In digital marketing, it’s easy to focus on the channels we can directly control: the bids, the budgets and the creative channels to promote our website. However, there is one that many businesses forget when deciding which ones are important: online reviews.

Online reviews are consumer-generated evaluations and so are more important than you might think. After all, how often do you check the reviews of a product or service before deciding if it’s the right one? It’s the same in any industry – positive reviews can take you a step closer to using a service, and negative reviews can understandably put you off.

If you’re not treating them as a strategic asset, you leave performance on the table. They are crucial, and it’s time that more businesses start understanding why they are so important. This guide will tell you how online customer reviews can be integrated into a successful paid media strategy.

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What are Review Platforms?

Review platforms are dedicated digital spaces where customers can share their experiences. They are websites designed to spread word of mouth in a digital landscape. Third-party review sites can cut through the noise and buzz of a business to get to the honest opinions of individuals, aggregating customer feedback and providing a public forum for praise and criticism.

They offer a layer of authenticity that a brand cannot find alone. Authenticity is crucial here; businesses that use fake reviews to build their reputation are quickly found out and rightfully chastised. For a local business or a new one just starting out, word of mouth from online reviews is the vital lifeblood that can help build a reputation and your audience base.

 

Online customer review partners to consider include:

  • Google Reviews (via your Google Business Profile).
  • Trustpilot.
  • Sites like Feefo or Yotpo that integrate directly with product pages to collect product reviews. If the product rating is high, it can take a customer further down the conversion funnel.
  • Yelp is a dominant platform for restaurants, salons, contractors and other local businesses.

 

Why Online Reviews are Important

Why online reviews are important comes down to two key concepts that drive all decision-making: trust and conversion.

 

Trust Signals

Trust signals are all about social proof. Effectively, they take ad copy and company marketing out of the equation and help users consider your services using online customer reviews. It’s one thing to say you deliver excellent service, but with all due respect, why should the customer trust you? This is why customer feedback is crucial to your business’s online identity. A high review volume and positive star ratings signal to users that you are a reliable choice – your business is worth the potential time and money.

 

With that in mind, a few negative reviews don’t mean it’s the end of the world. Businesses that react to feedback by responding to these reviews and taking them on board can often do better than businesses with a spotless record. It shows you’re a real business that cares about customer service and isn’t afraid of transparent feedback. A thoughtful review response can turn a detractor into a powerful positive signal. It shows that you care what they think and genuinely want to provide an excellent service.

 

Conversion Rates

Trust leads directly to conversions. When a user sees positive reviews, their perceived risk goes down. It can reassure them that your product is a safe bet and can be the definitive factor in leading them to click “buy.” A strong set of reviews in a prominent, healthy review section can directly impact how online reviews influence sales and lead generation. Reviews are essential in shaping consumer perceptions and driving sales – even a few reviews can make all the difference.

 

How Do Online Reviews Help Your Paid Media Activity?

Review websites and product reviews are not just passive assets; they can help build your online profile, which can then be leveraged to directly contribute to your paid media campaigns. They create a positive brand reputation, vital to getting more clicks from these campaigns.

 

Ad Copy

User-generated reviews are a goldmine for authentic ad copy that performs well with other potential customers. Instead of fully relying on your own ad copy, you can integrate it with quotes from customer feedback or ratings and comments from your social media platforms. Pulling direct quotes from satisfied customers lets them do the work for you.

 

It carries the weight of genuine customer experience, showcasing your excellent brand reputation without you having to push this yourself. All you’re doing is promoting the voices of reliable customers, which leads to more compelling and trustworthy messaging across organic and social media channels.

 

Automated Assets

Automated assets, or seller ratings, are features on Google that can automatically pull your review count and star rating into your search ads. These can be crucial reputation traits and make user-generated reviews and ratings easier to access.

 

Some criteria must be fulfilled to be eligible for these automated assets. You generally need at least 100 reviews across Google and its partners over the last 12 months with a composite rating of 3.5 stars or higher. This gives businesses a clear target to aim for with their feedback solicitation and review management efforts. It can be an aspect of your online strategy that you can build once you frequently get positive online reviews.

 

How Do Online Reviews Help Sell on Google Shopping?

Google Shopping is an easy way for users to access a range of products without leaving the search results page. Users are met with a wall of images and prices. How do they choose a product? Product reviews and ratings are a crucial step in the process. The stars under your product can be the most influential factor in getting users to click on it.

 

Paid activity isn’t the only reason why online reviews are important in relation to Google Shopping. Many reviews on your Google Business review page and your own site also send strong signals to the Google algorithm for organic search. It shows that you are a trusted entity in your industry, active and authoritative. This can lead to a positive cycle in your SEO efforts – positive reviews lead to more clicks, which leads to more positive reviews and better online performance. Focusing on customer satisfaction is not just a support function; it’s a core growth driver. Knowing how to get more online reviews isn’t just a luxury; it’s necessary in online marketing.

 

At Salience, we have many years of experience developing SEO marketing strategies and can evaluate your PPC strategy to see what’s working and what isn’t. Get in touch to learn more about how our services can help build your online presence and improve your marketing strategy.