In 2021, Amazon dominated total sales in German e-commerce with 56 percent. In addition to attracting new customers, Amazon is also attracting more sellers and vendors to the marketplace who are competing for sales figures. As a result, it is no longer enough to simply be present on the marketplace and offer good products if you want to increase your sales.
In addition to improved visibility through advertisements, other factors are also becoming important. These include reviews in particular, which generate trust and can persuade customers to make a purchase. For many, this knowledge is no longer new – but the extent to which advertisements and reviews influence each other – is. This article shows why the combination of both can lead to ideal traffic and sales rates and why Amazon Advertising and reviews should not be viewed in isolation.
Increase visibility on Amazon with advertising
How advertising and reviews influence each other becomes apparent as soon as the effect of Amazon advertising is examined more closely.
Advertisements are basically intended to improve visibility on the search results page. Different types of campaigns can be chosen, which are played on defined keywords. In most cases, the advertising principle is based on the cost-per-click (CPC) model. This means that ads are only charged to the Amazon advertising budget as soon as an ad is clicked on.
How successful advertisements are is often checked by the conversion rate. As soon as clicks do not lead to a purchase, the conversion rate can deteriorate, even though the ads generally perform well. Therefore, when looking at the conversion rate, an additional look should be taken at the retail readiness and thus also ratings.
Influence of Amazon reviews on advertisements
But what does this mean in concrete terms? If an ad generates several clicks, the product page receives higher traffic. However, this traffic first costs money, but a product has not yet been purchased. At this point, we often talk about retail readiness, which ensures that users receive positive impressions on the product page and decide to buy. Amazon reviews play an important role here, because they are largely responsible for building trust in the brand or the product.
If, for example, a product has too few or on average poorly convincing Amazon reviews, customers could leave despite the good advertisements and opt for products from the competition.
At what point can Amazon reviews generate trust?
The point at which Amazon reviews generate trust must be defined individually. Basically, a guideline of between 20 and 40 reviews can be used, which should be between four and five stars on average.
Particularly with product launches, great importance should be attached to quickly obtaining Amazon reviews and trustworthiness at the same time. In addition to the number of good Amazon reviews, however, the way they are handled is essential. Around 90 % of recipients expect brands to react appropriately to reviews in order to perceive a brand as credible.
Especially on Amazon: Customers can ask product questions on Amazon, to which brands can respond. This also offers the opportunity to gain trust and at the same time product features can be highlighted separately.
Impact of inappropriate keywords on Amazon reviews
In order to generate the highest possible reach with ads, many sellers rely on a broad keyword set. It can happen that keywords are defined for ads that do not match the product descriptions. Sellers should be aware at all times that customers may draw inaccurate conclusions about the product from the ads that are played. If the product is then bought anyway and the expectations are disappointed, negative reviews can be the result. Therefore the selection of the keyword set for Amazon advertising can have a negative impact on reviews.
How advertising influences Amazon ratings
The ranking on the search results page depends on various factors, including traffic. If higher click rates are achieved through advertisements, the organic ranking can also improve. The traffic to the product page is therefore increased in the long term and Amazon reviews can be generated more quickly.
Conclusion: How advertising and reviews on Amazon influence each other
If success on Amazon is to be expanded, advertising and reviews are important instruments. The mutual influence is a not insignificant factor: advertising can only successfully increase sales rates if customers decide to make a purchase. Amazon reviews have a significant influence on the purchase decision through increased trust. At the same time, increased traffic through ads also leads to better organic performance, through which Amazon reviews can be generated more quickly. However, caution is required when creating campaigns: A keyword set that suggests inappropriate product characteristics can annoy customers and lead to poorer Amazon reviews. These in turn have a negative impact on the success of ads.
Author
Moritz Meyer is co-founder and managing director of MOVESELL GmbH. The Kiel-based Amazon agency advises internationally renowned brands such as Thermos, Vaude and Calvin Klein on their Amazon presence. The expertise of the Amazon full-service agency includes analyses, strategies and marketing services. Moritz Meyer regularly shares his knowledge with his network on LinkedIn.