Drive Traffic and Conversions through Review Sites

review sites

B2B organizations are leveraging review sites to increase organic traffic and conversion rates. Here’s how.

Consumers regularly turn to review sites to research products and services before they buy. But did you know that businesses can leverage this behavior to increase organic traffic and drive conversions?

B2B organizations are joining third-party review sites precisely for benefits like these. In fact, such memberships are becoming an integral part of some marketing strategies.

Let’s take a look at it works.

Review sites inform buying decisions

Buyers value the opinions of peers and colleagues. In fact, B2B buyers rank it among their top three resources for information about solutions, along with experts and web searches.

It makes sense: User reviews offer an unbiased, credible experience regarding a company’s product or services, so potential customers do not have to rely exclusively on information the organization provides. What’s more, reviewers often share more than just opinions; they frequently include related tips or good-to-knows, which offer extra value for the reader.

Experts equate review sites to short-form versions of case studies, which 83% of B2B buyers report as important when comparing vendors. Reviews offer real-life experiences with the product or service, but are much quicker to read and easy to consume in aggregate than case studies. They are also written from a buyer’s perspective, which resonates much more than, say, technical language and specifications.

Value for businesses

More succinct than a case study and just as credible, user reviews offer compelling testimonials that can attract customers at any point in the buying cycle. Here are a few ways organizations can leverage them to their advantage.

1) Use them as content.

Reviews make excellent lead-nurturing content. A business could share a positive review on social media or integrate it into a blog post. Negative reviews, too, give an organization a chance to address questions or concerns through content. Either way, reviews give insight into what customers are talking about, and this can help inform your content strategy.

2) Build brand awareness.

As more buyers turn to review sites to research products, companies who are members of the review site benefit from having their name in the mix. Even if a potential customer is researching a competitor, that person will likely come across your business name in comparison. That kind of exposure is invaluable as buyers are actively creating their vendor short lists — especially if you have very positive reviews.

3) Build customer trust.

Participating on a business-review site promotes the transparency customers crave. It tells them you are willing to let your customers share the bad as well as the good for all to see. Additionally, positive reviews can boost an organization’s Google seller rating, which appears next to the business name in AdWords ads. The seller rating gives readers insight into how the business rates for quality service before that person ever visits the website and, if the rating is high, establishes instant credibility. And more credibility equals more click-throughs.

4) Increase organic traffic.

Search engines favor reviews, meaning search engine algorithms increase the search ranking of sellers who have favorable ratings on review sites. Consider that 60% of organic clicks go to the top three search results, and that the vast majority of readers won’t search beyond the first page of results. Any boost from positive reviews can increase your organic traffic potential.

5) Drive conversions.

Many organizations are finding reviews enormous valuable for their business in the late stages of the buyer’s journey. Password-management startup Dashlane, for example, reported a 14.5% increase in conversion rates when reviews were added to paid ad landing pages. Because reviews hold such credibility and resonate so strongly with customers, they make for excellent closing content.

Here are a few B2B review platforms to consider joining as part of your marketing strategy.

  • G2 Crowd: Offers online reviews on B2B marketing services as well as business software.
  • GetApp: Allows users to search for industry topics as well as specific products.
  • IT Central Station: Described as a “Yelp or TripAdvisor for enterprise technology.”
  • TechnologyAdvice: Allows users to perform side-by-side comparisons of solutions within a particular category.
  • Trustpilot: A community where users can interact with one another regarding particular solutions they use.
  • TrustRadius: Authenticates each reviewer and validates every review through its research team prior to publishing.

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