A report from AYTM Market Research found that product reviews are increasingly popular among consumers shopping on the web. More than 82 percent of respondents have been directly influenced by a review on a website, and 24.6 percent say reviews “often” impact their purchase decisions.
When it comes to generating or cultivating reviews, marketers can opt for different methods. In general, the review as website content is most likely to suit B2C companies or resellers in the B2B sector.
Including reviews as part of a content marketing strategy is one approach. This can help businesses improve on two fronts. While the fresh, relevant content will help the technical side of SEO, high-quality review articles will also keep consumers engaged and returning to the site for insights on future purchases.
However, many have opted to allow consumers to write their own reviews as part of a comments system on product pages or service landing pages. Providing prospects with this option conveys transparency that builds trust and encourages engagement that can keep customers returning to the website. Moreover, when these reviews are well done and help others make purchase decisions, they add even more value to a website – which ultimately supports SEO.
More than 87 percent of respondents to the AYTM survey said that they usually trust reviews they see on the web to provide a “truthful and impartial” look at a product.
Brafton recently highlighted a user-generated review campaign from an ecommerce coffee vendor. Among the benefits the site saw from allowing customers to discuss products were increased engagement, conversion and time on site. Prospects who read reviews written by other customers converted 125 percent more frequently than those who did not read the content.
