Client testimonials are a critical piece of any great website.
Great reviews can flesh your site out and prove the quality of your work. But they also serve the incredibly important purpose of inspiring customer confidence. Today, 88% of customers place as much trust in testimonials on a company’s website as they would on a personal recommendation from a friend.
With that in mind, it’s clear that you can’t afford to miss out on the power of client testimonials for your website.
What Makes A Good Testimonial?
Not all client testimonials are created equal. In the world of online reviews, there are great testimonials, and there are poor ones. Contrary to what most people think, a “bad” testimonial isn’t necessarily one that offers a bad review of your company’s services. Instead, a poor testimonial is typically one that’s short, lacking detail, or doesn’t specify how your company helped solve a problem or resolve an issue.
In order to harness the full power of client testimonials, you’ll need to earn good testimonials. As a general rule, good testimonials include the following factors:
- The testimonial defines the problem. For example, “I was having trouble ranking my website.” This helps would-be customers attach to the testimonial. They need to see some of their own problems or issues within it.
- The testimonial lays out the action your company took to help resolve the problem. This helps would-be customers get an idea of how your company addresses client needs and what you’ll do to help them solve their issues.
- The testimonial discusses the outcome of the service. A good testimonial should discuss the results your services produced for the customer. An example would be, “now I have 25 #1 Google rankings for various long-tail keywords.” This backs the claim up with hard data and makes it easier for customers to connect with.
- The situation the customer has enjoyed following the service. To finish, a good testimonial should discuss what’s happened since the person in question took advantage of your services. Examples could include increased leads, more business income, or increased ease.
How To Get Client Testimonials
Now that you know what makes a good testimonial, let’s talk about how to get them for your company. While there are many ways to get client testimonials, the following are a few of the most effective:
- Encourage reviews on Facebook. If you use Facebook for your business, you’ll be able to access a “Reviews” tab. This allows your customers to leave you reviews. While this is a great way to harness the power of testimonials, not all customers are aware of this feature. To get reviews on your Facebook site, all you need to do is ask your followers to take the time and leave a review. You can do this either in a Facebook post, or in an email that you send out to your subscriber lists.
- Optimize your local search directory listings. Local search directories like Yelp and Google Places can be a very valuable place to harvest customer reviews. To start getting reviews on these platforms, you’ll first need to claim your listings. Once you’ve done that, you’ll want to optimize them for local search. To do this keep your name, address, and phone number information current.
- Incentivize customers to review. Customers are typically happy to review your company if you offer them something in return. Offer to enter customers who review your services in a drawing, or to give them a small gift card in return. This can be a fantastic way to spike interest and harvest more reviews.
How To Display Testimonials On Your Website
Even the best testimonial in the world is no good if nobody can see it. You’ll need to be sure that you’re displaying the testimonials you earn properly on your website. While there are many ways to display testimonials, the primary guideline is that they should be highly visible. This means that places like the center of your homepage (or the sidebars therein) are ideal.
You can also display testimonials in the midst of sales copy or on a separate page. Gather a selection of your best testimonials and display them for would-be customers. For the best results, consider displaying testimonials on every page your customers visit. To prevent them from feeling overwhelming or irrelevant, ensure that each testimonial is thoughtful and directly related to the product or service advertised on any given page.
The Case For Client Testimonials
Client testimonials are a powerful tool, and they’re one that can have a significant positive impact on the trust your customers feel for your company. With this in mind, it’s clear that customer testimonials are critical for the overall health and wellbeing of your website. They increase consumer confidence, substantiate your marketing claims, and prove the value of your services. Client testimonials can go a long way toward improving the overall look and feel of your business web page.
To learn more about how to optimize your online presence, or for professional help doing so, contact Thrive Internet Marketing today!
