Number of reviews removed from AdWords seller ratings extensions

I noticed that the seller rating extensions in Google AdWords recently got updated. Instead of showing the number reviews collected during the last 12 months, now the review average on a scale from 1-5 is displayed. Typically stars show up when they are gathered by review providers that have agreement with Google (the list can be found here), the average is 3.5 and above and a mimumum of 30 reviews were gathered over a 12 months period. It can only be guessed why this was updated, it looks like a drive towards the quality of the advertiser rather than the quantity of reviews collected. It would make sense though to increase the number of reviews that are necessary to show them.

Zenni Optical Ad

Update to Google Seller Rating Extensions by mid January

The seller ratings extensions appearing as golden stars in Google AdWords and Google Shopping, will see a major update by January 15th. The number of providers from which consumer reviews are sourced will be limited, in an effort to increase the ratings quality. Only providers having formal agreements with Google will be considered going forward.

This is definitely a good change for consumers, as they can now trust the displayed reviews even more. It also strengthens the value reviews have for consumers to make the best choices. Business' taking a proactive approach to gathering genuine consumer reviews are at an advantage and will continue to benefit from the increased CTR's ads with stars have. On the other hand some advertisers will see their stars disappear, if they rely on consumer portals like ciao to have consumer reviews displayed in AdWords.

If you do not collect reviews proactively yet, now is definitely a good time to look into proactively collecting reviews from your customers.You can contact me for free advice on how to effectively collect reviews.

The the post by Google and the list of accredited review sources can be found on the AdWords help page:
Show seller ratings with your ads

Consumer Reviews: A highly trusted form of advertisement

Customer reviews posted online are the third most trusted form of advertisement, ranking just behind recommendations from people that are known to consumers and branded websites, according to the 2013 Nielsen study on “Global Trust in Advertising and Brand Messages”.  Not only are reviews highly trusted, they also have a big impact on actions taken by consumers, as 70% of the participants responded to have taken actions after reading reviews.

As many consumers are reading reviews and also the US federal trade commission (FTC) recommends checking reviews about products and companies in their online shopping tips before making purchases, it is safe to say that there is a strong interest by advertisers to utilize reviews to impact their bottom line.

What are the impacts of reviews?

A Harvard Business School study reveals the impact positive reviews have on restaurants. According to the study a one-star increase in Yelp ratings leads to a 5-9 percent increase in revenue for independent restaurants. Also the hotel industry enjoys positive effects as, according to a Cornell University study, every 1% increase in a hotel’s online review score and lead to a 0.54% increase in the occupancy rate. The positve effect of reviews on ecommerce sites can be seen in significant onsite conversions increases. The earliest adopters to leverage the effects of consumer reviews in this area were ebay and Amazon. Other ecommerce companies started early to collect reviews in a systematic way. eBags.com built their own review solution in 1999 and reported to have collected in excess of 2.5 million reviews by the end of 2012. A study lead by the german ECC Handel found that merchants with online reviews see increases in the conversion rate by 25% on average. Unsurprisingly the increase was even higher for goods with higher prices, standing at 28%. Individual results can even be significantly higher as onlineshoes.com reported a 119% conversion rate increase. Reviews showing up in AdWords Ads in the form of seller rating extensions tend to lead to a higher CTR's of on average 17%, which will ultimately help improving quality scores.

What are your experiences with consumer reviews? What kind of positive effects have you noticed?

In my next post I will be looking into the practice of generating fake reviews and what measures are being taken to penalize this practice.

Check this great video by OnGuardOnline.gov (by the FTC) on reviews

Consumer reviews are now part of the Google Trusted Stores certification program

Since consumer reviews were introduced to Google Adwords and Google Shopping in 2010 they are now playing an important role for advertisers in their campaigns. Recently a few changes were made for the seller ratings (also called consumer reviews or customer reviews). 

This September the Google Seller Ratings pages were updated with a new design (see post) and also the option to review sellers through Google Wallet transactions was discontinued ("Reviewing sellers"). 

A couple of days ago Google announced that the Google Trusted Stores certification program now also connects to AdWords. Merchants participating in the program will be able to gather reviews, which will be displayed on AdWords text ads as well as Product Listing Ads on Google Shopping. It is pointed out that "participating retailers have a free and easy way to earn the ratings"

Example View with Google Trusted Store reviews

How will it work? Shoppers opting for the free purchase protection may receive a short survey about their shopping experience. 

The Google Trusted Stores Program now runs in the US and with pilot programs in the UK, France, Germany, and Australia. 

More:

Google Inside AdWords:Google Trusted Stores expands and connects with AdWords

CPC Strategy Blog: Google Trusted Stores Now Incorporates Seller Reviews

Search Engine Land:

Google Trusted Stores Now Integrates With AdWords, Shows StellaService Ratings In US

 

Update to Google Seller Ratings View for Google Shopping and Adwords

The last major change Google made to the Seller Ratings Extensions was an update in Sep 2012, this update consisted in taking into account reviews from the last 12 months, more here in a Google blog Keepin’ it fresh with seller ratings extensions .

In a more recent update, the layout of the Seller Ratings View was completely redesigned, the update includes:

• A graphical presentation of the ratings from 5 to 1 classification in bars on the left
• Introduction of "highlighted reviews" (which appear on top) and "other reviews from the web", in the highlighted review section dedicated review companies are displayed, the reviews are from i.e eKomi, ResellerRatings.com, PriceGrabber and Bizrate
• Now only a limited number reviews with text are shown, the user can easily navigate to the dedicated review page of the review provider
• Removal of the section in which reviews were classified for i.e. price, customer service and shipping (was only available in English speaking Markets)

Below example of Zenni Optical, an online glasses store, with reviews from various sources.

Updated Seller Ratings View:

Seller Ratings View from Zenni Optical

Previous Seller Ratings View:

Previous Seller Ratings View

With this update Google underlines the value reviews have for companies. The new layout will make it easier for users to get the most important information quickly and it also strengthens the position of review providers that collect reviews proactively for a fee.