Can I Stop Amazon From Asking Me to Review Products Purchased
How to get more reviews on Amazon? It's the historic period-old question. At that place'due south no easy reply, merely that shouldn't stop you from trying.
There's no demand to remind our readers that reviews are vital in the earth of Amazon. They bear upon conversion, keyword ranking, sales, and Buy Box eligibility, besides equally the ability to qualify for the Amazon's Choice badge.
Let's look at what Amazon has to say, how some sellers go nearly it, and how to get reviews on Amazon without getting into problem.
- What is Amazon's policy on asking for reviews?
- How to become more reviews on Amazon
- What practice black-hat sellers do to get Amazon reviews?
- The risks of using black-hat tactics
What is Amazon'southward policy on asking for reviews?
Your options for getting more reviews on Amazon reduced drastically in Oct 2016, when Amazon announced a ban on incentivized reviews. One-half a yr after, the message opt-out policy was introduced so buyers could choose to stop receiving unsolicited emails from sellers, making information technology harder still.
How did it come up to this? Confronted with a rising in fake reviews, Amazon sued over one,000 writers and sellers in the year earlier the review ban. From so on, information technology sought arbitration with other sellers. But the overall reliability of reviews connected to drib anyway.
Based on current review policies, it seems like about every way that you lot could enquire for reviews could be seen as review manipulation. Delegating isn't a solution either. A seller is responsible for whatsoever violation that benefits them, be it on their part or on the part of their employees, business concern partners, consultants, relatives, friends, etc.
Ultimately, deciding what constitutes a violation is up to Amazon. And decisions are made on a instance-by-instance basis. It's up to every seller to figure out how to become reviews on Amazon without breaking the rules.
The 7 almost mutual transgressions
- Using your account or that of a competitor or customer to post, edit, or retract a review.
- Offering compensation of any kind to facilitate reviews.
- Requesting a positive review, rather than any kind of review, either directly or through packaging and box inserts.
- Engaging with fake reviewers, fifty-fifty if the demand for a review is never mentioned simply rather unsaid (closed social media groups, review websites and clubs, etc.).
- Contacting a negative reviewer to offer compensation, even if there'due south no mention of retracting the review in return.
- Asking buyers to contact you earlier posting a negative review, but encouraging positive reviews to be posted.
- Creating product variations to accumulate reviews from existing products.
The Review Q&A Summary on the seller forums has more to add.
Sellers who notice suspicious reviews are urged to write to [email protected] to report it. Your competitors have a strong motivation to report y'all, so don't make it easy for them by abusing the reviews system.
Also read the Community Guidelines, which explains to buyers what they are and are non allowed to do in their reviews. By knowing these guidelines, you tin assist ensure that you lot don't ask customers to exercise annihilation that would get them into problem.
How to become more reviews on Amazon
There is no silverish bullet for getting more reviews on Amazon. Equally explained above, in that location are many practices Amazon bans outright, equally well as the more than general Seller Lawmaking of Conduct to consider. This means that you don't only have to stay within the exact wording of Amazon policies, you also need to human action adequately and honestly in general.
Finding the balance between strategies that actually result in more reviews while staying on the right side of Amazon is difficult, but non impossible. All businesses and products are different though – what might work well for one seller might not brand sense for another.
Then, we accept tried to think laterally about how y'all can safely generate more reviews on Amazon. Some of these ideas are direct and practical, and some are more indirect but may still help encourage buyers to leave reviews. Take a look at each one, remember outside the box, and try to effigy out if there is a way to brand information technology work for you lot.
In late 2019, the lodge details section in Seller Fundamental changed, removing much of the buyer'southward contact information. It now displays but the buyer's get-go name and location, so sellers volition detect it much harder to contact buyers exterior the Amazon organization.
However, the order details exercise include the buyer's availability for review requests. When delivery is confirmed or the estimated delivery date has passed, yous should now come across a Request a Review button. Once it's shown, don't hesitate to use it. It's built into the Amazon system, so there is no danger from requesting reviews this mode.
2. Use an automatic review solicitation tool
Y'all'll notice review solicitation applications on our listing of Amazon Selling Tools & Services. Some are standalone apps and some are browser extensions. They can help time your requests so that they're likely to go out ahead of Amazon's automated emails.
Merely since they outmaneuver Amazon and might get review request buttons to come through faster, they tin exist seen as review manipulation. Then, use review solicitation tools with care to comply with policies. Don't be tempted to utilize them selectively, by ruddy-picking orders that you think are more likely to lead to a positive review. That is specifically confronting Amazon'southward policies.
iii. Sign up for the Vine program
Electric current review policies accept more than to say about violations than they do about acceptable ways to go reviews on Amazon. Simply in that location is one long-running and completely condom way of getting reviews, and that is the Amazon Vine program. It used to only be available to vendors, and had a hefty toll tag.
Only after a federal investigation in 2019, Vine was also made bachelor to sellers who sign up for Make Registry. To use this, sellers need to requite abroad products to Amazon'south reviewers. Of course, there is no guarantee of getting positive reviews.
Participating reviewers are known as Vine Voices. These are experienced and vetted Amazon users with no prior record of review bias. They review products for gratuitous and keep them, and instead of the "Verified Purchase" badge, their reviews come with a "Vine Voice" marker.
Amazon's Early Reviewer Program, which provided up to 5 reviews for $60, was closed in April 2021, but the Vine scheme is similar. The major difference is that the Early Reviewer Program did non crave sellers to give products away.
four. Tell buyers that reviews just need a star rating
As of September 2019, buyers can leave a star rating for a product without adding any comments. This new "one-touch" type of rating is included in the total displayed nether the product's title, and also in the ratings distribution table at the top of the reviews section.
This new and easier way to leave ratings should encourage more Amazon buyers to get out reviews, and may work in favor of sellers.
To aid brainwash buyers, include a diagram on your product insert or packing slip. Show them that they only need to click a rating, and don't need to write a lengthy review. Don't fall foul of Amazon's policies by drawing too much attention to positive ratings, but recognize the power of proffer that comes from illustrating what to exercise.
There is a downside to the new one-touch ratings. When you scroll through and read all the reviews for a product, you won't see these ratings and won't know why a heir-apparent left a depression rating. It may have been downwards to the delivery rather than the product itself, for case, which would normally be grounds for removal. Simply without seeing what the customer had to say, there's goose egg you tin can exercise to fix it.
five. Do giveaways, if yous sell books
The i category where Amazon nevertheless allows reviews to be requested when products are given away is books.
Some publishers ask not just for Amazon reviews, just also for shout-outs on social media. You'd exercise well to follow accommodate if you sell print media.
6. Offer products for testing, in person
Let people know how to get your products free for testing purposes. Create a puddle of reliable testers who you tin turn to time and once again.
Urge them to promote them to friends and relatives through word of mouth, then that they don't feel as if they're being forced to review your products. Push too hard and they might feel less inclined to leave a review, and turn you lot down in the futurity. This is a risky approach online, but in person it can nevertheless work.
7. Go beyond your close friends and family unit
Enquire random acquaintances to give their friends your products to effort or to keep. If they know you, testers need to disclose this in their reviews. But people who take no connection to you don't have that obligation, whether they bought the item or not.
viii. Go to trade shows and requite out freebies
You can ask people y'all come across at expos and merchandise fairs to test and review your products. Information technology doesn't thing if they're testers, reviewers, influencers, or other attendees. Considering you don't know them personally, yous are immune to enquire for reviews.
Comport in mind that similar all Amazon reviews which are not connected to an order on Amazon, these volition non be "Verified Purchase" reviews, then might not carry equally much weight in the review ranking algorithm.
Notice organizations like charities, clubs, and community groups that need your products and are willing to share their members' experiences online. For example, local gardening clubs, playgroups and sports teams all need equipment and resources that might exist a match for your products.
Donate products to them to generate goodwill, and go far known that your products are bachelor on Amazon and that yous need more than reviews. If advisable, you can also ask them to asking more than of your products through public wish lists on Amazon and other gift registries that they utilize.
10. Tell reviewers about common pitfalls
If your products are clothes, shoes, cosmetics, toys, kids' items, etc. enquire people to blur out faces and names from their photos before submitting reviews. Otherwise, Amazon will reject them with a vague electronic mail, but give no option to actually edit the review. Virtually people will non try again if their review is rejected.
When requesting a review for a paid order, explain the divergence between a product review and seller feedback on Amazon. Product reviews should simply be about the product, non the ordering or commitment experience. Seller feedback should just exist about the seller's treatment of the order, non the product itself.
Then, briefly explain that Amazon will refuse reviews if they mention fulfillment, delivery, packaging issues, price comparisons, or availability bug. This tin help prevent some of the about mutual reasons for negative reviews, and is less hassle than request Amazon to remove them after the fact.
Comment on existing reviews offer a solution. Don't utilise a template so that it's a generic reply, simply direct answer the specific points raised in the review. This tin help encourage the reviewer to edit or delete their review.
Simply, to comply with policy, don't directly mention review editing or deletion, product replacements, refunds or discounts here. Instead, ask the reviewer to use buyer-seller messaging. And hope y'all'll look into it.
12. Make sure your listing is accurate
Many negative reviews are due to the buyer's expectations non being met. Those expectations are set past your listing details, so that should be one of the starting time places you look if your production gets a negative review.
What might be incorrect with your list? It could be something equally uncomplicated as uploading clearer images or adding a bullet betoken with product dimensions. Preventing just ane negative review might be worth a lot more to your concern than generating several new positive reviews.
What practice black-hat sellers do to get Amazon reviews?
Some sellers would get to any lengths to proceeds the upper paw. Anecdotal bear witness points to nefarious activities like hijacking listings and hacking accounts. It'due south also not unheard of for sellers to make artificial infringement claims and even resort to bribing Amazon employees.
Just most sellers engage in less ambitious – though merely as damaging – activities. Some are caught off-guard by contempo policy changes, while others know total well that they're violating seller policy. Here are 13 classic examples of product review manipulation:
- Reviewing your ain products, or fifty-fifty several variations of the same production with the aforementioned user account.
- Merging listings so that a product with few reviews tin can piggyback on a more pop product, taking credit for its reviews.
- Using Facebook chatbots to recruit buyers looking for freebies.
- Request closed review group members to test products.
- Ordering reviews through content mills (companies that sell website content written by freelance writers).
- Hiring freelance writers and people who sell 5-star reviews on sites like eBay.
- Leaving irrelevant reviews for competing products, either to disparage the products or to discredit and embarrass the brand owner.
- Upvoting fake reviews with the "Helpful" button or misusing the "Report" link for competitors' reviews.
- Upstaging genuine verified reviews with biased ones that have images and videos.
- Asking height reviewers from Amazon's leaderboard to review products.
- Bribing or harassing buyers who left negative reviews to take them down.
- Using two-stride URLs or super URLs to heave sales and review numbers.
- Flooding a competitor'south Q&A section with negative or irrelevant comments.
The risks of using black-hat tactics
Amazon operates a nil-tolerance policy when it comes to review manipulation. So wait to have your business relationship and listing suspended permanently, to be banned for life, and to take your funds frozen. In very serious cases, Amazon may likewise resort to legal action and public shaming.
From time to time, Amazon will have a purge of suspicious reviews and helpful votes, so don't assume that a fake review has been accepted but because action is not taken immediately. When there is a purge, the deleted reviews cannot be restored. Honest reviews and helpful votes may become victims likewise, and the customer'due south reviewer ranking will decline.
Amazon will also consider litigation against those who abuse the reviews organisation. Amazon sued over 1,000 sellers and reviewers in the year leading up to the incentivized reviews ban in October 2016. Since then, it has entered into arbitration with many sellers.
But it'due south non just Amazon who can sue for biased reviews. The FTC brought its first successful example against an Amazon seller who bought fake reviews in 2019.
The key takeaway is this: sellers trying to get more reviews on Amazon have the option to comply with policies or to ignore them. But the choice betwixt correct and incorrect is a moot signal. The consequences of violating review policies are dire.
This article was first published in March 2020, and updated in March 2021.
Source: https://www.webretailer.com/b/how-to-get-reviews-on-amazon/
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