We recently published a post called “There’s No Such Thing As Just Translate This,” and thought we’d expand on one of the things we touched on: translating user reviews. User reviews are an essential part of selling anything on the web. According to recent research, 61% of consumers read reviews before making a purchase, and visitors who interact with reviews are 105% more likely to buy something. In fact, user reviews on average produce an 18% bump in sales.
There are a few reasons why they are so effective.
Trust
Think of the last time you bought something on Amazon — did you read a review? You probably did. When making a purchase online, there’s always a bit of risk involved, especially from a lesser-known website. And of course, the descriptions you provide can only go so far in establishing trust. In the “real world,” personal recommendations reign king, but research shows that online, 88% of people trust user reviews as much as personal recommendations.
While researching, we actually found out that bad reviews can be helpful as well! When there is a mix of bad and good reviews, it shows an honesty that makes it easier for the consumer to trust what people are saying, and bad reviews often contain more detail about a product, allowing consumers to weigh the pros and cons and make the decision themselves. In fact, bad reviews increase conversions by 67%! Of course you don’t want too many, but it’s definitely something to note before stressing about a couple of negative reviews.
SEO
User reviews and testimonials are a gold mine for SEO. Not only is it just more content, it’s fresh content, a huge factor in search rankings. When a consumer is considering buying a product, especially a technology product, they will often search “product name review,” and you definitely want your site to be the first thing they see.
So, why translate?
Any business should focus on the importance of online reviews, and make a serious effort to gather them from customers, whether that’s by reaching out directly (super effective, especially for positive reviews), having a call to action in the confirmation page or email, having a presence on review focused sites, and most importantly, keeping the review process short and sweet.
And if you’re expanding internationally, it’s extremely important to think about translating your reviews into other languages, whether it’s with help from us or soliciting reviews in the customer’s native language. As we’ve noted, consumers are much more comfortable making purchases when there is information in their native language.
As far as SEO, translated reviews will help you display higher in search results regardless of what language the prospective customer is searching in, as well as in search engines in other languages, like Yandex (Russia), Baidu (China), or the plethora of search engines in other countries. Regardless of search engine, people tend to use their native language (obviously), so having a presence there can be super valuable.
And a quick pro-tip: check in Google Analytics or your database where your international visitors and customers are coming, and translate into those languages first.
Whether you’re already a multi-lingual company or just starting to think about becoming one, make sure to think seriously about translating your site’s reviews. Because they tend to be short, with services like Unbabel, it can be a quick and inexpensive process, making it extremely cost effective. Alright, now get out there, start gathering/translating your reviews, and watch your sales go up by 18%!
To learn more about Unbabel, visit us at Unbabel.com. To become an editor with Unbabel, sign up at our Editors page.
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