It’s no secret that search engine optimization can greatly improve the performance of your business. An often overlooked aspect of this is the strategic use of customer reviews. Not only do they bolster consumer trust and credibility, but they also significantly enhance your SEO performance.
Understanding the SEO Benefits of Customer Reviews
In an era where securing top positions on Google is fiercely competitive, every aspect of your SEO strategy, including customer reviews, plays a critical role. Reviews contribute to your SEO in several ways, such as providing additional keywords, creating rich snippets, fostering genuine customer engagement, and building trust.
However, the question arises: How can you influence the SEO value of reviews when they are inherently out of your direct control? This guide delves into practical strategies to incorporate authentic customer reviews into your internal SEO strategy, enhancing your online presence.
How to think about SEO in your review strategy
Collect reviews on multiple platforms
Diversifying the platforms on which you collect reviews is key. While gathering them on a single platform might be simpler, spreading them across various platforms—including Google, Facebook, Trustpilot, and your own website—enhances your reach and SEO impact. Each platform contributes uniquely to your online footprint, a vital aspect Google considers when assessing your business’s presence.
Google also recently released Seller Ratings, which utilise 30 trusted review partners. This means that Google has diversified the sources they use to determine the credibility of a business.
Remember, not all platforms hold equal weight in Google’s eyes, so tailor your review collection strategy accordingly. You significantly enhance your SEO and online trustworthiness by strategically distributing your reviews across different platforms, including those that contribute to Google’s Seller Ratings.
Ask questions to guide review content
77% of customers say they would leave a company review if asked. But just 15% leave reviews regularly. So if you want reviews from your customers, it’s important to make sure you ask for them.
Every review includes different keywords to help describe your product and services to Google. Sometimes, these reviews can even fill in the gaps of content that may exist on your website. Which means your customers are boosting your SEO, ranking and overall visibility without even knowing that they’re helping you.
But if there’s one thing we know about content on Google it’s that the more keywords you can rank for, the better you will perform. A longer, more detailed review will bring more value to your business than a short review and star rating.
Consider adding questions to help guide your customer responses when asking for reviews. A few short questions, such as asking for the pros and cons, could be a great way to encourage users to leave a longer response in a user-friendly way.
However, ensure that if you are asking questions with your reviews, you keep it simple. While more detail and keywords can be beneficial, you don’t want to deter anyone from leaving a review in the first place. Longer reviews may be better than shorter ones; but a shorter review is still better than no review.
Respond to all your reviews.
It’s no secret that responding to reviews is great company practice. It can increase your overall conversion rate, add more personality to your business, and give a higher level of trust to past and future customers.
Google themselves have spoken about the value that responding to reviews can bring to your business and ranking. We must agree when they say that “responding to reviews shows that you value your customers and the feedback they leave about your business.”
Showing this value to your customers in your responses can also have hidden benefits. Knowing their feedback and insights are valued means that future users are likelier to leave a review. Which in turn adds more content about your business for your SEO ranking, as well as more business authenticity.
But while responding to your reviews can improve the visibility of your business, knowing the best ways to respond to different reviews has benefits of its own. Addressing the user by name, being personal, and encouraging them to return will make for a good review response. You can even mention specific products or details in your response to add that personal touch with a few extra keywords for added benefit. The trick is to ensure you respond to every review, leading us to our next point…
Don’t ignore negative reviews
Negative reviews can be just as important for your business and SEO ranking as positive ones. Google won’t just rank your reviews based on the quality of reviews (although this is important), but also on the number and diversity of your reviews. Just like having different reviews on multiple platforms can help your SEO, having a range of different review levels can also improve your overall ranking. It shows more authenticity and continues to add that extra data for Google to rank.
Receiving a negative review can often feel like a kick in the guts. However responding to them can help resolve disputes, show more value to the customer, and create more trust in your business. Personalizing your response, thanking the user for leaving a review, empathizing, and even accepting responsibility where necessary are all ways you can respond to negative reviews to try and create a positive outcome.
It’s also important to remember that you won’t be penalized by Google for negative reviews as long as you have good reviews to balance them out.
Avoid duplicate content
Incorporating existing customer reviews directly into your website is an effective strategy to harness available digital tools and boost your site’s search engine rankings. Utilizing rich snippets, your website can showcase these reviews prominently, even before visitors click through to your site. This approach has been shown to increase click-through rates by 20-30% potentially.
Embedding reviews also circumvents a common SEO pitfall: the issue of duplicate content. Duplicate content refers to instances where identical content appears in multiple locations online. For example, text that is present on your website and simultaneously on your social media channels would be considered duplicate. This poses a challenge for search engines like Google, which must determine which source to prioritize in search rankings, with no assurance that the source will rank highest.
To avoid the drawbacks of duplicate content, embedding reviews is a preferable approach over copying and pasting them into your website. This method enhances your website’s SEO integrity and offers additional benefits in terms of user engagement and authenticity.
Boosting E-E-A-T with Online Reviews
Online reviews are pivotal in elevating your website’s E-E-A-T – Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. These elements are crucial for gaining favor with both search engines and users. Here’s how leveraging online reviews can significantly bolster your site’s E-E-A-T:
Experience – Showcasing Real User Interactions
Customer reviews are direct reflections of user experience with your product or service. They provide authentic insights into what it’s like to engage with your business, showcasing real-world applications and satisfaction levels. This user-generated content serves as a testament to your experience, adding a layer of credibility that can only come from actual user interactions.
Expertise – Demonstrating Knowledge and Skill
Reviews often highlight specific aspects of your products or services that users found beneficial or unique. This can indirectly demonstrate your expertise in your field, as customers may comment on your offerings’ innovation, effectiveness, or specialized features. A collection of positive reviews can serve as a portfolio of your expertise, showcasing your ability to meet and exceed customer expectations.
Authoritativeness – Establishing Industry Leadership
When customers praise your business, they build your reputation as an authority in your industry. Positive reviews, especially those that detail exceptional experiences or outcomes, can elevate your business’s standing, making it a go-to source in your field. This perceived authority is crucial for SEO, as search engines favor websites recognized as leaders in their respective industries.
Trustworthiness – Building Confidence with Transparency
Trust is a cornerstone of customer relationships, and online reviews are a powerful tool in building this trust. By displaying positive and negative reviews transparently, you show that your business values honesty and is confident in its offerings. This transparency builds trust with potential customers and search engines, which prioritize trustworthy sources.
Leveraging Reviews for Maximum Impact
To maximize the impact of reviews on your E-E-A-T:
- Encourage Detailed Reviews: Specific, detailed reviews can better demonstrate your expertise and the quality of your user experience.
- Respond to Reviews: Engaging with positive and negative reviewers shows you value customer feedback and are committed to continuous improvement.
- Highlight Reviews in Key Areas: Feature standout reviews on your website, especially on landing pages, to immediately establish trust and authority with new visitors.
- Monitor Review Trends: Regularly assess the content of your reviews to understand customer perceptions and identify areas for improvement.
By strategically integrating online reviews into your digital presence, you enhance your SEO and reinforce the key elements of E-E-A-T, which are essential for long-term digital success.
Remember – SEO and reviews aren’t exclusive
Reviews are a great tool for any business and should be included in every marketing strategy. But it’s also important to remember that they don’t have to be exclusive to one part of your marketing. By considering your SEO goals and ranking in any campaign asking for reviews, you can create diverse and unique content that makes your business more likely to come out on top.
