Should we ask for reviews on Google or ProductReview.com.au?
For SEO and customer acquisition, which is the better platform to grow reviews on?
I'd say it depends on the industry @Hatty Bell .... But I typically recommend asking clients to leave reviews on more than just Google.
If you're in an industry where consumers are turning to Google first to research, then absolutely Google reviews are going to be crucial. Particularly if you are a local business and your users are performing searches with local intent where the local pack (map and results) is triggered.
But you should always consider other potential user journeys.
I always recommend businesses perform client's likely searches in Google and understand which 3rd party review sites are prominent and make sure you are building reviews on those platforms. For example, if you're looking for real estate agents then you'll see that ratemyagent and others rank well. For others, it could be TrueLocal or YellowPages or ProductReview. If the consumer is going to any of these sites directly, then they hold special importance.
Typically each business should have up to 3 or 4 sites where they want to generate reviews. I'd be looking at the most influential site/platform, understand how you compare in the eyes of the consumer to your competitors and if you're lacking, then focus on building reviews there first. Then move to the secondary sites/platforms until you are competitive on each of them and then you can start to ask for reviews on any of them to keep them ticking along.
Hey @Hatty Bell - That's a good question...You're looking to encourage users to click on your result over competitors, so they should be your benchmark.
Further to that though, ideally you want to aim to maintain a higher number of reviews and better rating. But it's important to understand that typically a rating of 4.5 from say 5 reviews won't get as many clicks as a competitor that has a rating of 4.0 from 50 reviews.
Reviews on Google are one of the most important ranking factors for SEO. And, when a person scans the search results for a product or service in Google, the business listings that include customer reviews present greater credibility and, naturally, receive more clicks.
It doesn't hurt to have reviews on Google AND ProductReview.com.au but having more reviews on just one platform increases the trust of potential customers.
What are your thoughts @Quentin Aisbett , @Jef Lippiatt , @Adrienne McLean , @Scott Shorter ?
Hey @Hatty Bell I really think the platform for reviews matters based on your business or products / services like @Quentin Aisbett mentioned. I also agree with his additional comment about more reviews at a slightly lower rating is better than a few reviews that are all really high.
In fact, Amazon in the past has flagged products with too many suspiciously high, or too frequent perfect reviews (previously there was a bunch of false or fraudulent reviews being left).
I always encourage thoughtful but honest reviews. I would rather have someone give me a lower rating and get more customers because they still found the information helpful, than just a bunch of 5 star reviews without any additional comment.
Additionally, the platform really matters based on your business or products and services. As a writer with several books on Amazon, reviews (both positive and negative) are vital for reaching more potential customers. The reason is the more reviews elevates how the book is discovered, but the reviews themselves also help lead to additional customers. So the review is helpful in a 2-fold fashion.
Here in the States (and some of the services may be international), there are a variety of ways to leave feedback, the Better Business Bureau (BBB), Google, Angie’s LIst (for service providers / contractors, etc), Thumbtack (service providers, etc.), Yelp (restaurants and shops), Facebook reviews and Consumer Reports. I’m sure there are plenty of others, but those are the ones that come to mind.
The point is to understand the platform or platforms your customers are already using for getting reviews and feedback and using those to your advantage. You can always ask if your customer feels leaving a review or duplicating their review on another site if you are hoping to gain visibility to another market, but that is still their choice.
One great thing that is in your control is that you can feature those reviews on your own website, but I highly recommend using a mix of reviews and always linking back to those sources. This helps lend a level of transparency and authenticity to potential customers. You could also ask customers to give you a testimonial that you can feature on your site.
@Jef Lippiatt that's a great point! If a company has a couple of 5 star reviews with very little comment (especially hotels) I always assume that they are either staff members or associates who have been asked/paid to add reviews.
Linking the reviews to your site is a brilliant idea and really applifies the positive impact of the review. Testimonials are a great way to build trust. What's the best time to ask a customer for a testimonial?
Do you agree with Jef @Quentin Aisbett ?
Hatty Bell, Executive Assistant at Country Road Group
Great insight @Quentin Aisbett . Preforming client likely searches is a really good tip, it's so important to understand the client and where they are. How many reviews do you think you should have on each platform to make them impactful?