Review recency and volume: Why you should never stop collecting customer feedback

And when your customers have 24/7 internet access in their pockets, all of those online reviews can make or break your brand reputation.

If your business is just entering the world of online reviews, it’s a great time to take stock of your company’s online reputation — because everyday, someone searches for your business online. What’s the first thing a potential customer sees when they type the name of your business into Google?

If you don’t have any customer reviews yet, consider how the absence of reviews might come off to those searching for your business online.

And if you already have some reviews, you might want to ask yourself, are my reviews recent enough — and how many reviews do I have in total? 

Because research shows that 40% of consumers wouldn’t make a purchase if reviews are older than 90 days, and 62% wouldn’t make a purchase if reviews are older than a year. But review volume matters, too — consumers are 122% more likely to convert on a product page with 5,000 plus reviews than one with between one and 100 reviews.

So, the long and short of it is this: with consumers placing so much value on both review recency and review volume, collecting customer feedback should never be a once and done initiative — businesses should always be asking for reviews. They can help you grow brand trust and grow brand reach at the same time.

Continuously collecting reviews comes with positive ripple effects beyond converting the most discerning online shoppers. In this article, we’ll unpack everything you can do with a wealth of fresh reviews at your fingertips.  

First things first.

Today’s consumers all but require some form of social proof to help them make a confident purchasing decision — and with online reviews becoming so ubiquitous in recent years, they expect nothing less than a high volume of recent reviews for any product or business.

And unlike some other business tactics, you won’t face diminishing returns when it comes to customer reviews. The beauty of them is that you can never have too many — and in fact, the more customer reviews you have, the better.

Because a steady stream of fresh customer reviews is exactly what you need to stand out in Google search with star ratings, make your ads and marketing more effective with user-generated content, and constantly improve your business by tapping into the goldmine of consumer insights within your reviews. 

In a time where 46% of shopping journeys begin with a Google Search, it’s mission critical to show off your brand reputation exactly where consumers are researching their next purchase. 

Fortunately, there are a few different ways star ratings and reviews can appear in search results, from organic listings to Google Shopping, as well as ads. And while the exact eligibility requirements for each type of Google rating varies, there is a common theme: for Google to confidently calculate an average rating, they need businesses to have a significant number of recent reviews. 

To qualify for Google Seller Ratings — which, according to Google, help merchants improve the performance of ads, free Google Shopping listings, and organic search results to boot — there are requirements for both review volume and review recency: Most merchants need to have at least 100 verified or post-purchase reviews written within the last 12 months.

But what about Google Product Ratings — those stars that highlight specific product qualities and attributes in free and paid listings within Google Shopping? The ones that let shoppers know if shoes are true to size, or furniture is easy to assemble?

To qualify, merchants just need to have 50 verified or post-purchase product reviews.

And when eligible reviews can be easily collected through automated post-purchase emails, 50-100 reviews is really just the beginning. There’s no need to stop there because —

Here’s an inconvenient truth for marketers: in a world where most consumers have been burned by disreputable businesses, marketing messages and advertising claims aren’t quite as trustworthy as they once were. 

Fortunately, a Trustpilot star rating backed up by an impressive number of reviews can cut through the noise as a widely recognized trust signal that resonates across touchpoints: from print and digital advertising, to the full gamut of marketing channels. It helps you grow brand trust.

And according to our research, that can pay dividends in your ad and marketing ROI:

• An online ad for car insurance with the Trustpilot logo and stars is nearly 2.5x more persuasive than the same ad without them.

• Consumers shopping for car insurance are 10x more likely to click a Trustpilot co-branded ad with a five-star customer rating, 3,000+ reviews, and a customer testimonial than an ad with no Trustpilot content.

• Consumers are 65% more likely to click through on a Trustpilot co-branded ad when it contains a customer review, helping you grow brand reach.

Consumers are 2.5x more likely to click a Trustpilot co-branded ad showing a five-star rating, high number of reviews, and a customer testimonial than an ad without — even when the ad without these elements offers a higher discount. 

The benefits of featuring a range of review content in your ads and marketing are clear, but we have more good news. It’s easy to turn a high volume of reviews into endless content for your entire ad and marketing funnel with a tool like Trustpilot’s review image generator. 

Luxaflex uses their daily supply of positive reviews to keep social marketing fresh and reinforce marketing messaging:

Smarty shows off their Trustscore at the end of a TV spot, backing up how beloved they are for the simple and honest service they provide:

And Mindful Chef grabs attention above the fold with compelling review content in the hero image of their promotional emails:

When it comes to achieving better marketing and advertising ROI in this day and age, the key to high-performing creative is having a range of reviews and ratings to feature. 

And if you maintain review recency and volume, there’s no limit to the variations of high-performing creative you can create. 

But wait, there’s more —

You’ve built a trusted brand with star ratings and reviews in Google Search results. 

You’ve turned more browsers into buyers by featuring compelling review content in your ads and marketing. 

Now you need to make sure all those new customers are having a good experience with your brand.

Fortunately, reviews can provide a glimpse into the minds of customers new and old, allowing you to discover exactly what they want — and deliver it — so you can foster customer loyalty, get even more customer feedback, and continue using that feedback to attract new customers.

And the more reviews you have, the richer the insights to help you make data-driven decisions to do more of what’s working, and less of what’s not. That’s why tools like Review Insights exist:

To help you go deeper than the star rating to diagnose recurring themes in your reviews…

And help you monitor those recurring themes over time…

And even give you a heads up when new trends come to light…

Sounds good, right? 

It all begins with getting enough reviews to grow brand trust so you can start showing it off to attract new customers — and improve your business with their feedback down the line. 

Getting more customer reviews is easy with Trustpilot. If you’re ready to speak with an expert about maintaining review recency and volume, request a demo below.