Thousands of times a day, people rely on search engines to deliver the most relevant products and services from credible online retailers. Optimizing your storefront for search engine web crawlers is a vital marketing strategy for retailers trying to increase visibility through organic search. Most retailers know this but what they often overlook is that user generated content, created by your very own consumer reviews, can improve SEO and credibility. Feedback from consumers provides authentic content for search algorithms while also helping prospective customers feel more confident about their purchase.

Long-Tail Keywords

A search spider crawling along a site will extract fresh content from consumer reviews, picking up long-tail keywords along the way to store in an index. Search algorithms will determine long tail keywords in search queries, such as “[product name] review”, most relevant to the new keywords indexed, thus placing your site towards the top of the search ranks. To ensure that search engines reach your UGC, it must appear in text form in the HTML directly on your site. Though reviews could appear on multiple pages, such as the landing page or category page, it is important that the full review has a single page and a single URL. As many pages as possible should feature UGC to maximize the opportunity to rank well for the specified content and capitalize on long tail traffic.

Highly Influential Content

Consumer reviews also provide highly influential content, creating positive brand awareness and sales. Have you ever seen a set of gold stars next to a company page on Google results? The gold stars indicate that customer reviews have been included in the product page. My eyes are immediately drawn to the company rating (0-5 scale) and the first review. These sites appear to be more trustworthy, convincing me to pursue the site further.63% of customers, like me, are more likely to make a purchase from a site which has user reviews. Some reports have indicated as much as a 10-20% increase in click through rates from the SERP to a website.

Looking at the links, I could find various Women's Asics on any of the sites shown. However, the stars immediately tell me that there are customer reviews on that shoe and there are most likely reviews on the entire line of Asics if I clicked through to the website. FamousFootwear and SportsAuthority have a clear advantage of gaining interest and providing valuable information to the customer. Search Query: Asics Womens

Additional & Insightful Content

Product information management software, like SalesWarp can make an online retailer’s job easier by automatically importing product descriptions as well as keywords to the product database. Often times, the manufacturer only provides a standard description with little content as to how well the product functions, what people like best about it, or if it is worth the money. These concerns are fulfilled when product/service reviews provide insight into real consumer experiences after the purchase. Positive consumer reviews will encourage new customers to buy and reassure existent customers to buy again. Negative consumer reviews, caught early, can help retailers target problem areas to focus on.

A consumer review is nearly 12 times more trusted than a description from a manufacturer or retailer.

Although the effectiveness of a face wash drastically differs with each person's skin type, people seeking an appropriate product are highly influenced by other customers. With a multitude of options on the Internet, customers can relate or differentiate with customer reviews to determine if the product is right for them. A customer review can add to and support manufacturer claims. Search Query: Face Wash reviews

Video & Social Media Referrals

There is a direct link between the amount of video on your site and the value it drives for e-commerce, from improved search-ability to viewer engagement and loyalty. Imagine an enthusiastic customer video referral embedded into your Online store, instantly engaging site visitors with honest, personal opinions. Authntk is a video software company that assists with social video marketing for businesses. Realizing that Internet video is a primary source of competitive advantage, Authtnk provides an intuitive platform for displaying interactive customer referrals.Video referrals can be captured, managed, posted, and distributed with built in social media connectors as well.

Bazaarvoice is a social commerce solutions platform that amplifies user-generated content by allowing consumers to share ratings, reviews, questions, answers, and stories about products and brands on client websites.

Power Reviews is the world’s largest social commerce network that helps companies tap into consumer conversations to drive better business, while providing consumers an easy way to share their insights about brands, products and services.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn’s Customer Recommendation feature can also optimize your Company Page for search engines. When a company receives a recommendation on its products/services page, new content and an additional link is created between your page and the individual who recommended you. Search engines will automatically index new keywords and additional links, making it easier for others to find your page. These authentic endorsements can also help companies gain more credibility through out their professional network. See SalesWarp’s company page for a reference.

Past and prospective customers may not realize that you have implemented this new feature into your website. A couple of suggestions are:

Send an e-mail encouraging customers to visit your site or Google, Yelp, Yahoo, or CitySearch to post reviews.

Give customers an incentive to share positive feelings. Ex. A 10% discount on their bill or a coupon to use during their next visit.

Utilize social media to show customers what others are saying and inform them that they can be heard as well.

Don’t forget to respond to customer reviews, regardless if it is positive or negative. Let them know you care about their satisfaction.

Post a clear link to your testimonials so that customers are aware this feature is available.

Are consumer reviews driving organic traffic to your Online store?