{"id":26071,"date":"2021-04-16T17:35:28","date_gmt":"2021-04-16T22:35:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.powerreviews.com\/?p=26071"},"modified":"2023-04-11T10:58:42","modified_gmt":"2023-04-11T15:58:42","slug":"how-to-display-reviews-to-boost-conversions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.powerreviews.com\/how-to-display-reviews-to-boost-conversions\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Display Reviews to Boost Conversions: Focus on What, Not How"},"content":{"rendered":"
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97% of consumers<\/a> consult reviews before making a purchase. Simply adding one review to a product page that previously had none lifts sales for that product by 65%<\/a>. Consumers who interact with reviews are 115% more likely to convert<\/a>, and the more reviews you have, the higher your conversion rates<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Clearly, reviews have a huge impact on conversions. The data tells us this.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The problem is, too many brands \u2014 however unintentionally \u2014 delay adding reviews to their site. Conversations become hyper-focused on making the review display \u201con brand,\u201d forcing developers through endless rounds of deployment to simply adjust a font size here, or change the shade of a star color there.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Worse, in an effort to be a thought leader, some brands try and reinvent the wheel. They start asking questions like, \u201cShould we use our brand icon instead of stars? That could help us stand out.\u201d (The answer, by the way, is absolutely not. You\u2019ll only confuse your customers, which leaves you with less reviews, and less conversions.)<\/p>\n

We\u2019re writing this article to stop this fearsome scenario from happening to you. The research shows that the presence of high quality reviews in large volumes <\/strong>\u2014 not some vanity feature \u2014 is the largest determining factor in driving page traffic and conversions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Why? It\u2019s the information contained within the reviews that is the key, not how that information is presented. As a brand, your goal is to provide attention-short shoppers with the confidence to buy from you. So focus on what\u2019s important.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Over the years, we\u2019ve collected data from hundreds of brands, and thousands of end-customers, to analyze what really drives conversions. From the data, we can clearly see what works, what doesn\u2019t, and what really<\/em> matters when it comes to displaying reviews.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not worth obsessing over the branding of your review display to the extent that you lose sight of what you\u2019re doing. Your goal is to generate conversions. Focus on the best practices we share below \u2014 all proven by our data to actually drive more conversions \u2014 and you\u2019ll be way ahead of the game.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Review Display Best Practices: The Official Checklist<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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What makes a top-performing review display? There are some elements that are more important for certain industries over others. For example, an apparel retailer needs to add size and fit to their review display, but that wouldn\u2019t be applicable for a food and beverage brand.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It all comes back to focusing on providing the information shoppers look for and building credibility fast.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In general, however, we\u2019ve honed in on a set of best practices that work well for nearly everybody. When adding reviews to your site, these are the 7 elements we typically recommend to include in your review display.<\/p>\n

Other options tend to be unnecessary luxuries that won\u2019t move the needle when it comes to converting shoppers.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tReview Snippet\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tThis is a simple visualization of a product\u2019s review rating and volume that sits at the top of the product page, above the fold.\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tReview Snapshot\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tFurther down the page, the complete review display includes a visual overview of the review content for a given product, including average star rating and rating distribution.\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tSearch and Filter\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tThis functionality helps shoppers find content relevant to their needs. They may click on pre-set filters or search for a specific phrase to find reviews or Q&A content that is most relevant to them.\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tDemographic Information\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tThese help shoppers find relatable content from someone with similar characteristics and use cases to themselves.\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tVerified Buyer Badge\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tThese badges build trust, by communicating to shoppers that a review was written by someone who actually purchased the product.\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tVisual Content Display\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tThese photos and videos from your shoppers can be collected both natively and through social media.<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tQ&A Display\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tCustomer questions displayed alongside the appropriate (and accurate) answers.\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Now, the specific order in which these appear, or even the content (in the case of demographic information, for example) may vary from brand to brand. Here are a few review snapshots that show how brands from different verticals implement their review display:<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Make it on-brand, but don\u2019t overthink it\u00a0<\/h3>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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We know, we know: we said don\u2019t<\/em> obsess over your review display. And we still stand by that.. You don\u2019t want to eat up all of your developers\u2019 time on customizing every bit of your review display. The more stylistic changes you make, the longer it takes them to launch reviews \u2014 and the longer you go without reviews on your site, the longer you\u2019re missing out on sales.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re not saying that brand isn\u2019t important. It is. But, a few, very minor changes can take your review display from generic to on-brand. At PowerReviews, our out-of-the-box solution is designed to be flexible enough to meet 99% of a client\u2019s requirements for review display. When integrating our solution, we recommend making CSS changes to the font style, star color, and background color. These are all pretty simple and quick, and go a long way toward making it feel on-brand.<\/p>\n

Still not convinced that a generic review display can really work? Look up your favorite product on Amazon and check out the reviews. You\u2019ll see Amazon uses the regular orange stars with their brand font, and there\u2019s some drop shadowing here and there.<\/p>\n

Amazon has tons of money and engineers, but they\u2019re not spending those resources on CSS and branding their review display. They\u2019re focused on review volume and getting the most pertinent information to their customers. Be like Amazon.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Display Q&A first<\/h3>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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This is another thing that Amazon gets right \u2014 and many brands don\u2019t. Amazon shows Q&A content above<\/em> their reviews.<\/p>\n

The data favors Amazon. Q&A Content<\/a> has a higher conversion rate than reviews and images. Customers who interact with user-generated Q&A content are 153% more likely to convert, and products enjoy a 600% sales lift<\/a> when a customer\u2019s question is answered via Q&A.<\/p>\n

Think about it: People are not going to ask a question about a product they’re not interested in.\u00a0 If they\u2019re interested and there\u2019s just one outstanding question keeping them from buying, a quick informed answer from your brand can really help them convert.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Still, many marketers have been conditioned to focus on reviews and reviews alone. Don\u2019t be like those marketers. Position Q&A content above your reviews, and you\u2019re likely to enjoy more conversions as a result.\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\tPower Pro Tip<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMake your Q&A searchable to prevent duplicate questions.<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Help customers find reviewers like them<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Reviews are not one size fits all. Your shoppers care most about the reviews that come from shoppers like them, who share their style, use case, and unique situation. That\u2019s why it\u2019s important to give shoppers the ability to filter for reviews from people like themselves. When demographic filters are available, 47% of consumers<\/a> will use them to seek out information most directly relevant to them.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Even better, we\u2019ve found adding demographic filters translates to more sales. Our clients see an average 52% increase in conversion when consumers interact with filter tags (e.g. sort reviews from users with a particular hair color).\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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More importantly, this demographic information increases buyer confidence and makes your brand feel relatable \u2014 because shoppers recognize people like them among your customer base.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The demographic questions you choose can vary based on your industry. For example, Wander Beauty asks age, location, and skin type, while Bonobos asks about size, height, and weight.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\tPower Pro Tip<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t60% of customers return due to size and fit issues, so add a Size\/Fit slider to reduce return rate.<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Add an image carousel<\/h3>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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People no longer trust the image carousels shown at the top of a product page, full of perfect stock images carefully chosen by the brand. Instead, they want to see real products in real life, from a person like them.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some brands shy away from user-generated images, but again, we encourage you to look at the data. User-generated images build trust, traffic, and most importantly, sales.\u00a0<\/p>\n