Review of the “Shopper Approved” Review Platform
In 2016, in order to present the best image of your Ecommerce business you need to have customer reviews, and you’ll want to collect a few different types of reviews including merchant reviews, product reviews, and local reviews (and if you don’t believe me, check out this article). This is where the platform Shopper Approved comes into play. Shopper Approved is a software that can help you add all of these different types of reviews to your existing website. Not only that, but they also offer a risk free trial so that you can test the waters and see how it works for your own customers and existing client base.
The three types of reviews they focus on include:
Merchant reviews. Online merchants can collect reviews based on customer’s shopping experience (this is key for Ecommerce sites).
Product reviews. This allows you to collect reviews for specific products and services that you offer on your site.
Local reviews. If you are a location-based merchant, you can collect reviews offline and bring them online for others to view on your website.
As a marketing company especially concerned with Ecommerce, Shopper Approved is definitely one of the best review products we’ve found available. Check out some of the reasons that Shopper Approved is a solid choice for your company below and why we recommend it to others so often:
Top Reasons to Choose Shopper Approved
There are several top reasons why choosing Shopper Approved over other software is a smart idea, so let’s delve into 5 of them:
#1 Increase your number of reviews
So what is the point of having a review platform if you never have customers provide you with feedback? Shopper Approved claims that they can collect 70x (!) more reviews than their competitors. That translates to about 42% of your customers providing feedback on their experience shopping with you.
#2 You gain access to a large distribution network
Reviews are great to have available on your website, but they really mean nothing if they aren’t going to improve your SEO and be available for the world to see. Shopper Review has access to an extensive distribution network: Google, Yahoo, Bing, Citysearch, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and Google+. They also have a Google Rich Snippet/Schema code that allows you to add 5-Star ratings directly to your own domain name in organic search listings, along with an API for advanced integration. With these aspects being so important for product reviews, it is an area that you just should not compromise.
#3 Customizable surveys
The review surveys (for all three types of reviews) are extremely customizable, which makes matching and integrating with your existing site incredibly easy, but it also means that you can collect the kind of information that you want to collect. By being able to change certain aspects or ask the questions you really want to ask, you can understand your customers better and really make improvements where it counts.
#4 Video testimonials
Video testimonials can seem untouchable if you’re a new business, because it can be hard to organize and publish, but Shopper Approved can do it all for you. With all of the talk about making product/service pages more unique and optimized with content, this is something that you absolutely should not be missing out on. Shopper Approved is the only review company that actually collects and allows users to upload video testimonials. Not to mention, once you approve a video, it automatically syncs directly to your YouTube and Google+ accounts. They are also frequently displayed in Google Organic and Google Video listings.
For one, this takes a load of pressure on placing your video testimonials elsewhere once you get them (or asking for them in the first place, which was really the only option before this software incorporated it), but secondly, it also assures that your video testimonials are in as many places as possible for other users to see and hear great things about your company.
A word of video caution. Now, as much as I love this feature, there could be a downfall. It is one thing to have a customer give you less than five stars or go on a comment rant when they are unsatisfied with your product or services, but can you imagine them taking to a video testimonial for a negative review? This could well be the reason no other company has dared give customers this option. However, that being noted, I do think the positive review possibilities are well worth the risk. Hopefully Shopper Approved will acknowledge this possibility soon and create a solution. If not, negative video reviews could become a funny trend o the Internet.
#5 Best pricing
In the top five reason s that Shopper Approved is one of the best, it is nice that we are able to say that in addition to all of its other awesome features it also is the best priced in the industry. They are really upfront and transparent with their pricing. Moreover, their Pay-As-You-Grow model has given many companies the opportunity to easily and affordably collect customer ratings and reviews as their business grows over time, rather than having to invest a hefty amount up front.
#6: Extra: They give back
On their website you can find even more reasons that their company is one worth choosing. One of our favorite features is that they are a company with a lot of integrity as well—they give back to through the World Teacher Aid foundation, and have helped to feed and educate nearly 1,000 children to date. In addition to all of the awesome features you get with the software, you also know that you money is going to a company that cares about the global community.
The Takeaway
Customer reviews are a really important feature in Ecommerce, and especially as content for product/services pages. Plus, the benefits for SEO and visible reviews on other platforms is becoming essential in website success as well. Shopper Approved has the ability to pull the most reviews, customize surveys to fit the needs of your site, and gain access to a large distribution network. It also allows for the ability to have your customers provide video testimonials (so long as they don’t decide to go on a viral-worthy rampage) and Shopper Approved has the best prices, by far, of the entire review software industry. Again there are several other cool features the platform offers, so give it a free trial.
Do you have experience with Shopper Approved? What are the most important necessities for you in choosing a review software platform? Let us know in the comments section below, we would love to get your feedback!
*Note: We received no compensation or request from Shopper Approved for this review. We genuinely enjoy the platform and wanted to share our experience.
About The Author
Jason Hawkins / http://www.themiamiseocompany.com
Jason Hawkins is the CEO & Co-Founder of The Miami SEO Company. He has over ten years of experience in search engine optimization, conversion rate optimization and lead generation. His core responsibilities include identifying ways to increase value of services rendered, training staff on advanced SEO topics, and A/B testing internal processes to consistently improve client return on investment.
