We were taught at a young age not to talk to strangers… Nevertheless, according to a recent eMarketer article, before we hit “add to cart” we sure want to know what others have to say.
Getting objective opinions has never been easier for consumers. If they don’t personally know someone who has used a product or service, they can go online for the thoughts and experiences of millions… Most online buyers do just that.

PowerReviews and the e-tailing group found that nearly nine out of 10 US online buyers surveyed in February 2008 read customer reviews at least “some of the time” before making a purchase.
“This survey highlights the reception that reviews are receiving throughout the merchant world and how retailers are leveraging online review technology,” said Jay Shaffer, vice president of marketing at PowerReviews.

Respondents checked a fairly large number of reviews before making their purchasing decisions. Nearly seven out of 10 online buyers surveyed said they checked at least four reviews before spending their money.

The PowerReviews findings agree with other studies on user reviews. Reviews were the most-desired Web functions for US Internet users questioned in the third quarter of 2007 for Forrester Research’s “North American Technographics Customer Experience, Marketing and Consumer Technology Online Survey, Q3 2007″ report.
Nearly two-thirds of consumers surveyed said they wanted user ratings and reviews.
An October 2007 Avenue A | Razorfish study of US online shoppers found that more than one-half of those surveyed read user reviews as part of their product research.
For more on the Search Engine Optimization benefits of customer-generated content check out SEO & Social Shopping

Great Article by Stoney deGeyter on the 12 Product Page Conversion Strategies that Shant Be Ignored

“To be effective, your website must implement product pages that are able to satisfy each of your visitor’s needs. However, information isn’t enough either. While providing necessary information, these pages must be convincing enough to entice your visitors to move through the purchase process — on your site rather than on a competitor’s website.”

If your interested in the 13th Conversion Strategy for Product Pages (the one that puts your site over the top) Please see my previous post!

Anyone that has spent time talking with me about e-commerce websites can tell how passionate I am about customer reviews on retail sites. Online customer reviews are one of the few examples of socially generated content that is consistently a win for everyone. Not only do these reviews serve as powerful first account testimonials, these comments often fill information gaps left out by the merchant or manufacturers content.

How do customer reviews effect search engine rankings? Simple… Product reviews increase organic search engine rankings by increasing the number of relevant keywords on a product page. Content is still the king – customer reviews significantly increase the amount of relevant content presented on a page. Best of all… you didn’t have to lift a finger; customers have done the work for you.
While customer reviews are not technically optimized they often, contain valuable broad and targeted keywords that are relevant to the product.
Below is the first example I came too on Amazon.com after a search for “snow blowers.”

While this review certainly is not “stuffed” or even optimized for “targeted” keywords, it certainly has a decent natural mix. A few more product reviews containing similar, broad keyword phrases and some well-optimized product copy and suddenly the page starts to have some real weight.

Most product reviews contain the customers impression of the product… including content describing the item purchased, value, where/how the item was used, what the item was used on/with, and additional items purchased. (Plenty of natural keyword opportunities)

Search engines are also able to sniff out reviews… In 2004 Google filed a patent for a tool that would aggregate product reviews for search… it appears Live Search Reviews beat them to the punch on this.

As Web 2.0 continues to gain momentum, few retailers can continue to ignore the power and potential of hosting customer reviews within their product pages. Customer reviews should not be underestimated as part of a passive SEO initiative.

Below are some additional fun facts & case studies:

Marketing Sherpa article on the effects of product reviews

ClickZ article online product reviews

eMarketer online product review article AA|RF study

“I like very much the… how you say… reviewez of produce on the interwebs… I hope you like too.  Dziekuje!” <Borat>