How to Grow Your Amazon Review Count (While Staying Within Amazon’s Guidelines)

When it comes to selling products on Amazon, few things are more valuable than your product reviews. In fact, nearly 80% of consumers visit Amazon to check product reviews prior to making a purchase. In addition to helping persuade customers to purchase your product, reviews and relative review count (RRC) also play an important role in Amazon's search algorithms and are a big part of determining whether or not a customer is able to find your product in the first place. Unfortunately, reviews are one of the few aspects of your product listing that you can’t directly control. 

The good news, though, is that there are ways to increase the number of reviews your products receive—without scamming the system and breaking Amazon's Terms of Service. Let’s take a look at a few key ways sellers can do this on their own, or with the help of an Amazon marketing agency:

Provide an exceptional customer experience

It may go without saying, but it's crucial enough that we're going to say it anyway—providing an exceptional customer experience is the key to generating more positive reviews on your Amazon products. Customers are much more likely to take time out of their day to write an Amazon product review if they are highly impressed by your product and your customer service.

Here are some examples of how to provide your customers with an exceptional experience:

• Promptly answer customer questions: Amazon gives sellers 24 hours to respond to customer questions in the Buyer-Seller Messaging Service (in Seller Central, you can find your inbox here). Instead of waiting to answer these questions, make it a priority to respond to customer inquiries as soon as possible and let them know you’re actively working to resolve any issues they might have.
• Provide updates on orders and returns: Customers shop on Amazon because they trust they will receive their products in a timely manner, so be sure to provide your customers with the steps and information they need to track their order. And, if for some reason they need to make a return, provide them with the necessary steps.
• Monitor Seller Feedback and clear up confusion: Sometimes customers get confused by Amazon and don’t understand where to leave their questions, feedback, or comments. Make sure you’re monitoring product reviews and seller feedback regularly—this will help you proactively address product and shipping issues, points of confusion, and connect with those shoppers who didn’t know how to contact you directly. With Amazon Seller Feedback, be sure to submit cases directly with Amazon for negative feedback related to FBA issues as soon as possible.
  
  Remember, Amazon sellers can’t reply to product reviews anymore, so reaching out to your customer is the best way to improve their overall experience (and possibly their feedback).
• Merge reviews using product variations: Amazon product variations enable sellers to display similar items within a single product listing, according to a defined theme such as color, size, or style. Variations not only make it easier for the shopper to find exactly what they’re looking for (and even discover new items), but they also can help increase review count by merging reviews from all variated items into one listing. This is an excellent way to grow your review count quickly!

Place product inserts in your packages

Product packaging inserts provide proactive marketing and customer service opportunities for sellers—they allow you to directly facilitate feedback from Amazon customers once your product hits their doorstep. Many brands use inserts to request honest product and seller reviews, showcase additional product offerings, and to proactively mitigate negative ratings by including their contact information for correcting customer issues. Inserts are also a great chance to encourage repeat purchases and build customer loyalty—55% of consumers will buy from the same brand on Amazon if they receive a discount code on future purchases. 

It's important to note that Amazon has strict guidelines when it comes to how sellers and brands can leverage packaging inserts. Per Amazon’s Terms of Service and review policies, the insert cannot offer a "financial reward, discount, free products, or other compensation in exchange for a review on their product or their competitor’s product." For a step-by-step list of do’s and don’ts with inserts, as well as examples, visit our Amazon Packaging Inserts Guide or watch this video:

Send a follow-up email requesting feedback

Amazon allows you to send automated follow-up emails and request feedback to customers who have purchased your products—this little nudge can go a long way toward encouraging customers to leave a review. While some sellers opt to manage their email automation efforts, there are Amazon review services that specialize in managing and optimizing feedback-generating campaigns.

To avoid your emails being marked as spam and reduce the risk of account suspension, use neutral language that adheres to Amazon’s Terms of Service and messaging guidelines.

Enroll new products in the Amazon Vine program

If you’re launching a new product on the marketplace, be sure to take advantage of Amazon’s Vine program. This program invites trusted reviewers to post honest opinions about new or pre-released items on Amazon, providing valuable consumer insights and feedback for brands as they market new products. 

For brands, the Amazon Vine promises quality reviews and increased traction on new product listings, and according to Amazon, can boost a brand’s sales on average by 20%. Learn more about Amazon Vine here:

Develop a short-term and long-term strategy to increase review count

Generating more reviews on Amazon may not be something that you can control directly, but you can grow your product review count and relative review count (how many reviews you have compared to competitors) with the right strategy. As an Amazon Agency and Wholesale Seller with over a decade of experience selling on Amazon, we understand the importance Amazon product reviews play in organic rank and in determining who wins the Buy Box—and we’ve developed clear strategies for helping Amazon sellers generate more happy customers and positive reviews for their products.

Contact our team if you would like to learn more about how to save time managing your Amazon product listings, customer service, product reviews, and much more.