When online shoppers visit a product page, one of the first things they’ll do is read its reviews. Checking a product's reviews is common today, especially for consumers who haven’t purchased or used the product before. Since they can't physically check the quality of the product, shoppers tend to base their purchasing decisions off of online reviews.
89% of customers make an effort to read product reviews before making a purchase. Customer reviews are more reliable than product information provided by the brand itself, as shoppers typically share their genuine opinions and experiences with the product.
However, not everyone wants to leave a review when they buy a product. That's quite an issue if you're just establishing your business. If no one leaves a review about your brand/product, you'll attract fewer customers, and that's not good for business.
While encouraging people to leave a review via incentives like discounts or free products can work, you may want to opt for a more long-term strategy. This is why you need review syndication.
What is review syndication?
Review syndication is the process of republishing reviews from a brand or other direct-to-consumer (DTC) website on other retailer websites where customers can purchase the same product. When a brand or retailer produces a new product and wants to get it into the hands of potential customers, they have to find ways to make that happen. Review syndication allows customer feedback to circulate between brand and retailer websites, making sure it’s easily visible to all online shoppers.
Review syndication for retailers allows retailers to collect and display product reviews initially left on brand websites. For example, health and nutrition retailer GNC sells products from hundreds of unique brands like KAGED. With Pixlee TurnTo, reviews from KAGED’s website are syndicated to also be visible on GNC’s product pages.
Review syndication for brands describes the same process from a brand’s perspective; brands can seed reviews posted at their own websites onto retailer sites to maximize the reach of each review. Nature’s Bakery uses Pixlee TurnTo to publish reviews on Walmart.com, as Walmart is an important retailer to the brand’s overall success.
Essentially, your brand's name will appear alongside your review on every site you've syndicated your content. So when readers search for information about a particular product, they're more likely to find your review easily if it's posted on multiple sites rather than just your own. This can help retailers and brands alike reach a broader audience while simultaneously driving conversion and instilling purchase confidence in shoppers.
What are the benefits of review syndication for retailers and brands?
The benefits of review syndication include increased sales, traffic to your product pages, and brand recognition. Showcasing authentic reviews across a variety of third-party websites and retailers ensures that shoppers will be able to access that social proof, no matter which site they’re browsing on.
Keep in mind that consumers are often hesitant to purchase a product they haven't tried before. They may be drawn in by an advertisement but be hesitant to click "buy" without seeing reviews from other customers who have tried it. Review syndication gives those potential customers another way to learn more about the product.
Additionally, syndicated reviews can be incredibly useful when it comes to newly-listed products on a retailer’s website. Pixlee TurnTo’s proprietary data shows that the first five reviews on a product page yield the highest incremental sales lift, 9.5% on average. This means that those first reviews are the most important, reviews that can be captured instantly with syndication.
In a survey of online shoppers, 93% of respondents said reviews influence their purchasing decisions. That's why adding product reviews are important for businesses as they help attract more audiences. Customer testimonials are valuable across marketing strategies, like Instagram and TikTok marketing, where brands can produce review video content on these platforms.
Review syndication can also positively impact SEO for brands and retailers. Customers tend to use product-specific, or “long-tail,” keywords in their reviews. When these reviews are featured on a brand or retailer website, other shoppers searching similar key phrases will be more likely to end up on your product page.
Additionally, correctly-syndicated reviews won’t be flagged by Google as duplicate content, which is positive for SEO. Now, let’s dive into how you can get started with syndication, the right way.
How to start review syndication
First, determine which retailer websites sell your brand’s products. Once you've found a few sites, look at their review guidelines. Some sites may have specific requirements, like the number of words your review must have or if you must include photos.
Many review syndication services claim to have “open” networks, yet charge participating brands and retailers hefty fees or use data from competing platform vendors. With Pixlee TurnTo, you can syndicate reviews from any brand participating, without any gating from the brand’s platform providers, paving the way for more review coverage and a secure, efficient partnership.
Therefore, the best way to start syndicating reviews is by using a platform like Pixlee TurnTo — over 1,000 brands are already a part of this network. Check out how Sun & Ski Sports uses Pixlee TurnTo to power review coverage and syndication from a variety of brand websites like Osprey [Pixlee TurnTo is now Emplifi].
Review syndication summarized
Review syndication is a great way to reach a broader audience while driving sales of the product you're reviewing. Review syndication helps you optimize product reviews, boost sales, and increase brand recognition.
Once reviews are published across many different sites, you can share them on your social media handles and homepage to boost your brand's authority. Use these reviews to make new content. Customers will love seeing customer testimonial content on your page!
Andre Oentoro is the founder of Breadnbeyond, an award-winning explainer video production company. He helps businesses increase conversion rates, close more sales, and get positive ROI from explainer videos (in that order).
Twitter: @breadnbeyond | Email/Gravatar: andre@breadnbeyond.com | LinkedIn: Andre Oentoro
Editor's Note: This article was originally published on pixlee.com. Any statistics or statements included in this article were current at the time of original publication.
