific purchase.
They should also be simple and to the point. No fluff. Be very clear about the purpose of the communication and in your call to action.
Post Purchase Email Checklist
- Compelling subject line with less than 55 characters
- Personalized
- Mobile-friendly
- Short and sweet
- 16–18 point font
- Single column layout
- Clear call to action
- Image and link to product
- No other marketing or sales call to action
Enable review submission from within email
There are typically two options when it comes to actual collection of the review content:
- Dynamically from within the email itself
- In a form on your website
Review Collection Form
Let’s assume you are not enabling reviewers to provide content in the email itself. In which case, you’ll be directing shoppers to a form on your site to provide a review. Again, you’ll need to be very clear in your ask. Provide obvious direction to deliver the content you need where you need it.
Although there is clear variation across different categories, basket size data highlights how each individual online purchase averages 2.73 items.
So – when it comes to review collection – you should also enable consumers to write reviews on multiple products without leaving or refreshing the page. This encourages far higher collection rates.
As in this example: load up all of those products in your review form so customers can provide content without leaving the window or refreshing the page.
Collect Ratings & Reviews via Text Message
Increasingly, brands are also collecting ratings and reviews via text message. Why? It’s deemed by many to be quicker and easier. This methodology particularly resonates with younger generations who are not as wedded to email.
Maximize Review Volume and Recency
We already talked about the importance of review coverage across all your products. And – beyond that – how generating a high volume of reviews can have a big impact on conversion. l. We also explored the importance of ensuring shoppers can always find recent reviews for your products.
Here are some ways you can generate a steady stream of reviews so consumers can always find a high volume of fresh content for the products they’re considering
Time the ask appropriately
You can’t ask for a review as soon as the item has been purchased. Customers need time to 1) receive the product and 2) try it out.
The ideal timing is also dependent on the type of product the consumer purchased. We therefore typically provide the following guidelines for timing review request emails:
Seasonal Products: 7 Days
There’s a pretty short window when folks will purchase seasonal goods, such as school supplies or holiday decorations. Since we know that reviews drive sales, you’ll want to get reviews for seasonal products as quickly as possible so you don’t miss the season. Send post purchase emails for seasonal goods within seven days.
Perishable Goods: 14 Days
Perishable goods—such as cut flowers and fresh fruit and vegetables —have a short shelf life. Send post purchase emails for these products within 14 days. If you wait any longer, the product will be out of sight and out of mind.
Soft Goods: 14 Days
Soft goods are items that are immediately consumed or have a lifespan of three years or less, such as clothing and cosmetics. As with hard goods, you’ll want to give your customer the opportunity to try out the product before writing a review. But don’t wait too long, because the lifespan of soft goods is much shorter than hard goods and the purchase won’t be top of mind for long.
Hard Goods: 21 Days
Hard goods are durable items that don’t wear out quickly, such as refrigerators, washing machines, and computers. It’s a best practice to wait 21 days before sending a post purchase email for these types of products.
After three weeks, the customer will have enough time to get a good feel for the product so they can write a well informed, thorough review.
Ask more than once
Although we’d all love to only make the ask once to get the desired results, that’s also not realistic. Our research found that about a third (32%) of shoppers need to be asked twice or more before they’ll submit a review.
As a best practice, send TWO email requests. As previously mentioned, studies show that up to 80% of reviews originate from post purchase emails. If you don’t send more than one email, you risk wasting the best opportunity to boost review volume and recency.
Prioritize products that need it
Review coverage – the concept of generating review content across your entire product catalog – is a big concern for pretty much every brand and retailer.
Where possible, look to prioritize collection for products with few (or no) reviews. Remember: the higher the review volume, the larger the impact on conversion!
In this example, the products are ordered accordingly. Best-in-class technology will do this automatically.
Incorporate sweepstake incentives
A sweepstakes is an incentive to be placed in a raffle-style drawing for a cash prize or similar in exchange for providing a review.
Although not appropriate for all brands, they can work great in the right circumstances.
Incorporate in your loyalty program
You may not want to provide cash incentives. If so, consider integrating into your loyalty program. It’s an effective way to generate more content, as our research found that 59% of consumers would be motivated to write a review if they received loyalty points with the store or brand in exchange for their feedback.
Many brands offer up loyalty points in exchange for review content.
This can be super powerful in creating engagement with your brand, generating more loyal customers and generally making them feel part of a bigger community.
Ask for review content in other communication channels
Dedicated follow-up emails are the most direct and effective review collection method.
But you routinely communicate with customers across a whole host of methods and channels.
Brands are increasingly leveraging these to collect review content.
- Review request in an Instagram story
- Review request in an invoice
- Review request in a social media response
- Review request on receipt
- Review request on packaging
- Review request social media contest
Run a product sampling campaign
Product sampling campaigns – sending a product to a group of people who agree to write a review or create a social post in exchange – are a really effective method for generating reviews from a very targeted persona.
Our research found that 86% of consumers indicate they’d be motivated to write a review if they received a free product sample. And to back up that research, we’ve found that our own product sampling campaigns yield a 86% response rate. In other words, 86% of shoppers who receive a free sample go on to write a product review.
Brands and retailers find they are particularly effective in specific scenarios:
- Product launches
- Filling existing glaring gaps
- To keep review content fresh (remember: recency matters!)
- Generating content quickly to in advance of selling a seasonal product
Product sampling is a complex process made up of a number of critical elements. You need to be clear on your goals from the outset and this will determine the scale of the project.
Targeting the right audience, fulfilling the campaign and then ensuring your samplers provide the review content you’re seeking is also obviously super important.
Tap into a powerful database of online and in-store purchases
While ecommerce continues to grow, the majority of purchases are still made in a brick-and-mortar store. So if you’re not soliciting reviews from both in-store and online shoppers, you’re missing out on a big opportunity to generate a ton of content.
One way to do this is to leverage a service like “Receipt. Review. Collect” from PowerReviews. This solution allows brands to tap into a consumer database of online and in-store purchases across more than 10 million members. Brands can then generate reviews from these verified purchasers. Tom’s of Maine used the program to grow review volume by 18,600% in 21 days (yes, you read that right).
Optimize review quality
What to Include in Your Review Collection Form
Optimizing your Review Collection form is key to increasing review quality. But what exactly should you include in yours?
There’s no easy answer. It really depends on your industry and what works for your brand.
The first step is to determine the types of information that will be useful to consumers considering your products. This is data you’ll want to incorporate into your review display, so you’ll want to include questions that address it in your Review Collection form. In addition, consider data you’ll leverage internally to improve products, experiences, or internal operations.
That said, there are common elements across the most effective Review Collection forms. In this guide, we’ll explore the elements you’ll want to consider when building (or optimizing) your Review Collection form, based on our experience helping more than 1,000 brands and retailers collect and display high quality reviews.
Remember: best practices (especially those for your industry) are a great place to start. Then, you can measure and optimize from there to get the best results.
The Basics
When it comes to Review Collection forms, there are five basic questions to include. Think of these questions as the foundation from which all Review Collection forms are built. They’re must-haves.
At the end of the day, it’s up to you to determine which of these fields are required and which (if any) are optional. However, it’s best practice to make all five fields required. This is especially true for brands that syndicate their review content to retailers. That’s because all five are required for syndication.
1. Rating
The star rating a shopper assigns to a product, on a scale of one to five.
Star ratings are really important to shoppers; 77% say they consider the average star rating when reading reviews. So it’s important to collect them in your Review Collection form
Typically, a product’s average star rating is displayed at the top of the product page – alongside the number of reviews for the given product. This review snippet helps the shopper determine whether to explore the product further or look for other options.
2. Headline
The headline of a review is kind of like the title of a book. It helps shoppers determine whether they want to read the review itself.
3. Comments
There’s no getting away from it: comments are the review. They provide the “why” behind the star rating. They offer reviewers the opportunity to share their specific sentiment(s) on the product under consideration.
Shoppers scrutinize this content to identify answers to questions on more intricate details that ultimately determine whether they buy or not. For brands and retailers, they also offer deep insight on customer sentiment specific to that product.
It’s important to collect this written commentary within your Review Collection form. In fact, we feel very strongly that this should be a required field on all Review Collection forms. Research tells us nearly all shoppers look beyond the basic summary information in a review to read the actual content at least sometimes.
That’s because comments provide context for star ratings – and can allow future shoppers to find reviews that speak to their specific needs, concerns, and use cases.
Later on, we’ll share some best practices for encouraging shoppers to provide longer, more detailed commentary in this field.
4. Nickname
A nickname is how a reviewer is identified and is typically displayed with the review to reinforce that it was written by a real person.
Because the bottom line is: Consumers value reviews because it’s content written by others like them, without any motive. Displaying the nickname adds a human element to the review.
As such, the nickname is a foundational field to include in your Review Collection form. Some brands request the first name and last initial – and others allow more freedom. It’s really up to you to determine what’s in line with your brand.
5. Location
Location is another important, basic element to include in your Review Collection form. Again, this information helps convey to future shoppers that this is a real review written by a real person.
In addition, geographical location can be helpful for shoppers looking for relevant content. This is especially true for certain product categories.
Review Meter
Remember when we said longer, more detailed reviews are more helpful to shoppers? Well, it’s a claim backed by data. A survey found that just about all (97%) of consumers seek out longer, more detailed reviews at least sometimes. And 68% say they do so always or on the regular.
Consumers Seek Out Long, Detailed Reviews
When you read reviews, how often do you actively seek out reviews that are longer in length and contain more detail?
When reviewers provide a lot of keyword-rich details, future shoppers are more likely to find content that’s relevant to them.
Including a review meter in your Review Collection form can help you generate more of those long, detailed reviews that fuel great purchase decisions.
Essentially, a review meter is an interactive character count that appears below the comments box in the Review Collection form. As the reviewer types, that little green bar grows. When the review reaches the ideal length (you choose what that is), the meter lights up to let the shopper know they’ve written a great review – and to keep going if they’d like. It’s super satisfying to the customer – and a powerful way to generate longer reviews.
Helper Text
Writer’s block is a thing – for novelists and review writers alike. A consumer may be willing to write a review. But faced with that big blank comments box, they just don’t know what the heck to write.
The result? They abandon the process altogether. Or, they write a super short, less-than-helpful review.
One simple way to get the creative juices flowing (and get shoppers to write longer, more detailed reviews) is to include some helper text in the comments field. This text serves as writing prompts for the reviewer.
Native Image and Video Collection
When consumers shop online (which they’re doing a lot lately), they don’t have the benefit of seeing and touching a product in person. Visual content, including photos and videos, helps bridge the gap.
Brand-provided photos and videos are helpful to shoppers. But increasingly, they want to see content from others like them. A survey found that 77% of consumers always or regularly seek out photos or videos from others who have purchased a given product.
As such, customer-centric brands make it a priority to prominently showcase user-generated visual content on their product pages. A common way to do this is to feature a visual gallery with shopper-submitted photos and videos.
Brands who prioritize user-generated imagery reap some big benefits. Site visitors who interact with user-generated imagery on a product page convert at a rate that’s more than 106% higher than average!
But in order to display this content, you must first collect it. The best way to do this is through the Review Collection form.
If user-generated content is a priority for you (hint: it should be), then be sure to add a field to your Review Collection form that allows reviewers to easily submit it. Allow them to submit the media natively – or from their social media accounts.
The Bottom Line
A review might be a few words long – or a few paragraphs. But at the end of the day, what the reader really wants to know is whether or not the reviewer recommends the product in question.
Many brands and retailers get this. It’s why they feature the percentage of reviewers that recommend a product at the top of their review display.
Where do brands and retailers get this aggregated data? You guessed it: their Review Collection form.
So, be sure to include a section in your Review Collection form that asks whether the reviewer would or would not recommend the product in question to a friend. Future shoppers are sure to factor in this information when deciding whether or not to explore the product.
Customized Questions
Up to this point, we’ve focused on key elements of Review Collection forms that are important across all product categories.
However, each industry and business is unique. That’s why it often makes sense to include additional questions on your Review Collection form.
How many questions should you add?
The short answer is, it depends.
So, what additional questions should you add to your Review Collection?
Again, there’s no easy answer. You have to consider what data you (or your future customers) will actually use. Consider what data will fuel your review display, and what data you can leverage internally to inform product and customer experience optimizations.
In addition, your ratings and reviews provider should have expertise in your business and your industry. So be sure to ask for their guidance in terms of question quantity, as well as what questions to ask.
Remember: you never want to add questions simply for the sake of adding them. If a Review Collection form is too long (even if a lot of the fields are optional), you’re likely to see a high abandonment rate.
With all that said, here are a few types of questions you may want to consider adding to your Review Collection form.
1. Subratings
The star rating is a key component of a review. However, it requires customers to assign a single number to their overall experience with a product.
Sometimes, brands and retailers want to get more granular feedback about various elements of a given product, including quality, value, durability, and comfort. They do this by adding subratings fields to their Review Collection form.
Displaying this feedback can help future shoppers better assess the product’s attributes. What’s more, this data provides businesses with insights about what shoppers like (and don’t like). Brands and retailers can use this data to fuel product improvements.
2. Size/Fit Questions
A survey found that 89% of apparel and footwear shoppers consider size and fit when considering an apparel or footwear purchase. But these factors are tough to assess when shopping online.
Of course, tools like size charts help. However, many apparel brands and retailers also provide aggregated, customer-provided size and fit feedback within the review display.
If you’re a brand or retailer that sells apparel and footwear, collecting size and fit information within the Review Collection form is a must. The size and fit information you’ll want to collect depends on the type of product. For example, an apparel brand may opt to collect overall fit and sleeve length feedback for tops and jackets, and waist fit for pants.
Displaying this information helps shoppers make better purchase decisions. What’s more, it can dramatically reduce returns, as size and fit issues are a top reason apparel is returned.
3. Service & Delivery Comments
Typically, product reviews focus on the product itself. However, some brands and retailers also want to collect feedback on other aspects of the customer experience – including service and delivery. This makes sense, as the experiences a customer has with a brand can be just as important as the product. As such, optimizing experiences can increase both conversion and retention.
If you’re looking to collect feedback on service and delivery, consider adding a service/delivery comments field to your Review Collection form. But remember: only collect this data if you plan to act on the insights it yields.
4. Tag-Based Questions
Some brands and retailers build interactive review snapshots that provide an overview of all reviews written for a particular product. For example, consumers landing on this product page can quickly determine the product’s pros, cons, and best uses – among other things. Shoppers can then click on any of these elements to hone in on reviews that speak to these specific factors. And research tells us that visitors who filter by these “tags” convert at a rate that’s more than 78% higher than average.
In order to display this aggregated information for your shoppers, you’ve got to collect it in your Review Collection form. Typically, reviewers are provided with a selection of answers for each question.
A further benefit of including pros and cons in this way is that they can help get a customer’s thoughts/juices flowing. As a best practice, these are typically served up before the review comment. This plants thoughts on the topics they may choose to cover subsequently. For example: if they regard “comfortable” as a pro, they might choose to elaborate on why in their review comment.
5. Merchant Specific Questions
There are certain tag-based questions – such as pros, cons, and best uses – that can be used in Review Collection forms across just about any product category. However, there may be other questions you may want to include in your Review Collection form that are specific to your brand.
How do you figure out which merchant-specific questions to ask in your Review Collection form? Consider what information would be most helpful to shoppers trying to decide if your product is the right fit for them.
For shoppers, the ability to filter only on reviews that directly address a personally relevant problem or concern specific to them is very powerful.
6. Email Opt In
There are some instances where it makes sense to collect data in your Review Collection form that won’t be included in your review display – but will be leveraged internally. For example, you may want to include a newsletter opt-in form to your Review Collection. It’s a great way to grow your email list, with little effort.
7. Ask Questions Specific to the Product
If you are a brand that sells different categories of products, you should definitely consider structuring your review collection form in line with this. In the below example, the brand has different forms for its skincare and hair care products. This makes total sense: buyers have completely different concerns when shopping for these items.
CHAPTER 3
Preserving Authenticity
The value of reviews is rooted in their authenticity. When consumers write reviews, they’re not doing so to sell products. They’re contributing content simply to share their genuine feedback – whether good, bad, or somewhere in between.
The Growing Concern of Fake Reviews
Yet, one simply needs to do a Google news search for “fake reviews” to see that the authenticity and trustworthiness of reviews is being called into question.
Fake reviews have become more common than you may like to think – especially on certain platforms. And some brands have even gone so far as to suppress negative reviews in an effort to improve consumer perception.
In the short term, suppressing negative reviews and publishing fraudulent ones can be a quick way to improve a brand’s image – and grow sales. But in the end, these practices cause lasting damage.
Phony reviews mislead customers. This leads to poor purchase decisions – and unhappy customers.
What’s more, when a brand or retailer is found out (notice we said when, not if) for these unsavory practices, it can cause irreparable damage to their reputation. If consumers don’t feel they can trust a company, they’re unlikely to make a purchase.
Nearly all Consumers Have Stumbled Upon a Shady Review
How common are fake reviews? And what red flags do shoppers look for to determine if a review is phony?
Fake reviews have become all too common. Nine in 10 (90%) US consumers believe they’ve read a fake review in the past.
How US Shoppers Pinpoint Fraudulent Reviews
Most shoppers in the US believe they’ve seen fake reviews in the past. But what factors lead them to believe a review isn’t authentic?
The top factor is the wording of the review or how it’s written. This factor also tops the list among UK shoppers.
Other red flags include poor grammar, extremeness (either too positive or too negative), and a lack of specific detail.
Red Flags for Fake Reviews According to Consumers
Which of the following features in a review makes you concerned it may be fake?
- Wording of reviews and/or how it’s written: 67%
- Poor grammar or doesn’t make sense: 59%
- Too extreme (whether positive or negative): 54%
- Lack of specific detail: 52%
- The name/profile of the reviewer: 27%
So fake reviews are bad. But how can you safeguard against them: enter content moderation.
Content Moderation
So, what does best-in-class ratings and reviews moderation look like?
First of all, it needs to account for each and every piece of content submitted by your shoppers.
Every user-generated review, photo, video, question, or answer — should go through an extensive moderation process to confirm it’s authentic, appropriate, and fraud-free. Each piece of content should also not be altered in any way.
All content that is published should appear as it is originally written, including typos and grammatical errors. This ultimately is critical to authenticity and snuffling out fake reviews.
Step 1: Fraud Detection
Displaying fake reviews directly violates FTC guidelines. So it’s important to keep this content off your website.
Step 2: Automated Filtering
Beyond fraud, systems can also scan each piece of content through an automated filtering process to catch additional authenticity issues, from profanity to personally identifiable information. When a potential issue is detected, a tag is added to that content so that it can be later reviewed by a human.
Step 3: Human Moderation
For many businesses and Ratings and Reviews vendors, the moderation process stops at step two. But relying solely on technology can leave you vulnerable to some of the exact issues that violate the FTC guideline – like deceptive performance claims, medical advice, and other forms of misrepresentation.
Step 4: Badging and Displaying Content
Once a piece of content passes steps 1-3, it’s ready to be displayed on your website. Woohoo! But remember: it’s important to use accurate badging and disclosure codes that indicate the source of the content.
Review Display on PDPs and Throughout Your Site
Let’s start with the most obvious place to showcase your review content: your product pages. But although it’s obvious, many brands and retailers get it wrong.
Of course, review displays aren’t one size fits all.
Create Review Displays On Your PDPs That Convert
- Search and filter options
Once a shopper finds reviews relevant to their use case, they’re more likely to make a purchase. In fact, there’s a 202.9% conversion lift among visitors who use the search feature (over general visitors to the same page).
- Compare and contrast
Helps consumers understand the key features existing customers like and dislike about the product. A review “faceoff” shows the most liked positive review alongside the most liked negative one. It’s a great way for shoppers to quickly understand the positives and the negatives of the product that have been most helpful for other shoppers to learn about.
- Enable shoppers to identify “helpful” reviews
When a shopper reads a review, they can indicate that the content was helpful (or not) by clicking on the thumbs up or thumbs down icons.
- Further Enhance Your Image Gallery with Review Content
Your PDP image galleries offer a great opportunity to further highlight great review content in a hugely visually compelling way.
Displaying Reviews Throughout Your Website
There are plenty of ways to leverage review content throughout your website to entice visitors to click through to your product pages.
Transform your Homepage by leveraging Review Content
Of course, your homepage is the springboard for the rest of the customer journey. So it represents a fantastic opportunity to guide consumers down the path to purchase.
Featuring review content on your homepage does just that. Why? It helps shoppers more easily (and quickly) find the products that meet their needs.
Attention spans are notoriously short nowadays so you have little time to influence behavior as you’d like. As we’ve seen, ratings and reviews are among the most potent weapons in your arsenal. So incorporate it in your first “touch” with customers.
Be sure to display the average star rating and review volume for each of the products featured in your best sellers carousel. Or, consider adding a top rating products carousel to your homepage.
If you’re featuring a specific product on your homepage, include user-generated photos, as well as the text of a glowing review, to entice visitors to click to learn more.
Spruce up your Category Pages
Today, when shoppers hit a product category page, they likely have the option to filter the results by a number of different categories, such as price and new arrivals. Make sure your shoppers can sort by “top rated,” too.
Also include the average star rating and the number of reviews for each product in a category to make browsing easier for shoppers.
Want to include even more social proof on your category pages? When a shopper hovers over a product, display a preview of a written review to entice them to click through.
Feature Customer Photos and Videos Throughout Your Website
Your professionally shot photos and videos are certainly important. But shoppers actually prefer to see photos and videos of your products being used by real people like them .
In fact, according to our own research, 80% of consumers say customer-generated visual content is more valuable than glossy photos produced by a brand or retailer.
Consider adding a visual content gallery to your website that showcases images and videos of your products that you’ve collected from social media.
Enhancing your Marketing Initiatives with Ratings & Reviews
Getting a negative review can feel like a punch to the gut. After all, your brand is laser-focused on developing products and experiences that your customers love.
So it’s never fun to hear negative feedback about something you’ve worked hard to create.
But negative reviews are inevitable. Even the most well-loved businesses get them from time to time.
That’s because it’s simply impossible to create a product that meets the needs of every single customer who comes your way.
Of course, negative reviews are never the end goal. But there’s a positive side to negative reviews. Yes, you read that right. In fact, one and two star reviews can actually be good for your business.
In Digital Marketing
If you’re like any other brand, you are constantly questioning how to improve the performance of your digital campaigns to drive more shoppers to your website.
Ratings and reviews are a fantastic resource to leverage to drive these enhancements.
Build Email Campaigns that Showcase Ratings & Reviews
With most inboxes now overflowing with promotional emails, you need to stand out.
Consider incorporating star ratings and review text. Or perhaps create completely new campaigns that feature your top-rated products.
Feature Shopper Content on Social Media
Consumers use social media to connect with family and friends. But they also use these channels to discover products and engage with brands.
Feature star ratings, review quotes and customer-submitted photos on your paid and organic posts to drive traffic to your site and generate sales.
In Traditional Marketing
Traditional marketing is still critical for most brands. Incorporating ratings and reviews content can make this activity even more effective.
Add Review Content to Print Ads
If your brand runs printed ads in magazines or newspapers, think of ways to enhance these ads with ratings and reviews content.
Add Star Ratings and Reviews to Print Catalogs
If you send out paper catalogs to customers, consider adding star ratings, text reviews or even shopper-submitted photos alongside your key products. Or, include an entire spread of your top-rated products.
Create More Credible TV Commercials with Review Content
If you’re looking for ways to make your TV commercials pop, ratings and reviews content can help.
Feature star ratings for your products (or even your company as a whole) in your television commercials.
Power Creativity with Review Content
Some of the most fun examples we’ve seen use review content as the basis of broader creative branding and imagery.
In Brick-and-Mortar Retail
We know consumers use ratings and reviews to make smart purchase decisions when shopping online. But they also depend on this content when shopping in a physical store. So look for opportunities to showcase this content in your brick-and-mortar stores.
Ensure Your Displays are Mobile-Friendly
Everyone has a smartphone now and typically treats it as an extension of their own bodies.
When shopping in a store, it’s now common practice for shoppers to pull out their phones to get more information about a product.
Enhance Store Signage with Review Content
Strategically placed review content can attract the attention of in-store shoppers — and give them the confidence they need to add an item to their cart.
Some stores are starting to use digital signage to showcase UGC. And featuring this content in your stores doesn’t have to be an expensive, high tech initiative.
Feature Review Content on the Product Itself
Another way to give in-store shoppers the social proof they crave? Feature review content on the product itself.
This can be as simple as including the average star rating or the text from an especially glowing review on the packaging of a few of your key products.
Dealing with Negative Reviews
Today, consumers have literally endless shopping options. Of course, there are dozens of things a consumer considers when determining which companies to do business with and which to pass up. But one top consideration is trust.
Negative Reviews Help Consumers Make Better Purchase Decisions
Shoppers depend on negative reviews to determine which products fit their needs and which don’t.
In fact, when researching products, two-thirds of ecommerce shoppers filter for one-star reviews. These visitors still convert at 108% the rate of general web traffic.
Here are three things we’ve noticed from speaking to brands and looking at this data day-in, day-out:
- Based on the negative reviews, the shopper determines the product isn’t a good fit for their needs. They keep searching for a product that’s a better match and you avoid an unhappy customer and an unnecessary return.
- The shopper determines the feedback in the one and two star reviews isn’t relevant to them so they disregard it.
- The shopper determines the worst case scenario isn’t a concern so they purchase the product anyway.
In each of these three situations, negative reviews helped a shopper make a more informed purchase decision.
3 Ways to Leverage Negative Reviews to Boost Your Bottom Line
So negative reviews can positively impact the performance of your brand. In fact, they should be viewed as an opportunity to do just that.
Here are three ways how:
1. Display Negative Reviews
It might be tempting to filter out negative reviews. But avoid the temptation. One and two star reviews add a layer of authenticity to your content and let shoppers know you’re a brand they can trust. What’s more, negative reviews help your shoppers make more informed purchase decisions, which will help decrease returns and boost loyalty.
So be sure to display all reviews, regardless of star rating.
2. Respond to Negative Reviews
When you get a negative review, don’t just cross your fingers and hope it’ll quickly get covered up by positive reviews. Instead, face the review head-on by responding to it.
When you respond to a negative review, you have the opportunity to turn a bad situation around and salvage a relationship with your customer. If you’re able to fix the issue, the shopper is likely to buy from you again. What’s more, your response will show future shoppers that you value your customers and are committed to helping them resolve their issues. And that’ll give these new customers the confidence they need to make a purchase.
Remember: when it comes to responding to negative reviews, time is of the essence. If a customer is left hanging, they’ll only get more upset.
In addition, avoid using a generic, canned response — and don’t get defensive. Instead, personalize your response by using the shopper’s name and address the specific issues raised in the negative review.
Finally, take things offline when needed. Sometimes you’ll need more details from the shopper in order to resolve their issue.
3. Analyze Negative Reviews to Identify Actionable Insights
In some cases, a negative review might mention an isolated issue. For example, a product might be damaged in transit.
But in other cases, a negative review can point to a larger issue that needs to be addressed. For example, one of our customers noticed several negative reviews for a watch that mentioned a broken clasp. They rectified the problem and their ratings subsequently improved.
Be sure you’re regularly analyzing your review content to gauge sentiment and identify issues early on. Then, use the insights you uncover to improve your products or messaging/marketing of those products or whatever else the data says needs adjusting.
With the right tool, you can also benchmark against your competitors. Compare by product rating, sentiment, key themes and so on by product, brand, and product category. This is critical insight to improving overall strategic direction and performance.
Sharing & Syndication
Creating buyer confidence at scale is critical to growing your business. A best-in-class ecommerce strategy will therefore nearly always leverage ratings and reviews as a critical mechanism to “meet shoppers where they are”.
Sharing and syndicating ratings and reviews content to different channels across the internet is a common tactic to scale brand credibility.
Ratings and Reviews as a Customer Acquisition Mechanism
Sharing and syndicating your ratings and reviews content serves one main purpose: expanding your reach.
Why is this so important? It exposes the value of your products to new audiences, which means it’s critical to customer acquisition.
In an ideal world, you’d create a great product, price it appropriately, build an awesome website and product page and then sit back and watch the sales come in. But that’s unrealistic. You need to be findable across a range of digital channels. We explore a few in this chapter.
But first, here’s a brief definition of what we mean by syndication in the context of ratings and reviews.
Ratings and Reviews Syndication, Defined
How exactly does syndication work? Essentially, syndication is when one business shares some form of user-generated content such as a review, question, photo or video with another business.
Improve your SEO ranking
Retailer sites aren’t the only place where sharing of ratings and reviews content can enhance customer acquisition potential.
Organic SEO
Search engines love fresh content. You don’t want to be constantly refreshing your website copy when the product or value proposition hasn’t changed just to improve your rankings.
A steady stream of new, relevant review content enables you to fulfill this key need. It is also typically keyword rich.
A strong review generation program therefore helps your product pages rank higher – which means more traffic on your site and more shoppers being exposed to your products.
Questions & Answers, a form of user-generated content which we explore in depth later, is also great for this purpose.
Paid Search Advertising
Search ads are another great way to reach new shoppers – and they’re even more effective when they include star ratings.
Be sure to syndicate your product star ratings to Google. That way, stars will appear in your ads — and you will further optimize inbound traffic to your product pages.
Google Seller Ratings
Google Seller Ratings is a Google Ads extension that displays a rating between one and five stars that shows up on search ads.
It’s an automated extension that is calculated by aggregating customer reviews from various sources that Google trusts. The resulting rating is then displayed within the body of the ad.
If you’ve ever typed into Google’s search bar, you’ve seen Google Seller Ratings.
It is the star rating that displays underneath the URL on Google ads.
While Seller Ratings are most often used by ecommerce companies, any company with a digital presence can use Google Seller Ratings (Note: Seller Ratings are for the entire site, not individual products).
If they are not already, Seller Ratings should be a critical part of your digital strategy. Why? According to Google, they can increase the click-through rates (CTR) of your ads by up to 10%.
This is super important because a higher CTR means a higher quality score — which reduces your CPC (cost per click) and improves your ad rank.
Bottom line: Seller Ratings optimize the performance of your Google Ads. More click throughs, more eyeballs on your site and – in turn – more sales from “greenfield” customers. Which makes complete sense. Your Seller Ratings are determined by a cumulative and aggregated volume of trusted customer reviews. They are a direct reflection of the experiences your customers have had while dealing with your business. This provides social proof for your brand right on Google search results pages, increasing shoppers’ trust in your business and giving them the confidence they need to click through to your site.
So ensure you are maximizing your customer acquisition potential by syndicating your ratings in this way.
Ratings & Reviews on Amazon
Every brand knows about the importance of Amazon as a sales channel. In fact, nearly half of ALL product searches start on Amazon nowadays.
Showcase UGC on Amazon Product Pages
Product reviews are actually a top reason consumers shop on Amazon. So think of creative ways to put this content front and center on your Amazon product pages.
One way to do that is to create an image that includes the text of a product review. Then, upload it alongside your other product images.
You can also feature user-generated visual content alongside your professionally shot photos and videos to give shoppers a better idea of what your products look like being used by “real” people.
Ratings & Reviews on big box retail sites
Many brands sell their products through retailer sites like Target, Walmart and others as well as through vertical specific platforms like Ulta, Zappos and so on.
If you sell your products through retailer sites make it a priority to give consumers the content they need to make confident purchase decisions.
Again, these are critical opportunities to acquire new previously untapped customers. So don’t miss this opportunity to provide a great first impression.
Syndicate Your Content to Retailer Partners
Typically, a shopper will write a review on the same website where they purchased a product. That means only customers who shop on your website will see this content.
But when you share your ratings and reviews from your own ecommerce site to your product pages on retailer sites, your reach obviously increases significantly.
Activating Ratings & Reviews Syndication
So you’re fully bought into ratings and reviews syndication being something you should be doing. But how do you activate it?
The short answer: it’s enabled by your ratings and reviews technology vendor. You’ll need to talk to your preferred supplier to understand where they can get your ratings and reviews content.
As well as reach, accuracy is super important. Check whichever vendor you choose to work with accurately syndicates and effectively moderates content across the web.
Ratings & Reviews as an SEO tool
Ratings and Reviews are a known SEO aid. The obvious benefit of this is traffic. And, as we mentioned in Chapter 1, average rating and review volume have a significant impact on page views. Much of this is the result of this information being displayed on search engines, throughout ecommerce sites and so on.
However, there is a technical SEO aspect that helps with actual rankings within organic search results. In this chapter we explore this in more detail and provide the guidance you need to ensure you, well, optimize for Search Engine Optimization
1. UGC is good for SEO
First off, we’re a Ratings and Reviews company and we know all about the importance of UGC from an SEO perspective.
The top search results always feature product pages with lots of reviews and a good rating. That’s because Google knows people are looking for the best product, and reviews and ratings help Google determine that.
But reviews are just one aspect of user-generated content, or UGC. There’s also Q&A and user-submitted images and videos. Together, all three forms of UGC are essential to product SEO for a few key reasons:
- UGC provides additional content for the search engines to gobble up. The more content Google has, the better their understanding of your site.
- That content is often keyword-rich. Customers include all sorts of key phrases in their reviews, more than you could ever include in a snappy product description.
- The content is being generated on a regular basis, signaling to Google that your page is still relevant to people searching for these keywords.
2. Use keywords in all the right places
Keywords are the foundation of SEO. Keywords are the words people use during discovery and it’s important to use them when describing your products.
If you want to increase your visibility in search engines, you’ve got to include keywords in all the key places (see what we did there?) on your product page. Your customers will already take care of keywords for you in your product reviews. Where else can you include them?
- Your title tag
- Your meta description
- Your H1
- Product description
Title tag
Your title tag appears alongside your Google search result in Google. It lives in your site code, so you’ll never see it unless you go to Google. You can fit about 55-60 characters of text in your title tag.
Meta description
Your meta description is the two lines of text that appear beneath your title tag in the Google search results. Like your title tag, it lives in your site code, not on the front-end of your product page.
Together, these two elements serve as a virtual billboard — advertising your product to people in the search results. Will your billboard encourage people to click, or to scroll on by? Add keywords, and they’re more likely to click.
It’s common for Google to auto-generate their own meta description using text on the page. Still, it’s a best practice to write your own so you have more control over how your brand appears in the search results. You can include up to 160 characters.
H1 tag
On the page itself, you probably have a big bold heading that puts your product name in bold. This is your h1 tag, and it’s one more area where you can incorporate a keyword.
Product description
Finally, you can include keywords in the biggest piece of text on your product page: the product description. When writing your product descriptions, keep in mind the pain points people are looking for your product to solve. They may be searching for those very same things in Google!
3. Mark up your images
Images speak louder than words. Nowhere is that statement more true than in the world of eCommerce.
Now, search engines like Google can’t “see” images (yet), but you can tell them what’s in your image, via a little thing called alt text. Like your title tag and meta description, alt text lives in your site code, where search engines can read it to gather more context. (People who are visually impaired also rely on alt text, as their screen readers read it aloud to describe what’s in an image.)
4. Use a clear URL structure
There’s one more thing that shows up in the search results: your URL.
URL structure is an afterthought for many brands, with the developers left to do whatever feels most logical to them. However, a clean, clear URL structure can make the difference between Google crawling your web pages with ease… or getting lost somewhere along the way.
5. Implement schema markup
Think back to the last time you were shopping online. Have you ever noticed how the search results for products look different than normal results? For example, they often display star ratings, price, and in-stock information.
Once you start to look for them, you’ll notice these stars show up all over Google:
This extra information, especially the stars, is called rich snippets. Rich snippets stand out to shoppers browsing the Google search results. Rich snippets also expand the size of your search result. Either way, searchers are more likely to click through when they see them.
To enable rich snippets, you need to add schema markup to your website. Schema is code that speaks the search engine’s language and tells them key information about your product, like its price, availability, ratings, and more. To improve your product page SEO, consider adding these schemas to your product pages:
- Product schema
- Reviews schema
Image & Video
Today’s shoppers depend on visual content including photos and videos to make informed purchase decisions. In fact, 100% of shoppers search for photos or videos prior to making a purchase at least occasionally. And 50% always do so.
Consumers Rely More on Visual Content Than They Did Five Years Ago
When researching a product prior to purchase, how often do you look for visuals, such as photos and videos, of that product?
Indeed, visual content has never been more important. In the midst of the Covid pandemic, more consumers are shopping online. Photos and videos help these online shoppers find the products that best fit their needs even when they can’t access their options in person.
Professional Photos and Videos Alone Won’t Cut it
Consumers have a big appetite for visual content. But not just any photos or videos will fit their need.
You probably already capture beautiful, stylized photos and videos of your products. That professional content certainly has a role to play, but it’s no longer enough. That’s because 99%of consumers specifically seek out photos and videos from others like them before making a purchase – up from 88% in 2016. In addition, 77% always or regularly seek out this content.
Consumers Seek Out User-Generated Visual Content Prior to Purchase
User-Generated Imagery Boosts Sales
Shoppers depend on photos and videos from others like them. And brands and retailers that collect and display this content are rewarded.
User-Generated Photos and Videos Fuel Smart Purchase Decisions
Collecting and displaying visual content from your customers is an important way to help future shoppers make informed purchase decisions. Why should you care? Because when shoppers make informed purchase decisions, they’re more likely to be satisfied when their products arrive in the mail. And that means they’ll also be more likely to:
- Keep the product. That’s one less return for you to worry about.
- Write positive reviews. That content will help future shoppers make smart purchase decisions — and boost your conversion rate.
- Be a repeat customer. That’s great news, because it’s cheaper to nurture an existing customer than to acquire a new one.
Customer Imagery Influences Purchase Behavior
User-generated visual content fuels informed purchase decisions in a number of key ways. Let’s take a closer look.
Visual Content Builds Trust
Today’s shoppers want to buy from brands they trust.
Collecting and displaying photos and videos from your shoppers is one way to earn that trust.
In order to boost sales, brands post sleek, glossy photos that show off their products in the best light. But consumers post realistic photos that show products in real situations and they have nothing to gain by doing so. And other consumers trust this content.
Research tells us that 80% of consumers find photos from other consumers more valuable than visual content from brands and retailers. What’s more, 42% say that the presence of user-submitted photos and videos boosts their trust in the product or brand.
When you display user-generated visual content, you’re showing future shoppers you have nothing to hide. That’s an important way to let them know you’re a brand they can trust.
Visual Content Sets Realistic Expectations
User-generated visual content allows shoppers to see what your products look like in real life being used by real people. That means there will be fewer surprises when the item arrives.
What’s more, when you display user-generated photos and videos, shoppers can better understand elements of your product that might not be captured in your professional photos.
Visual Content Excites and Inspires Shoppers
Seeing photos and videos from other customers gets shoppers excited to try a product.
Enter the power of user-generated visual content. The company encourages customers to share photos of the dishes they’ve made using their products.
User-generated visual content can also inspire shoppers to add additional items to their shopping baskets thus increasing your sales.
Visual Content Helps Shoppers See What Products Looks Like on Different Types of People
A product like a vacuum cleaner looks the same no matter who buys it. But apparel and cosmetic products look different on different people.
User-generated visual content helps apparel and cosmetic shoppers better understand how a product looks on different kinds of people. Shoppers can find photos and videos submitted by people with similar characteristics to them. And that way, they can identify the products that’ll work best for their unique needs.
Amplify the Reach of Your User-Generated Visual Content
Let’s take a look at some proven best practices for getting your user-generated visual content in front of more shoppers.
Prominently Display Content on Product Pages
Perhaps the most obvious place to display your user-generated visual content is on your product pages. After all, when a shopper is researching a product, this content can give them the boost of confidence they need to convert.
So be sure to prominently showcase user generated imagery both natively submitted and curated from Instagram in a gallery on your product pages.
Another option is to display your customer-generated content at the top of your product page — right alongside your own professional images and videos.
Showcase Visual Content from Shoppers Throughout Your Website
User-generated imagery inspires shoppers — and increases the chances that they’ll convert. So look for other opportunities to showcase this content — beyond the product page.
A great way to do that is to display a shoppable visual carousel on your category pages and your homepage that features content from your shoppers.
Enhance Other Marketing Materials with User-Generated Imagery
When it comes to displaying the user-generated imagery you collect, don’t limit yourself to your own website. There are plenty of other ways to repurpose this content in your marketing initiatives.
In fact, the possibilities are nearly endless.
Consider including customer-submitted visual content in your digital marketing initiatives.
This content will capture your audience’s attention and help you earn their trust. And ideally, they’ll be intrigued enough to click through to the product details page to learn more (and find even more visual content from others like them.
There may be opportunities to enhance your traditional marketing initiatives with user-generated imagery, too.
Enhance Your Marketing Initiatives with Customer Imagery
The possibilities are endless, but here are a few ideas to get the ideas flowing.
Digital
- Display
- Retargeting
- Organic social media posts
- Paid social media posts
Traditional
- Catalogs
- Print ads
- In-store signage
- TV commercials
- Outdoor advertising
Questions & Answers
Questions & Answers (Q&A) is a natural accompaniment for ratings and reviews content.
More importantly, it’s also extremely powerful when it comes to driving results for brands. But it’s underutilized. Too many brands aren’t taking advantage of this type of UGC, even though it’s super helpful for shoppers and super profitable for brands.
No matter how you slice it, the stats all agree: Q&A is the most impactful type of UGC on consumer outcomes.
Why? Q&A has become an essential resource for consumers who are now shopping solely online. They can’t touch, test, or feel products before they buy. They can’t hold it in their hands or talk to one of your in-store sales associates.
But they still have questions that need to be answered before being confident enough to purchase.
So any best practice ratings and reviews or user-generated content strategy should absolutely include Q&A as a core component.
What Is Q&A?
Q&A allows prospective customers to, you guessed it, ask questions about the products they’re interested in. Previous shoppers and your own brand experts typically provide the responses.
Why Use Q&A?
No matter how detailed your product description is, some shoppers will still have additional questions they need answered before they’re comfortable enough to buy. And if they can’t get an answer, they’re likely to forgo the purchase.
In fact, 24% of shoppers are less likely to purchase a product if there isn’t a Q&A section on the product page. This number is even higher – 33% – among Gen Z shoppers.
Similarly, 55% of U.S. online adults are likely to abandon their online purchase if they cannot find a quick answer to their question, according to Forrester.
Question and answer content on your product pages is intended to address this issue.
As well as driving more conversions at the consideration phase in the journey, Q&A also drives customer acquisition. How? It has serious SEO benefits.
Consistently filling your product pages with fresh, keyword-rich content enhances your search rankings and drives more traffic to your site.
In addition, Q&A helps you identify any recurring questions that shoppers are asking. You can then adjust your product descriptions or messaging accordingly.
Maybe consumers keep asking about the size of the bottle of lotion. As a result, you then add sizing information in the product description to avoid people having to ask those questions. In doing so, you remove a common barrier to purchase.
And last but certainly not least, Q&A has undeniable community-building power. Offering your biggest fans the opportunity to become content creators on your own site – while providing them with a direct communication channel to your business – deepens their relationship with your brand.
For shoppers, Q&A also of course provides extremely authentic validation of your products. As in any industry, having real customers address prospective customer questions is about as convincing as it gets.
Best Practices for Collecting Q&A Content
The first step is to add Q&A to your site. But before you do, you need internal commitment to the process.
Q&A can be immensely powerful in driving desired outcomes. But only if customer questions are actually answered. Multiple unanswered questions is way worse than not providing the opportunity in the first place.
Assuming you have the processes and structures in place to support a Q&A program, you should aim to cover some basic bases to get it off the ground.
Assemble your Q&A team
Dedicate some of your internal staff so you can respond to questions quickly. The faster, the better.
If possible, have multiple brand experts available to answer questions. This alleviates the burden on any one person, and relieves customer service reps who may already be stretched thin.
How to get started
Your first step is creating questions. Whenever you add Q&A to your site, or whenever you launch a new product, add the top questions you expect customers to have, along with answers.
You can analyze your existing review content to see if common questions come up, and pre-seed based on that. Check in with your customer service team, too. They may have additional ideas for Q&A.
Beyond that, it’s meant to be an organic process. The whole point is to address genuine concerns from genuine customers. So simply giving them the opportunity to ask by activating Q&A on your site is key.
You could of course run an email campaign to try to expedite the process. But the best content will come organically.
Start small
Not sure about capacity? Don’t launch Q&A sitewide at first. Launch it on your best-selling products. This will provide an immediate sense of its likely impact.
It’ll also give you a baseline for the volume and types of questions you’ll get. You can adjust your bandwidth accordingly as you expand Q&A to other product pages.
Have a system for routing questions
Questions asked on your site can go to different queues based on the type of inquiry. You can keep it simple and route all questions to a general queue, or you can route specific questions to different kinds of people.
Link to related products in your response
Sometimes the customer may ask about an item that’s been discontinued, or complementary products. Make it easy for them to add more to their cart by linking to the other products in your answer.
Also encourage answers from your customers
As we mentioned before, letting other customers respond offers your busy customer service team some relief, while allowing shoppers to hear from people like them.
Plus, 94% of shoppers value answers from verified buyers who have purchased and used the product in question. In comparison, 45% value answers from the brand or retailer selling the product.
Notify shoppers when their question has been answered
We like to call these answer emails, and customers love them. For brands like Skechers, answer emails boast an 80% open rate and a 51% conversion rate.
Are you a retailer?
Give your brands an opportunity to respond and interact directly with customers via Q&A on your product pages.
Best Practices for Displaying Q&A Content
When it comes to displaying Q&A content on your product pages, we always recommend some basic tips to get started.
Never lose sight of the objective of Q&A: it’s to provide critical validation and encouragement at the moment of truth.
Moderate Q&A effectively
Shoppers could ask questions about the wrong product, curse, or include personal information you don’t want to display. You want your Q&A to be valuable, accurate, and authentic. So make sure you have the appropriate moderation processes in place to ensure it hits the mark.
Ensure the answer provided is relevant to the question asked and is for the correct product etc.
Identify your answers
Brands can allow different people to answer questions, from staff experts to verified purchasers. Show who’s responding to build trust with potential shoppers.
Make your Q&A easy to navigate
As with Ratings and Reviews display, add a search box and filter functionality so shoppers can search terms to see if their question has previously been asked. This becomes especially important as Q&A volume grows.
Analyze: Review Program Optimization
That brings us to the final two chapters of our Guide: leveraging the data incorporated within your ratings and reviews to drive meaningful business improvement.
Let’s start with Review Program Optimization: understanding the impact of your reviews program on revenue and adapting accordingly.
Review Collection Metrics to Analyze and Optimize
1. Overall Review Coverage
2. Review Coverage by Product
3. Review Recency
4. Review Length
5. Reviews by Source
6. Reviews by Incentive
7. Review Form Submission Rate
8. Review Questions
9. Review Observations
10. Review Trends
Review Display Metrics to Analyze and Optimize
1. Review Snippet Interaction
2. Review Interactor Conversion Rate
3. Average Star Rating
4. Reviews per Product
5. Helpful Votes
6. Top Search Terms
7. Review Filter Interaction
8. Most Liked Reviews
9. Review Sort Interaction
10. Merchant Specific Questions (MSQs)
Web/Retailer Presence (SEO) Metrics to Analyze and Optimize
Factors like review volumes and average rating of course improve traffic volumes. But – in addition – there are some incredibly meaningful nuggets of information you can extract from your review content to further boost SEO and – in turn – eyeballs on your product pages.
Beyond these immediate benefits, analyzing your UGC can also yield valuable insights into how to improve your SEO even further. Insights like:
- What keywords are we missing from our product pages?
- How do we add more keyword-rich content to our product pages?
- How do we improve our rankings on other retailers, like Amazon?
Having the answers to these questions — and taking action on them — can make a huge difference in how you show up in the search engines, and how many shoppers you convert.
Here are seven metrics to focus on.
1. Top Review Search Terms
2. Products With Zero or Few Reviews
3. Review Coverage
4. Review Sentiment
5. Q&A Coverage
6. Syndication Performance
7. Share to Amazon Report
Analyze: Product Optimization
Today, many businesses spend millions of dollars on research projects all aimed at getting to the heart of what their customers are thinking.
Survey programs, customer focus groups, and so on are seriously expensive and often not especially effective.
This is because they generally yield feedback that’s pretty generic. And that makes it hard for them to take any meaningful action.
But UGC is different. You can very directly map specific feedback to specific products and the feedback you receive is meaningful and actionable. It’s also publicly available, meaning you can compare and benchmark your own performance against competitors.
As a result, the most sophisticated UGC programs leverage review data to drive product enhancements. Product Experience Improvement – leveraging the product intelligence contained within your reviews to enhance your products in meaningful ways for consumers and shoppers.
All this means it’s context-rich and – as a result – very actionable. More generic feedback simply cannot provide the same guidance that is as direct.
Product Insights You Can Extract from Your Review Content
Over the past few years, an unprecedented number of consumers have switched brands or retailers, and nearly 80% of consumers plan to continue exploring their options moving forward.
With customer loyalty at an all-time low, competition is steeper than ever. To thrive in today’s crowded ecommerce environment, brands must have a deep understanding of their target customer, and how well they are meeting their needs.
Fortunately, reviews – when analyzed in the appropriate manner – contain a lot of the information you need to understand and improve your products.
Here are the seven top insights you can glean:
1. Discover how customers feel about your products
2. Hone in on the right keywords for SEO and Google advertising
3. Highlight the products and features your customers like most
4. Use top descriptors to focus on your next product innovation
5. Identify and resolve issues before they get worse
6. Launch new products with success
7. Compare sentiment across products, categories, and brands
Competitor and Benchmark Insights You Can Extract from Your Review Content
When it comes to UGC, there are a lot of industry benchmarks out there — from what’s considered an ideal star rating to the number of reviews customers expect to see (in fact, we extensively cover those benchmarks here).
Knowing the industry benchmarks is an essential first step. To take your UGC strategy even further, however, you need insights into your particular niche. What other brands are your customers considering? How do consumers feel about their products in comparison to yours? Do your competitors have more reviews than you, or higher ratings?
To boil it down: how exactly do you compare on the digital shelf – be this on search engines, retail channels and so on – to your competitors?
Having the answers to these questions — and taking action on them — is the only way to truly stand out. Fortunately, customer product reviews contain the information to help you find these answers.
Read on as we share seven key metrics to watch to better understand your competitor’s product performance and brand health.
1. Brand Health Score
2. Brand Health Rank
3. Review Count
4. Key Themes
5. Top Topics
6. Average Review Rating
7. Product Sentiment by Retailer
Quick tips for Ratings & Reviews in 2023
This guide is intended to provide you with all the direction you need to run a successful, productive and most importantly – revenue-generating ratings and reviews program in 2023.
There is a lot of information to digest: there are a ton of elements involved in ratings and reviews after all.
But here are four key areas you should absolutely be focusing on this year:
- Collect more and better quality reviews
- Showcase to drive conversions
- Ratings and Reviews should be where your program starts
- Analysis and data should drive your decision making
- Content Source: powerreviews.com
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