Social proof can do wonders for your conversion rate and bottom line.

Stats say that 88% of customers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. The fact that those reviews have been written by the people they don’t know doesn’t make any difference.

Most customers will explore products and services they’re interested in, visit review sites, and try to find out what others think. But, instead of relying on that, what you should do is add customer reviews to your website and make sure that they’re presented in an attention-grabbing manner.

This way, you’ll have an opportunity to glue your visitors to your website. If they can learn more about your business right on the spot, they won’t have to leave your site to look for information elsewhere.

Here’s how to highlight your customer reviews without coming off as bragging or insincere.

1. Leverage Review Badges and Widgets

One of the easiest and most powerful options is embedding a review badge or widget on your website.

This way, your visitors and potential customers will be prompted to click and read reviews about your company on Google, Yelp, Capterra, or G2. So, instead of patting yourself on the back, you can let your customers do that for you.

You can have multiple review badges leading to different sources. But if you want to pick just one, then Google is the best option due to its credibility and being a widely recognized brand.

It’s worth mentioning that review badges and widgets won’t slow down your website. Also, they can be custom-designed to match your brand and website.

2. Create a Web Page Dedicated to Customer Reviews

This is a great way to present your company in the best possible light because you can decide what to include in each review.

For example, the reviewer’s photos while using your product or service and a link to their social media account will add a touch of authenticity and convince website visitors that the review is genuine. Photos of real people and their social media profiles are essential for establishing trust and eliminating any potential suspicion on the part of your visitors.

Take a cue from ZenMaid, residential cleaning service scheduling software. The company displays a couple of reviews on its homepage as teasers and invites visitors to read more by clicking on the link that will take them to a separate review page on the website.

Source: zenmaid.com

An effective customer review consists of a brief paragraph in which the customer explains why they’re satisfied with the product or service, as well as how it solved a particular pain point. It’s a good idea to come up with a catchy headline above each review to capture your potential customers’ attention.

3. Use a Hover Function

You’re most likely wondering whether you should display your reviews on product pages or prompt your customers to click on the link in order to see them. Wonder no more – with a hover mechanism, you can have both.

Namely, this functionality will allow your customers to read reviews when they hover with their mouse over an image of the product they’re exploring.

According to stats, enabling a hovering feature and providing customers with more information about the product they’re about to click on can increase your click-through rate by 96%.

4. Leverage Search Engine Optimization

There’s a very clever trick that will allow you to combine SEO and customer reviews for better visibility on Google.

Instead of using a static review by quoting a couple of sentences from your happy customer, it’s possible to embed a URL to their website or a review site on which they wrote about your product or service. This tactic will result in boosting the value of that review through the use of a schema markup tool.

In other words, when your company pops up in search results, positive reviews associated with it will also be displayed, which is great for your online reputation. Your potential customers will be more likely to visit your website and explore your solutions when they see that others shared their positive experiences with your brand.

By obtaining authority links for your website, you’ll also improve your rankings. You can find a great example of this on Abodo, a platform for apartment listings.

Source: abodo.com

They feature a “Trusted by” section on their homepage, in which several renowned sources that link back to their reports are displayed.

5. Don’t Forget about Bad Reviews

Unpleasant and frustrating as they are, bad reviews can be an excellent opportunity to address your customers’ concerns and complaints and show that you care.

Given that only 1 in 26 unhappy customers complain, while the others say nothing, you can be tricked into believing that everything is fine. So, listen to those willing to share their criticism.

First of all, having only positive reviews will cast doubt over your legitimacy and authenticity – it’s virtually impossible not to have at least a couple of bad reviews. If you have only five-star ratings, your customers will become suspicious.

Besides being perfectly normal, negative reviews are critical in helping you identify some key issues that hinder your business from succeeding. If you read them carefully, you’ll be able to understand what your customers are unhappy about and try to fix it.

After you find a solution, write a detailed blog post addressing these issues and inform your customers what you did about them. It’s a good idea to display a couple of bad reviews on your website and add a link to that blog post. Although seemingly counterproductive, this tactic will show that you have nothing to hide and that you’re proactive when it comes to improving your customer experience.

In Closing

Source: depositphotos.com

Customer reviews are a very persuasive and powerful marketing tool, but you have to find the best way to showcase them on your website. These tips can help you make the most of this type of social proof and convince your potential customers that doing business with you is worth their time and money.