3rd Party Approved Reviews - Widget or API Feed - Any thoughts ?
-
Hi Mozzers,
We use a google approved 3rd party review company to collect reviews for our branches and now also for our products( this is about to be implemented).
We currently use one of their widgets on our site (its javascript) to show the reviews. I don't think google can read this and I don't think we currently, therefore, get any direct seo benefit from it.
My questions are as follows :
- I obviously want to get any SEO benefit from any review text which customers leave but as the data itself is housed on the review site with a widget on my site pointing to it,should I use an API feed as opposed to a widget. If google can read the review text on my page - then surely i should some benefit from it even though, it could technically be classed as duplicate content
what are peoples thoughts ? .
thanks
Pete
-
"The only benefit is trust , increase CTR etc and obviously reviews markup."
This is a huge benefit though. It's abut users at the end of the day and having those stars showing in the serps and having the reviews scrolling on your site (using a widget) has helped me enormously with CTR. It's one of those where you need to think less about the technical SEO stuff and more about how having the reviews there will increase the CTR and conversion rates. It also helps time on site - all MASSIVE ranking signals.
If I said to you that a piece of technical wizzardry could increase CTR, TOS and conversions then you'd learn how to do it and implement it like immediately. Well that's what reviews do. So i'd not worry about marking them up or just use a wordpress widget and get them on there. I'm not massively technical but we do have 500 5* reviews with a widget on every page of the site and are in the top 3 for most non-branded searches because of our CTR. Also google says they want to eventually live in a world without markup when the algo gets smarter so it's all going to be a moot point.
Sorry If i've missed the technical nuances of this but we're doing super well just having the nice comments up there on the site (which is more than lots of your competitors have)
-
I think that a good options is create a plugin
So you can ask to your clients to give you a review in your site but using a third party API, so the first Idea is use the Google Business Review API.to show off your Google My Business Reviews rating in stars, thumbs or squares.
For Local SEO I think is the best option and you will not share your DA with nobody.
-
Do the reviews appear anywhere else on the web? Are people leaving reviews on the reviewer's site, and they're visible there, and then you're pulling them in via this widget? Or are they only visible on your site, through the widget?
If the reviews are elsewhere on the web (for example on a review site such as Yelp or Angie's List), Google is going to understand that that content belongs on that site. Pulling it in via this widget probably won't send much in the way of a unique content signal; it's unlikely that it would be seen as duplicate content, though, as long as the page it appears on also has its own unique content. Appearing through the widget also means you likely won't be able to mark up the reviews using schema.org.
If they appear somewhere else, and Google can easily associate those reviews with your product, you'd probably be better served having a function on your own website where people can review your products there. Then, let those reviews live on your site, and the third-party reviews stay on the third-party reviewer site.
-
Yes, that's what I thought, My only concern with using a widget though is the data is "owned" by the review company so whilst I'm displaying the rewiew on my site, I am not getting any SEO benefit in terms of unique content whats' so ever.
The only benefit is trust , increase CTR etc and obviously reviews markup.
I am wondering if it's better to write something in addition to this 3rd party review software we use so customers can write the reviews and then the pages will benefit from the unique content and freshness..
Otherwise , All I'm really doing is having duplicate content
thanks
Peter
-
Not because, the widget will point the source of the content
(if you add a google my business widget with the reviews of your clients)
the tag of the widget will tells google where the information is coming from.
At leasrt is my expriencie integrating widget from yelp, and google my business
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
1st party reviews
Hi, I would like to add 1st party reviews to a website that promotes a software application using schema code to display ratings in search results. I have not been able to find any examples of software app schema being on a single page. Wondering how others have applied this and displayed on the website. Thanks.
Reviews and Ratings | | SaddleOak0 -
Poor reviews and ratings
I have an interesting challenge for a new client. Basically, they collect payment from gym users whose monthly subscription payment has failed, and they charge the gym user a fee and not the gym. Their clients love them for this, but the end consumer hates them and as a consequence, every review or ratings site from Google Reviews to Trustpilot is universally filled with angry consumers who didn't read the Ts and Cs of their gym membership. Understandable, but it also means the client can't have a presence on any social channel as they simply become a gripe board for disgruntled consumers. My question is, how are the poor reviews impacting on rankings and domain authority and should I treat this like any other client in terms of fixing crawl issues and seeking quality backlinks or am I always going to be pushing water uphill? Cheers gang!
Reviews and Ratings | | Algorhythm_jT0 -
Google Removed All Anonymous Reviews from GMB Listings with No Warning
I just saw that Google is no longer accepting anonymous reviews for businesses, and in fact have REMOVED all current anonymous reviews. This just happened in late May, but I'm pretty surprised there hasn't been any talk about this, it's a pretty big deal. Before I knew this I called their "specialists" to ask why we lost so many reviews. I specifically asked if Google had changed their review requirements that would result in old reviews being removed. She said no. She's either not well informed or just lied. https://orthopreneur.com/anonymous-google-reviews-disappeared/ My company just lost 20+ positive reviews. Anyone else hurting from the change and finding solutions?
Reviews and Ratings | | HammerandHand1 -
The relationship between Google Reviews and SEO?
I have recently started working with a client with bad reviews on Google (2.1/5). Apart from the fact consumers are likely to see these reviews and decide against buying the service the company offers (causing a decrease in traffic), are there any other negative effects on the SEO?
Reviews and Ratings | | sophiecrosby970 -
Want to use Google Business Pages but Spam Reviews are putting me off
Not sure if I am missing something here...I have phoned and asked Google business how they deal with reviews which are potentially fake and damaging to a business reputation, it seems there is very little a small local business can do about them other than report the review with no guarantee of anyone helping ...Has anyone else had this issue as I would really like to use this service to assist with rankings on google? It is hard to convince (and to be honest I don't want to have to convince!) a local business that this is a good service at the same time as informing them they will more than likely have to spend extra time fending off fake reviews...Not seen any good answers anywhere else, ignoring the reviews, adding more positive reviews or replying/managing reviews are not an option. Hope someone can help with this, thanks
Reviews and Ratings | | imoprojects0 -
Indeed reviews
Hi guys, Is there any way I can respond or have a review deleted from one of my clients' profile on Indeed.com? Is there a mediation process of any sort? Thanks.
Reviews and Ratings | | echo10 -
Have You Influenced Google's "Reviews From Around the Web"?
This seems like a frustration for many who do SEO for local business. The Google Plus aggregation of reviews is vaguely created and out of our control. Or is it? The most I can find about it is at: https://support.google.com/business/answer/3474120?hl=en&ref_topic=6109351 I have clients in the accommodation industry who are reviewed thoroughly on similar sites to one another. Some of these clients have 100+ "Reviews From Around the Web" where as others are stuck at one or two reviews. My thoughts are that the business name, address, and phone details would allow Google to link the review with the local listing. I'm not sure and doubt this is just the case because the low-review listings have consistent NAP details. Have you been able to get reviews aggregating for a local business in their Google Plus?
Reviews and Ratings | | fastrack1 -
Google+ Places Reviews
Hi There, Am I right in saying that Google Places reviews cannot be reviewed easily if at all. I have advised a client wirth a negative review to instead respond to the review and get clients to place good quality reviews. However, they seem to think if I ring Google they will just remove them and that Google has confirmed this. I am pretty sure I am right but before I jump through pointless hurdles with Google to be told I am, I want to make sure. Has anyone been successful in removing negative reviews from Google. Kind Regards Neil
Reviews and Ratings | | nezona0