The eCommerce business underwent an exponential surge in 2020 as shoppers moved from in-store shopping to online. With more than 200 million monthly US visitors, Amazon accounted for over 37% of online US retail sales. 

Today, online shopping is a critical lifestyle. 48% of people shop on Amazon marketplace at least once per week, and 61% of shoppers say they are influenced by the best reviews or ratings to buy a product.

It’s, therefore, no secret that ratings and reviews play a critical role in Amazon rankings. The better the review, the higher its organic ranking.

However, 57% of Amazon sellers often find it challenging to get honest reviews from their consumers. 

That’s why we list the latest, proven ways to earn more product reviews in 2022.

Top 7 Ways to Get Amazon Product Reviews in 2022

Reviews are crucial to a brand’s or product’s success, especially on Amazon. Since Amazon got rid of incentivized reviews, getting customer reviews on products purchased has been more complicated than ever. However, here are some top, easy and proven ways to get reviews.

1. Enroll in the Amazon Vine program

Amazon opened the Vine program in December 2019 to all sellers with brand-enrolled products and less than 30 reviews. To use Vine, a seller enrolls the products and submits 30 units of inventory. Amazon-vetted reviewers under Vine then receive the product, test it and leave a review.

Vine is an excellent way to gain some early product reviews. The only caveat is that Vine reviews are known to be more critical. Compared to the Early Reviewer program, with most reviews typically at 4-5 star ratings, 1 to 3 stars are not uncommon with Vine reviews.

Considering that “25% of reviews received occur within five days of the order, while 99% of reviews received occur within 35 days of the order,” according to Amazon, this naturally is a game-changer since it enables newly enrolled products to get quick reviews.

2. Request a Review button

Amazon rolled out a Request a Review button in Seller Center that allows sellers to manually request reviews within four to 30 days after the purchase. In the ‘view your orders’ section, there’s a button at the top right corner indicating ‘Request a Review.’ Once you click the button, Amazon sends a standardized email to your customers requesting them to review or rate your product.

This button is a compelling feature that results in an exponential increase in the rate of reviews. Enhancing the probability that your existing customers leave a product review is a crucial way to increase the number of reviews you get.

The email sent to the customers through this option cannot be customized. It is automated and the same for every Amazon seller that clicks the button. And using this button doesn’t prevent you from asking for a review separately.

While you can manually request a review through this button, the easiest way is to use an automation tool.

3. Product inserts

The easiest and most popular way to remind customers to leave a product review on Amazon is by utilizing product inserts. Simply insert a card into shoppers’ packages before shipping asking them to leave a review.

However, be careful not to break Amazon’s policy. For example, don’t include any “then or if” statements or incentives in the product insert verbiage. The most risk-free and effective way to use product inserts is to ask shoppers to enroll their product for an extended warranty, for example, so that you get their email. Once you have their email, you can include them in an auto-responder email series to encourage them to leave a review.

Amazon also doesn’t allow you to utilize inserts asking for positive reviews. Plus, you cannot divert any negative product reviews or ask customers to message you instead of a negative review.

Here are some tips for leveraging product inserts:

• Request reviews while remaining neutral. Asking customers to leave you a four or 5-star review is against Amazon’s policy.
• Provide valuable information about the product and the company and ensure a way to contact you if there is an issue. Thoughtful customer service greatly helps prevent negative reviews.
• Offer acceptable incentives like asking people to follow you on social media or join your email lists rather than financial incentives.

4. Build an email list

Amazon sellers have to find alternative ways to communicate with customers apart from third-party automated responders and seller messaging systems.

As long as customers purchase your items via Amazon, they’ll always be Amazon’s customers. You need to develop your brand off Amazon to overcome this issue, and one of the most effective ways is to create a contact list and build your own email list.

You can achieve this through several ways, like building an email list through social media. Alternatively, you can design a blog and ask people to subscribe or use product inserts, encouraging them to join your email list.

Once you have your own email list, you can ask for reviews from customers who have interacted with your product.

5. Use product Promotions

Launching your new Amazon products on promotional markets such as Promotions. And since these promotional markets offer money-saving promotions, some customers feel obliged to leave positive reviews.

However, note that a promotional marketplace on Amazon cannot ask a customer for their opinion in exchange for an item.

6. Ask reviewers who leave positive seller feedback

Most Amazon buyers don’t know the difference between product reviews and seller feedback. It’s essential to check product reviews left in Seller Feedback regularly.

Find and email all reviewers who have left positive seller feedback and request them for reviews. Only a few buyers leave any seller feedback, and those that do are more likely to leave product reviews as well.

7. Mitigate negative product reviews

According to Forbes, occasional negative product reviews can be good as it seems less credible for a brand to have excellent reviews. However, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t react to negative reviews. Responding to these negative reviews can actually be a great way to build credibility and show customers that you’re available and ready to address potential issues.

You can mitigate negative reviews proactively by making sure your product is high-quality and worthy of an excellent review. You can also respond reactively by addressing any customer service concerns. Moreover, you can use an automatic tool to get notified of any negative reviews.

Until recently, sellers could not contact those customers who left poor reviews as it wasn’t possible to identify a critical reviewer. Currently, however, Amazon rolled out the ability for sellers to contact customers who have left a critical, 1 to 3-star product review. This feature help sellers initiate a dialogue with those who left critical reviews and improve customer experience, allowing them to revise their reviews.

While these tactics won’t get you more reviews, mitigating negative reviews and having customers revise or remove poor reviews is arguably more effective than anything else.

Why Get Amazon Reviews in 2022

Other than simply being a metric for improving the rankings, Amazon reviews especially positive ones, directly influence buyers purchasing decisions. Research highlights that 91% of shoppers read product or brand reviews before making a purchase, and  84% trust online reviews as much as recommendations. This is because reviews create trust and improve transparency in the shopping experience, so customers are more willing to make a purchase.

The conversion rate also greatly enhances the number of great reviews for a particular product. A shopper is 270% more likely to purchase an item with five reviews than one without any.

It’s clear that Amazon reviews play a key role in the consumer decision-making process as they are one of the most effective forms of social proof. Psychologically, most customers will consider other customers’ experiences to validate their purchasing decision. A positive review can often push buyers into making a purchase. Even in a regular physical store, many customers look for online reviews before buying a product from a local retail store. People value word-of-mouth recommendations more than any other marketing strategy a brand can utilize.

The quality of product reviews is also paramount. Many reviews don’t necessarily translate to increased sales unless they are positive. That’s why Amazon checks the quality of your product reviews instead of just the volume. Top-notch reviews improve the relevance of your brand or product and help it rank better in Amazon’s listings.

Black Hat Amazon Reviews

While it may be tempting to source for fast reviews on Amazon, there are strategies that can result in penalties according to Amazon policies. These are known as grey or black hat techniques. And although we don’t endorse these, it’s crucial to know and possibly avoid them. Black hat review techniques include:

• Utilizing Facebook review groups
• Asking friends for reviews
• Using email or phone append feature to contact or target customers
• Brushing or using zombie accounts to earn fake reviews

Final Thoughts

Product reviews on Amazon can make or break an Amazon seller. However, reviews aren’t just beneficial for consumers trying to choose a perfect item. They are one of the best ways for sellers to boost their brand’s credibility, conversion, and overall strong eCommerce presence. You will be less likely to convince shoppers that your brand beats the competition with few or negative reviews.

Amazon continues to improve the review process encouraging companies to interact with product reviews and feedback. Luckily, with these tried and tested tips, you can consistently earn Amazon reviews and ultimately enhance your sales, conversion rates, and organic rankings. If you’d like to know more about Amazon marketing or your eCommerce business, contact us or book a demo.