Types of Online Reviews
Though online reviews might seem similar at first glance, they actually serve different purposes. As a business owner, it’s important to understand the distinctions between Merchant, Local, and Product reviews. This understanding will help you choose a company that provides the right tools to leverage online reviews effectively for your business.
In this guide, we’ll use Shopper Approved as an example, a company that offers all three major types of online reviews, to illustrate these differences.
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Merchant Reviews
Merchant reviews are the first type of reviews we’ll explore, focusing on your business as a whole. What are your customers saying about their overall shopping experience?
Why Are Merchant Reviews Important?
Merchant reviews play a crucial role because they reflect your business’s overall reputation in the eyes of your customers. These reviews give potential customers insight into the experiences others have had, helping them gauge what to expect if they choose to do business with your company.
How Shopper Approved Helps You Collect Merchant Reviews
In our opinion, Shopper Approved is one of the top companies for collecting merchant reviews. The collection process is straightforward and involves two key steps:
- Your customers are prompted to provide feedback immediately after making a purchase.
- Once their product is delivered, they receive an email with a comprehensive survey to complete.
Syndication of Reviews
While many companies, such as Yelp and TripAdvisor, offer free online review collection services, as a merchant, you need more than just basic listings. Shopper Approved goes beyond these offerings by syndicating the reviews it collects across a wide range of platforms, ensuring your reviews reach a broader audience, including:
Product Reviews
While merchant reviews focus on you as a seller and the overall experience customers have with your business, product reviews, as the name suggests, are specifically about individual items in your catalog. For example, if you manufacture photographic equipment, a product review might cover a particular camera model you produce or any other product in your lineup.
How Does Shopper Approved Collect Product Reviews?
There are several methods to gather feedback from your customers, depending on the online review collection service you choose. Shopper Approved collects product reviews by sending email surveys to your customers after they’ve made a purchase.
Displaying Product Reviews
Visual presentation is key when it comes to online reviews. Think about how Amazon prominently features reviews on each product page. With Shopper Approved, you can replicate this by showcasing reviews prominently on your site. These visible reviews serve as a powerful magnet, instilling confidence in potential buyers and encouraging them to trust your products.
Star Ratings
The visual appeal of online reviews is enhanced by the use of star rating extensions. But what exactly are star rating extensions? Star ratings are a five-star system used by Google and other search engines to give users a quick glimpse of the feedback your business has received from customers.
This is where the value of professional online review management becomes evident. Shopper Approved, for instance, is one of the few companies licensed by Google to syndicate star ratings into Product Listing Ads (PLAs) and Google Shopping.
What this means is that if you’re using Google Ads to market your products, your ads will be displayed alongside the star ratings we just discussed. This can significantly boost your sales. In fact, Google reports that companies with star ratings in their PLAs can experience a click-through rate (CTR) increase of up to 17%.
Local Reviews
Local reviews are the third type of review your business may encounter. These reviews are especially crucial for businesses with a localized focus, such as restaurants, cafés, bars, and other small businesses. Local reviews can significantly impact your reputation within your community, making them essential for attracting and retaining local customers.
The Importance of Local Reviews
Local reviews play a crucial role in influencing local SEO. Google, in particular, relies on local reviews to enhance local search results. Therefore, it’s essential to harness the power of local reviews to boost your business’s visibility within its operating environment.
How Are Local Reviews Collected?
Local reviews are typically collected at your place of business. For example, in a restaurant, these reviews are often gathered directly within the restaurant itself. Shopper Approved offers various tools to help you collect local reviews, including:
Which Type of Review Should You Focus On?
Each type of review mentioned is vital for your business. Merchant reviews provide the overall visibility needed for growth, product reviews build customer confidence in their purchases, and local reviews enhance your business’s presence within your community. To achieve comprehensive visibility and success, it’s important to focus on collecting all three types of reviews.
