Are you looking for a fast way to get Product Reviews so that you can boost your sales and maybe even increase your prices? Would you ever buy a product off of Amazon even though it has zero reviews? I wouldn’t? Hi, my name is Francisco and I am the owner of Planet Marketing, a Digital Marketing company. We specialize in Facebook Ads, Google Ads and Remarketing. In this article, I am going to;
- Introduce you to Product Reviews
- Show you how to get Product Reviews on your website.
- Show you how to get Product Reviews on Google Shopping Ads.
Introduction to Product Reviews
This subject is one that is close to my heart! When I started off in 2008, getting Product Reviews for an eCommerce website was so hard. I remember when started selling on eBay, they had their own system which helped me increase sales.
If you own an eCommerce site, you will know that very few of the people who, one way or the other, land on your website will make purchases. The majority will simply browse through your products before going along their merry way! That is the major reason why conversion rates for eCommerce tend to be rather low. How low? Well, the average conversion rate for eCommerce sites stands at around 2.5%.
The fortunate bit is that there are a number of steps that you can do to improve the performance of your store. Product Reviews are one of the tools that you can use to convince people to make purchases on your site. But what are Product Reviews?
What are Product Reviews
Product Reviews are ratings of products that people leave on your product pages after making purchases on your eCommerce site. They are an easy and quick way through which you can get more people to buy from you. Having their peers endorse one product or the other helps build trust among your business’ potential customers.
An example of Product Reviews
If you are not sure what product reviews are, then check out the above screenshot. The reviews that are shown are for an Intel Core i9-9900K Processor that is being sold by B&H Photo Video. As you can see, this particular processor has been reviews by 33 people. Of these, 30 gave it a 5 star rating. One gave it a 4 star rating, while 2 people gave is a 2 star rating.
What does this mean if you are a customer?
The overall rating for the Intel Core i9-9900 gaming process at B&H Photo Video is 5 stars. What this means, if you are a customer, is that this product is probably worth buying. So, product reviews are a good way through which you can convince people to buy from you.
Do Product Reviews matter when it comes to pricing?
One of the things that most people do not realize is that Product Reviews actually play an important role in determining a product’s pricing. If you are selling a camera, as an example, that has received a lot of five star reviews, you can be sure that that product will continue to be in demand because so many people are endorsing it. This allows you to experiment with pricing without fear of losing out on sales.
Conversely, a product that has lots of 3 star reviews is likely to be shunned by people. What this means is that you are going to have to take drastic measures, including reducing price, to get that product to move. So, getting more high quality reviews for your products is a good way through which you can boost your bottom line! The following sums up the effects of reviews on pricing;
- The less reviews on a product, the lower its price has to be.
- If you have no reviews, you are going to need to be the cheapest person out there in order to get your foot off the ground.
- As you start making sales and getting more and more reviews, you will be able to actually start increasing your price.
How to Get Product Reviews on your Website
Are you using Shopify, BigCommerce or other eCommerce platforms? If that is the case, the good news is that these companies all have review systems built in. In some instances, you will be able to get product reviews on your website by simply installing a plugin.
The thing to remember is that Product Reviews should come from customers who have actually bought a particular product. Many of the big eCommerce platforms that are out there will automate the process of having product ratings display on your website. So there is nothing to worry about there.
How to get Product Rating on Google Shopping Ads
As mentioned above, getting Product Reviews to display on your website is usually simply a matter of activating the feature on whatever eCommerce platforms you are using. In some instances, you can also get there by simply installing a plugin. Once you have done this, your customers will now get the option to leave a review after buying a product from your store. Simple, isn’t it?
Product Reviews on your website are great, but…
If you are looking to only get Product Reviews on your website, then the above process is what you are looking for. However, if you are looking to really harness the power of product reviews, then you need to go beyond this rather basic functionality. That’s because product reviews can do a lot more in terms of generating sales!
Displaying Product Reviews on Google
What am I talking about? Well, most people that look to get Product Reviews do so because they are looking to have these ratings appear on Google. Let’s assume, as an example, that you have products in Google Shopping. One way of increasing sales is by making sure that ratings appear alongside your products.
So, how do you go about getting Product Ratings on Google? And do you need to pay anything to make it happen?
Use third party review aggregators
The unfortunate thing, when it comes to getting Product Ratings in Google, is that the feedback that is left on your WooCommerce, Shopify and BigCommerce store is not automatically uploaded to Google for use in Google Product Ratings. Instead, you actually need to sign up with one of the companies that are licensed by Google to syndicate data for Product Ratings in order to get going. At the moment, Google has 23 companies that are licensed for Product Ratings.
This figure is liable to change at any time, so don’t hold anything against me should that become the case. You will notice that many of these companies are from Spain and a bunch of other non-English speaking countries. So you don’t really need to worry about them, unless your business also operates in those regions. Note that you need to pay for the services of third party review aggregators. However, the amounts are negligible considering the benefits that you get in terms of increased sales.
Which companies should you use?
So, which company is the best when it comes to the third party review aggregators that will allow you to get Product Reviews in Google Shopping Ads? For the sake of this article, I am going to narrow my focus down to three companies that are in English.
Shopper Approved
Shopper Approved is probably the company that I recommend the most when it comes to getting Product and Seller Ratings. Shopper Approved will syndicate your reviews from your website into Google, allowing you to get stars in your Product Reviews. You can see from the screenshot above that Shopper Approved is actually licensed by Google for Product Reviews.
How much does Shopper Approved cost?
Shopper Approved is one of the cheapest for Product Reviews. We have been referring people to Shopper Approved for years. So far, we have referred over 300 people. Sadly, the company appears to have joined the bandwagon of not displaying pricing information on their website. Now you are required to get in touch to get a quote!
The Planet Marketing discount
The good news is that you can sign up with Shopper Approved at a discount using our link! By using our link, you get a discount and you also get 30 days absolutely free!
Verified Reviews
This is another Google approved 3rd party review aggregator that you can use to get Product Reviews. Like Shopper Approved, Verified Reviews is also licensed for Product reviews. This makes it great for those that are looking for a one stop shop for both. Feel free to check them out using our link if you are interested.
eKomi
eKomi is another of the great companies that we recommend to those of our readers who are looking to get Product Reviews. Like the two other companies that we have just mentioned; Shopper Approved and Verified Reviews; eKomi will get you both Product and Seller Ratings.
The different thing about eKomi is on how they handle reviews. Unlike most of the other 3rd party review aggregators that are floating around out there, eKomi offers a fully managed feedback service. Once you have signed up, they promise to handle everything on your behalf. Not only will they ask for the review, but they will also respond to the reviews, including negative reviews. eKomi tends to be a bit more expensive than other companies, so that may be the reason. They start off from at least $300 per month.
Google Customer Reviews
This is another way through which you can get Product Reviews in your Google Shopping Ads. Most people who turn to Google Customer Reviews do so because they are not willing to pay for the services of one of the third party review aggregators that we mentioned in the above section. However, Google Customer Reviews, as it turns out, is not entirely free!
How does Google Customer Reviews work?
To get started using Google Customer Reviews, you need to install a bunch of software on your website. Once that is done, your customers will get the Google Customer Reviews opt in forms once they have made a purchase from your website. Should they choose to take part in the review, they will be able to leave feedback about your business and products.
The catch
As already mentioned, Google Customer Reviews is not really free. That’s because to get going, you are going to need to hire the services of a programmer or web developer who will do the integration on your site. To be frank, if you are an experience web developer, this is something that you are going to be able to do on your own. However, how many of us are? The amount that you pay is probably going to be once off, making the investment worthwhile. On the flip side, you don’t really have control over what shows and what gets hidden. So, my advice to most people is; don’t skimp out on costs. Where possible, opt for one of the third party review aggregators that are mentioned above.
Manually upload your product review feeds to Google
This is another free option when it comes to getting Product reviews to appear in Google. However, like the option to use Google Customer Reviews, uploading your feeds directly in your Merchant Center comes with a few major catches;
- You are going to need to learn a bunch of things in order to get going.
- Most people do not have the time that is needed to make everything work. However, if you are patient and willing to give it a try, then use this link to get Product Ratings through Merchant Center.
- The process is impractical if you own a busy eCommerce platform. Just imagine trying to manually upload feedback from a company such as Amazon! In fact, you only need to be moderately busy to make the entire thing impractical. Better to use the third party review aggregators that are mentioned above!
An example of Product Ratings on Google
As mentioned earlier, if you are thinking of advertising or are already advertising on Google Ads, then you need to take a look at getting Product Reviews on Google Ads. These Product Reviews get syndicated from your website into Google PLA ads. They are going to help you get more sales.
The screenshot below shows an example of Product Reviews in Google Shopping. You can see to the right that some of the results for a search for “gaming laptops,” have Product Ratings, while some do not. Thing is, people are much more likely to gravitate towards products that have Product Ratings than ones that do not.
Seller Ratings
This article is dedicated to Product Reviews and how you can get them for your eCommerce site. However, they are not the only type of review extension that can be found out there. Seller Ratings are another type. Where Product Ratings deal with a particular product, such as the Dell G7 15 Gaming laptop, Seller Ratings cover a seller as a whole. The screenshot below shows an example of Seller Ratings. Seller Reviews appear in your CPC text ads.
According to Google, they have the potential to boost your CTR by as much as 17%. So, they are not something that you can afford to ignore as a business. Google has another list of companies that it has approved for Seller Reviews. You will notice that some companies, such as Shopper Approved, appear on both lists; for Seller Ratings and for Product Ratings. So, they are what I recommend if you are looking for both.
How to read Product Reviews
To read the reviews on a particular product, you simply need to click on the rating that shows up on Google. You are then immediately taken to a screen where you can read the reviews on the product that you are interested in. The screenshot below shows the reviews for the Acer Nitro 5 gaming laptop.
As you can see, the Nitro has an overall rating of 4.4 out of 5. If you place your cursor on the golden graph showing the stars that the laptop has got, you will see that it 222 5 star ratings and 90 4 star ratings. There are also 19 one star ratings and 4 two star reviews.
The reviews in the above example are from Best Buy. However, you will notice on some other products that the product reviews that appear will be from a bunch of companies where the product in question is sold.
Why this information is important
From a customer’s point of view, this information is important because it shows you whether or not the product that you wish to buy is good. 4.4 stars is probably good enough when it comes to product ratings. Anything below 3.5 stars should be approached with caution. However, most people actually look at products that only have 5 star ratings with suspicion! Nothing can be that good right? So, it only goes to show that you should not panic in event that you end up getting a negative rating. Rather, use it as an opportunity to get things right.
A roundup
That’s it. That’s how you get Product Reviews. If you are using one of the big eCommerce platforms, you will either get the system for collecting them out of the box or via a plug-in. Just make sure that there is a system in place that automates the entire process. Your customers should receive a prompt to leave a review as soon as they make a purchase from your site. If you are looking to take Product Reviews to the next level, then go for a company such as Shopper Approved that also gives you the ability to syndicate product reviews to Google. These will then appear as a rating in your Google Shopping Ads.