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Are you utilizing customer reviews for your e-commerce platform? Have you ever pondered the potential positive influence of online reviews on your Search Engine Results Page (SERP) standings? As a digital marketer, one of your primary objectives is to achieve SEO triumph. If online reviews contribute to SEO ranking, there’s never been a better time to concentrate on gathering reviews for your offerings. The question, however, is whether this correlation is valid, and if so, how can it be measured?
This article presents our comprehensive research into the matter, including an investigation into twelve URLs, their review counts, their keyword rankings, and the relationship between these aspects. We’ll further provide insights on how to gather optimal reviews for your site based on our findings.
The Influence of Online Reviews on Brand Reputation
Online reviews play a critical role in establishing both brand and product reputations. Moreover, they significantly impact your business. 93% of clients base their purchasing decisions on online reviews, with visible reputations potentially increasing conversions by up to 270%! Positive reviews confirm product authenticity and quality, enhancing the brand’s reputation among consumers.
This leads to the question: Does Google consider this reputation when ranking a Product Listing Page (PLP) on Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs)? While this question can be explored from various perspectives, the data we have gathered offers valuable insights. We compared the quantity and quality of online reviews with the SERP rankings of the complementary products, giving us a starting point to understand the relationship between reputation and SEO.
Online Reviews and SEO: Our Data Insights
To determine if online reviews directly impact SEO, we evaluated five product pages each on MAC and Sephora, selected from their best-selling products. We also studied two URLs from Ulta, which were products sold at Sephora, to determine if a larger review count correlates with a higher keyword ranking.
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MAC: A Closer Look at Review Variation
The first brand under our lens is MAC, boasting a domain authority 63. We delved into each product’s review count and its SERP performance. In addition to the quantity, the brand’s response to reviews was also noted. The data includes products such as M·A·CStack Mascara, Matte Lipstick, Cremesheen Lipstick, Magic Extension 5mm Fibre Mascara, and Frost Lipstick.
In comparison, their review counts and SERP performances varied, and an interesting correlation emerged between the age of the URL, the number of reviews, and the number of ranking keywords.
Our analysis of MAC’s product reviews and their SERP rankings indicated that while there’s a relationship between online reviews and SEO, it’s influenced by other factors, such as the age of the URL and brand response to reviews. Further research and analysis are necessary to substantiate and quantify this relationship more accurately, but our initial findings provide a useful foundation. As a digital marketer, your focus should be on gathering reviews and engaging with them.
Insights Derived from Analyzing MAC
Our first revelation from studying the previously mentioned five URLs involves reviews’ notable role. Though crucial, they do not always compensate for a URL’s age. The youngest URL analyzed had the highest number of reviews, but this didn’t correspond to a larger volume of ranking keywords.
It suggests that established URLs, particularly those with quality content, are more likely to possess superior total rankings.
Further analysis of three URLs from 2017 revealed that the URL with the most reviews had more total ranking keywords and drove more traffic. However, the remaining two URLs didn’t showcase a relationship between the number of reviews and the total ranking keywords.
Moreover, we examined the impact of a high percentage of 5-star ratings on rankings, but no correlation was found with total rankings or top 3 and top 10 rankings.
The main conclusion is that the quantity of product reviews may not necessarily impact rankings. Review quality and user-generated content stemming from reviews could carry more weight than the sheer volume or overall rating.
Sephora: The Website with the Highest Product Review Count
Sephora’s domain authority is significantly higher than MAC’s (81 vs. 63).
Please note that while MAC solely sells MAC-branded products, Sephora offers a broad range of makeup and skincare products. We’ll highlight this distinction where relevant, such as when excluding branded terms in our keyword analysis.
After a detailed analysis of five products, the key takeaway is the number of reviews doesn’t directly correlate with the number of ranking keywords or their placement on Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs).
However, products with the most reviews did demonstrate more keywords that ranked in the top three positions on SERPs. Also noteworthy is Sephora’s ongoing effort to acquire more online reviews, as indicated by a large number of new reviews at the time of our analysis. Interestingly, the number of reviews for each tier wasn’t available on Sephora.
Ulta: The Website with the "Youngest" Product Pages
Ulta’s domain authority is closer to Sephora’s (80 vs. 81) than MAC’s.
We used Ulta to test the performance of two products also found on Sephora. The objective was to ascertain if the review count variation across different sites for the same product influenced the total keyword count.
What We Uncovered About Online Reviews and SEO
Industry knowledge asserts that product reviews enhance trust and authority, positively affecting search engine performance. However, we sought to determine whether there’s a direct correlation between review count and ranking performance. Based on our findings, the answer appears to be negative.
In our MAC and Sephora analysis, the URL with the most reviews didn’t have the most ranking keywords, indicating that a page’s keyword ranking isn’t influenced by its review count. However, a positive correlation was observed at Sephora between the product review count and the number of top 3 ranking positions.
When comparing Ulta and Sephora, both of comparable authority, the Ulta product with the highest review count also had the highest total keywords and the most top 3 ranking keywords.
Despite the anomalies across each site, the quantity of product reviews doesn’t correlate with the quantity of ranking keywords. However, businesses should still actively pursue reviews as they contribute to their online presence and customer trust.
Leveraging Reviews: Their Role and Influence in SEO
While there may not be a direct correlation between reviews and rankings, it is crucial to understand that reviews can be a determining factor when comparing two equally competent sites. Furthermore, reviews significantly support vital marketing metrics, such as conversion rates. It is a fact that online reviews play a pivotal role in driving business.
For those seeking to harness the potential of reviews, it is essential to focus on obtaining not only positive feedback but also comprehensive and insightful ones. Optimal reviews for your business should portray your product positively and articulate the reasons behind such an impression.
Cultivating the Ideal Reviews for SEO
Our data reveal that the quantity of reviews is only one of the criteria when two comparable websites are balanced. The review’s quality and depth hold more weight, providing your product listing page a competitive edge over those of rivals.
Despite any reservations, you may have about our findings. Certainly, an increase in reviews will not adversely impact search rankings. Thus, it is worthwhile to invest effort into gathering robust and beneficial reviews for your website and products.
Identifying Valuable Reviews: Both Positive and Negative
The encouraging news is that every review, whether positive or negative, has the potential to be valuable.
What Constitutes a Valuable Review?
The answer lies within the details.
A review that thoroughly outlines the advantages and disadvantages of a product holds a higher probability of influencing other customers. Such a review that illustrates the reasons behind the conclusions is crucial in shaping a potential customer’s perception of the product.
Moreover, visual representations can speak volumes. With 59% of consumers giving precedence to visual information over textual, enabling visual reviews on your website becomes an indispensable feature.
Are you seeking alternative ways to amass reviews apart from your website? Utilize review sites to enhance ratings and reviews for your business overall, thereby bolstering consumer trust and SEO.
FAQs
Have more queries about product reviews and SEO? Here are some answers to frequently asked questions on the topic:
What Are The Advantages of Online Reviews?
Online reviews bolster brand reputation and augment consumer trust, directly enhancing conversion rates.
How Do Reviews Influence SEO?
Reviews stimulate engagement on a product page, which is a ranking factor. Based on our data, a large number of high-quality reviews can give a product listing page an edge over a competitor’s, assuming other factors are equal.
In Conclusion
The importance and advantages of reviews are manifold. The list goes on, from amplifying brand visibility to stimulating engagement and fostering consumer trust. Reviews are indispensable for any product featured on your website.
Although our data suggest that reviews may not directly influence SEO, they can aid in elevating your SERP rankings.
Regardless of the circumstances, striving for an increase in quality reviews on your site is always beneficial. Multiple strategies exist to accumulate reviews organically or even through paid channels if organic growth doesn’t keep pace.
You might also like: The Importance of Content Strategy: 5 Reasons Every Business Needs One.
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