Review Platforms vs Google Reviews?

[anonuk]

I'm aware that this has likely been discussed many times in previous years (and I even had a thread about it a while back) but I'm wondering what your current thoughts are...

We have been using Reviews.io but their lowest 'paid' tier has increased from £29/month to £79/month. Having three websites, this means an extra £150 each month which has got me thinking...

Am I better off just asking customers for Google reviews rather than paying exorbitant fees to the likes of Reviews.io/Trustpilot/etc? Are Google reviews syndicated to Seller Ratings yet so they show up in Adwords campaigns?

For some context, my main website is mostly business to business ecommerce, but that includes a lot of small businesses. The site itself is currently being rebuilt on Shopify (previously Prestashop). We are in a highly competitive market where reviews can be crucial and customers like to see the quality of what they are likely to get.

My other websites are retail products ecommerce sites, already built using Shopify.

What I really like about Google reviews is that if someone searches our company name, our reviews are immediately visible thanks to our Google Business listing.

Thoughts would be hugely appreciated.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

Why would using Google not be a benefit? What are the benefits of a third party system over Google?

 

[fisicx]

How do people find your website @anonuk? Do most visitors come via a google search?

Google reviews are easy to collect but there is a whole industry whose sole purpose is to generate fake reviews. Just look at the number of local guides writing about businesses that have never used or visited.

If reviews are important to your business then using sites like Reviews.io may be beneficial but only if a potential customers sees those reviews. Are you tracking views to the reviews page/site?

There is no simple answer to your question. It will all depend on your marketing plan.

 

[anonuk]

Why would using Google not be a benefit? What are the benefits of a third party system over Google?

This is kinda what I’m asking. I mean, Google Reviews are free to obtain vs a paid for service like Reviews.io but I can’t find any info on whether Google Reviews contribute to seller ratings nowadays (they didn’t used to).

How do people find your website @anonuk? Do most visitors come via a google search?

Google reviews are easy to collect but there is a whole industry whose sole purpose is to generate fake reviews. Just look at the number of local guides writing about businesses that have never used or visited.

If reviews are important to your business then using sites like Reviews.io may be beneficial but only if a potential customers sees those reviews. Are you tracking views to the reviews page/site?

There is no simple answer to your question. It will all depend on your marketing plan.

People largely use Google. Some people come via referrals from our thank you cards included in orders but most visits come from Google.

With Google Reviews, they only really show up if someone googles our company name, whereas if someone just searches the product and our site happens to show up, the Google reviews don’t show. I don’t know if this would be different when we start using adwords?

 

[fisicx]

If you want reviews to display for product searches you need reviews for the product.

But are people seeing your company reviews before they become a customer?

 

[anonuk]

If you want reviews to display for product searches you need reviews for the product.

But are people seeing your company reviews before they become a customer?

Customers won’t see our company reviews before visiting our website (unless they search our company name), but our product reviews are visible on our website, yes.

 

[fisicx]

And do they look at those reviews?

 

[anonuk]

And do they look at those reviews?

How am I supposed to know? I can’t see what they do and do not read on the product page.

 

[fisicx]

How am I supposed to know? I can’t see what they do and do not read on the product page.

Your analytics will tell you what pages are looked and for how long. Heat maps will tell you where they looked.

The reason for asking is maybe you could better position the reviews on your site. You can also have a mix of reviews (Google and others) and see which ones get the most views. Once armed with the appropriate data you can then decide if the monthly cost of a paid service is worth the money.

 

[jeremielondon]

For our company we are using senja it is fairly priced i believe, i'm using it for more than 6 months. I really love it so far our review page looks stunning.

 

[fisicx]

I really love it so far our review page looks stunning.

Have you seen an increase in conversions since you started displaying reviews?

 

[jeremielondon]

Have you seen an increase in conversions since you started displaying reviews?

@fisicx, it is difficult to say for me because i started the website with the reviews at the same time. What i see is that people clic on the reviews they spend time reading it, and they check the case study. I use microsoft clarity to track customers behaviors.

 

[Ozzy]

What I really like about Google reviews is that if someone searches our company name, our reviews are immediately visible thanks to our Google Business listing.

I only have experience of this using Google Reviews in a B2C space, and then Trustpilot in a B2B space, and based on my own experience...

I've found Google Reviews extremely important in the B2c space and having them display in the search results has had a positive impact, based on customer comments that they found the reviews reassuring - to the point we've had people book at the riding school because we had the most positive feedback. This led me to add the reviews to the website too using a Wordpress widget.
The same went for my wife's (no closed) online giftshop, the reviews definitely helped.

In the B2B space I've only ever experienced Trustpilot and my opinion of them dropped when we found you could, basically, pay them a fee for negative reviews to vanish. So as a consumer I don't trust Trustpilot (the irony isn't missed).

I'd echo what @fisicx says here, spend some time researching to see if the reviews actually make a difference to your sales. If they do then invest time getting more, and using them in your site. I cannot see any reason why you'd pay for such a service though when Google Reviews can achieve it for you.

 

[fisicx]

@fisicx, it is difficult to say for me because i started the website with the reviews at the same time. What i see is that people clic on the reviews they spend time reading it, and they check the case study. I use microsoft clarity to track customers behaviors.

Remove the reviews page for a week and see how it affects sales.

Microsoft clarity will only give you half the story. You need analytics as well.

 

[fantheflames]

I think you have your answer, OP. If you start using Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager more, you can learn how users interact with your website. This can help you make adjustments to things like managing reviews.

Consider this: most people display their reviews on their homepage. Google Analytics can show you information about your pages, but not specific elements unless you set it up with Tag Manager.

If you have a button for seeing more reviews, you can track how many people click it using Google Tag Manager. This can lead to a reviews page or an external website.

 

[fisicx]

If you have a button for seeing more reviews, you can track how many people click it using Google Tag Manager.

And from the review page to the product page > convert.

You might discover that equal numbers of people buy direct as do those from the reviews page. Or you might find they look at the review page, leave the site then return later after looking at competitor sites.

Anaylysing your analytics is crucial to improving conversions.