Customer reviews or testimonials are an important component of a website. Visitors to a website can learn a lot from other’s experience. They help build trust and credibility, which is crucial on the Web or for any business. Customer reviews or testimonials also serve a marketing purpose and are a fantastic way to get feedback on how you are doing. Whether you are a webmaster or a business owner, below are seven ways to get more customer reviews your website.

Ask for Reviews

Encourage your customers to review your products or services. A simple note that you would love to hear from your customers and ask them to provide feedback on their experience. You can then use their feedback, as appropriate, in the reviews or testimonials of your website or in your advertising.You can also suggest they leave reviews on other sites such as on your Google+ page or on Yelp. This can be huge boost to your business and online review presence. Google can use customer reviews left on a business’ Google+ page in their search engine rankings. A friendly reminder or verbal request is one of the most innocuous but effective ways to get more customer reviews for your website. And don’t forget to use your social media channels. Ask your friends and customers for reviews via your social media pages such as Facebook.

Make it Easy for Customers to Leave Reviews

When soliciting customer reviews, make it easy as possible for them to leave them. If you have an e-commerce site, customer reviews are even more important. But be sure to implement a system that allows you to weed out spammy reviews. If you have a service business and want a high volume of customer reviews, you may want to consider building in a customer feedback submission form into your website.

Entice Reviews

Sure you can ask for reviews, but you can probably get more if you sweeten the pot. You could offer customer gift cards to those that leave reviews. You can also offer discounts or deals for clients who are willing to speak up for your company or your brand.

Know Your Customers

There are times when it is simply best to have customers review for their own reasons. Know your client base and whether or not they will be more likely to review on their own because those reviews tend to sound, and actually be, more genuine to other potential customers. For your own purposes, as well, you know that the people who leave reviews without being enticed to do so are commenting because your service or website design was very good or needed definite improvement. You benefit more from not having disingenuous reviews.

Thank Your Customers

As soon as you deal with a customer, include the option for them to leave a review about your company. Comment cards or quick after-purchase surveys are more likely to result in feedback because they don’t give your customers several days to forget about your transaction and how well you did in completing it. The same rule applies if you are merely trying to find out if customers like the design of your web page because they will certainly forget what they liked and disliked days later.

Don’t Give Up the First Time

Sending out a friendly reminder via e-mail can also be helpful to garner more customer reviews. Sites like Amazon.com request users supply feedback to its sellers not only for the sellers’ use, but also for the sake of other customers who might deal with these businesses or individuals. You should keep the reminder to a single e-mail, however. Sending multiple will likely put your company in a bad light and make him or her less likely to do business with you in the future.

Use the Reviews Effectively

And once you garner reviews, use them wisely. Customers also like to see their comments appear online, whether on a site like Yelp and Google or on your own website or blog. You can choose to hand-pick some interesting, positive reviews regarding your business and place them on your website. This is a great tactic to get potential customers as well as encouraging current clients to offer more feedback.

What do you have in place to get more customer reviews which in turn could drive more traffic to your website and/or store front location? Share your small biz diamonds in the comments section below.

Ascent Internet, a St. George Utah, Web marketing and design company, contributed this article. They help U.S. businesses develop an online presence that makes an impact with customers. They can be found at AscentInternet.com.

Related Posts

• Getting Customer Reviews for Your Small Business In Google+ Local
• So You Got a Bad Review? That Could Be a Good Thing!!!
• No Website, No Problem! How Yelp Has Helped Hole In the Way Restaurants Thrive
• 5 Benefits of Citysearch For Small Business Owners

Have a successful day!

Images: FreeDigitalPhotos.net