Customer Reviews and the Impact on Internet Traffic

Customer Reviews: In a Nutshell

Let us start by covering the basics of online customer reviews. An online customer review is an opinion by a customer posted to a public forum on the internet. It’s mainly intended to inform others, including the company they’re posting about. They usually either like, dislike, or find something about the product/service that could be improved. Am I sure everyone’s written a review once in their lives? I’ve given more than a few words myself to Amazon, and so have friends, which is an exciting story about online reviews. I’ll get to that later.

Reviews can be rich in information. They can aid in the shopping decision of others and steer people away from sites. This is why huge emphasis should be placed on delivering exceptional service whenever possible. Because at the end of the day, what it comes down to is that customer experience and what they could write online about your business, product, or services.

Reading Positive Reviews

Nowadays, reading reviews have become a part of customers buying or not and whether they a trusted company. Research has shown that over 50% of customers select a business if it has positive ratings/reviews online. Although, some companies pay to get fake reviews. A few reviewing websites help customers find out if the rating is fake or original. Fakespot.com and reviewMeta.com are great resources in locating legitimate reviews. They also help to determine how many ratings or reviews have been removed regarding the listed products. There are also reputable rating systems that only place reviews after interviewing the reviewer. A good example is Clutch.

Businesses Benefit from having Reviews & Importance of Online Reviews.

Just how critical are online reviews? A recent study from Statista showed that over 60% of online shoppers had posted an online review. The number is even higher when you look at the group from 50–64-years old (It’s almost 80%!). What does this tell us? It tells us that a large number of people are turning to the internet to leave a review. Why? Because of its presence and ubiquity in today’s society.

It’s everywhere! This internet. What better audience do you have to praise excellent service and a good product. Or, on the other hand, terrible craftsmanship and unwelcoming service. Reviews have been known to bring great success and make a company thrive. Caution is to be taken, though; I’ve seen many small businesses go under due to poor reviews. It doesn’t take too many to start getting impacted. Traffic will begin to dwindle, and you’ll be left with no customers. We should consider how much power/influence we genuinely have, being behind a keyboard.

An essential web design tip is to have a page with attention-grabbing website titles with customer reviews. Having solid and credible online reviews from satisfied clients has many benefits for a small business website. Whether it’s Google, Yelp, or any other platform, it’s a no-brainer when it comes to visitors gaining more trust in the service or the products. Also, since Google is displaying those tiny stars in search engine results pages (SERPs), it’s impacting searches being more prominent than others.

Nowadays, business owners should ask themselves if they have any supporting reviews and ratings? For example, how many reviews are online for that business, products, services, etc.? What are customers saying about the business? Is it positive or negative? What is my average rating on online rating websites like Yelp and Google? Checking these ratings and reading the numerous online reviews makes it easier for customers to rapidly compare others and understand whether this business can be trusted and if their goods or services are inadequate, worst, good, great, or tremendous.

How People Use Reviews

People can use online reviews in various ways. The information that they provide about a product or service is valuable. They give you the grounds to trust a business with your money and time. And since we all work hard for our money, we’d like to know we're getting good products with all of the benefits that come with customer reviews. They are but essentially a way for us to ask without much physical effort. And reading a bad review can deter people from visiting your website.

Since not all buying decisions are made on the spot, research must be done. A large part of this research, especially with an online presence, is looking for reviews. And even though a product may be more expensive, a recent study found that people could be enticed to buy. Podium found that people are willing to pay up to 15% more for a product if they have customer reassurance. There’s a strong invisible connection we all share through these collective reviews.

Customers Look To Others In Aiding Their Decisions

We look at each other when making a lot of decisions online. Whether we’re going to go to that new restaurant or visit a new website, we like to share our opinions. The ability to share all of this information at the tip of our fingers can be pretty cool, and this is precisely what potential customers do!

Buying something that you’ve never bought before can be stressful. Putting your trust in a new website can as well. Data taken from Statista shows that with more significant purchases, people are more inclined to read reviews. Everyday items had low importance compared to things such as computers and home appliances. As I mentioned, an item's unfamiliarity is a big trigger to check the reviews for a lot of people. The unfamiliarity of a website itself should prompt you to do some research as well. We move on to find if there’s a certain balance to reviews and how that can impact traffic.

A Perfect Balance?

Is there truly a good balance of reviews that will get you more internet traffic? Can an abundance of reviews be a good thing? According to an article from reputationstacker.com, no. In today’s internet climate, people are looking at more than just a massive amount of reviews. Many people today know that reviews can be easily purchased, so proper filtering is a must. Instead of reading many reviews, people will usually limit themselves to 10 on average.

Having too few reviews can mean that you aren’t getting a lot of business, but not always. In various cases, you get the adage quality over quantity. People will look for certain aspects of reviews that will have the most impact on their decisions. Then act accordingly. There’s a wide range of what can be said through this forum, so there should be some care into how you deliver your product. Otherwise, you risk doing damage to the customers you do attract. And, in turn, your reputation.

Fakespot Reviewing Website

Fakespot examines both reviews and reviewers, observing for doubtful spelling and grammar, the number of reviews, buying outlines, unjust dates, and other telltale signs of suspicious review action. For example, a reviewer who’s new to Amazon has posted only one feedback and uses many words like good and “wonderful? Those reviews are almost surely going to be pointed untrustworthy. After the examinations are done, Fakespot runs a letter rating constructed on the total sum of reviews and how many were untrustworthy. This where things can get a little unclear. For example, if you’re looking for a phone and it earns an “F” because 67% of the reviews were pointed as untrustworthy, you may be less likely to buy that device.

Google My Business

Google is the number one ranked in terms of looking for business, services, and product reviews. Overall, enterprises use Google my business to generate and manage their Google listings. Features included in Google Business include maps, services details, reviews, and other related information. Also, it assists the business to entice new customers and share info regarding what makes them unique. Companies with guidelines that are complete with communication information, photos, and reviews have a better chance of connecting with customers. Google research recommends that customers are 50% more likely to buy from businesses with a complete listing. Hence, helpful reviews, appropriate photos, and offers are essential information that assists in customer conversions. Although it can be a challenge to gain good reviews from customers, we cannot emphasize that the rewards are positive in the long run.

ReviewMeta Reviewing Website

This website takes a very different tactic which requires pasting in an Amazon URL or use one of the browser extensions. ReviewMeta only decreases the weight of specific reviews, then leaves you with a fixed rating. In other words, instead of the letter score, which could be confusing, ReviewMeta clears out the “clutter” on what the Amazon usual rating would be if the uncertain reviews didn’t exist. It’s a convenient website if someone wants to make sure that the product they are looking into is reviewed, positive or negative. Also, if the product is missing any reviews that illustrate that the business owner has removed it. Frequently, Fakespot and ReviewMeta get very different assumptions regarding a product’s reviews.

Customer Reviews on a Website

Both positive and negative reviews can help you expand your business. The truth is a high percentage of customers check online reviews before visiting a business. Also, 88% of customers believe in online reviews as much as their references. For example, if you have negative reviews on your website, consider what the customer or reviewers have stated in the review. Is there a general problem with a product or service? The increasing number of online reviews and review sites protect more businesses and services. They deliver considerable advantages to both customers and businesses that fully hold reputation marketing.

Building Trust by Positive Reviews

Nearly 9 out of 10 customers regulate whether they can believe a business after reading ten reviews. Receiving online assessments must be an unending process for your business and should be made into your marketing and follow-up sales procedures. Ask your client for feedback when they are pleased with what you offered. Suggest taking a photo of them in front of their new product or just a picture of them and immediately post online. It’s highly recommended that this is done virtually after the customer has had some time with the product or service. More importantly, this should be one of many priorities after the web development of any business.

Final thoughts on Customer Reviews

Customer reviews have a direct and lasting impact on internet traffic through various means. It’s important to note how consumers use these reviews to influence their decisions. Positive reviews have the power to increase traffic and revenue. In contrast, negative reviews can go the opposite way. Showing a business for what it truly is — and making it have a more human-like will help it grow. Also, responding to individual reviews is one of the best things a business can do. After all, communication is king and can be used to dictate a business's rating.

When doing business on the web, the absolute best thing to do is commit to your customers. At Visualwebz, we do exactly this!