Product reviews and testimonials can be an excellent way to encourage people to link to your website, but it’s not just about getting links.
It’s also about building trust and credibility with potential customers meaningfully.
And in this guide, we’ll discuss the steps you can take to leverage product reviews and testimonial link building.
What Is the Real Value of Link Building Through Review Outreach?
Link building through reviews and testimonials shouldn’t be underestimated. It’s an organic way to get links and is far more natural than begging or asking people to link to you.
When done correctly, it can bring targeted traffic to your website, establish your authority in the industry, and build trust between you and your customers. This process leads to increased conversions and sales.
Brand Awareness & Visibility: When potential customers see your name and products featured in reviews and testimonials, they are more likely to remember and seek it out when shopping. This increases brand awareness, visibility, and trust, increasing sales.
Referral Traffic & Conversions: Links generated through reviews and testimonials can bring relevant referral traffic to your website, leading to more customers. Reviews also help establish trust between you and your existing and potential customers, leading to higher conversion rates.
Establishing Trust & Credibility: Customers who read reviews and testimonials on third-party websites are more likely to trust the brand and its products. Since they do not see the reviews directly from the company, there is an extra layer of authenticity. Research shows that 93% of internet users have made a buying decision based on online reviews.
How Do You Build Links Through Reviews?
Building links through reviews isn’t as difficult as you might think, but it requires some effort. Here’s how to get started:
Offer Free Products to Bloggers Through Product Reviews
Nothing motivates people like freebies.
Offering a free sample for an honest review is a great way to get bloggers to advertise and link to your website. Be sure to emphasize that reviews must be objective and honest—they shouldn’t be “promotional” reviews.
Carefully choose which bloggers to target since picking those in your target demographic with an active, engaged audience is essential
There are many tools out there that can identify and target relevant bloggers based on their backlinks and blog topics. Measure their blog traffic (and traffic value) to determine whether the blogger’s worth your time.
And once you’ve established a list of bloggers, you can craft an outreach email to each one and send it using Hunter.io. Personalize each email to increase the chances of getting a response significantly.
For example:
Just be sure to disclose the relationship. FTC guidelines require that any reviews or testimonials must disclose company incentives.
How to Find (And Reach) Reviewers
You can’t just send a free sample to anyone and expect to get reviews and links. You need to identify influencers and reviewers who are active in the industry and have an engaged audience.
Step 1: Find Your Buyers
Finding qualified reviewers starts with finding eligible customers.
Tools like Google Trends and Mention can help you identify popular topics and find which your target customers frequent on social media networks, forums, and message boards.
Google Trends is an excellent place to start; it’ll show you search trends related to your research topics.
Mention lets you search for keywords to see how often they’re being used and discussed on various social media platforms.
But the most effective tool for finding your buyers is SparkToro. It uses advanced AI to identify the social media influencers and communities your target audience engages with.
Step 2: Check Your Competitors’ Backlink Profile
Ahrefs is a tool to help you identify websites and blogs by reviewing products similar to yours. Again, this is one of the most effective ways to find influencers in your industry by removing the guesswork.
In Ahrefs, go to your competitors’ backlink profiles by entering their domain in the Site Explorer tool. Then, switch to the Referring Domains report and click the “New” tab to see the list of recently added referring domains.
These are the websites and blogs that have recently linked to your competitor’s website—you can use these to track down potential reviewers and influencers without having to go through the tedious process of scouring the web.
Step 3: Build a List of Reviewers to Reach Out To
Once you’ve identified the communities and influencers your target audience is interested in, it’s time to build a list of reviewers to contact.
BuzzSumo: One of the most effective tools for finding reviewers is BuzzSumo. Just enter a keyword, and BuzzSumo will show you all the content related to that keyword—including the influencers and websites most likely to link to your product’s review.
Search Operators: You can also use search operators in Google to find potential reviewers. Typing in “[product] intitle:review” will show you websites and blogs that have reviewed a product already. You can use this technique to find reviewers operating within your niche. For example, if you’re selling phone cases, you can search “Otterbox intitle:review.”
LinkedIn: Finally, you can also use LinkedIn to find potential reviewers. Search for influencers, professionals, and industry experts in your field and reach out to them directly using InMail or email. Just keep things personal and ensure they understand that you’re offering a free sample for their honest review. Spam isn’t tolerated on LinkedIn, and your message could be flagged if it’s not authentic and relevant.
Crafting Your Pitch
Once you’ve found a list of potential reviewers, it’s time to craft a pitch email.
Provide Tangible Value: What’s in it for them? Explain why your product is a good fit for their blog or audience and emphasize that you’re offering a free sample for their honest review.
Offer a Product That Is Relevant to Their Niche: Ensure the product applies to their niche—don’t offer a fitness product to a tech blogger, for example. And try to tailor your pitch to the reviewer’s preferences.
Include a Call to Action: End with a call to action that sets the next steps for them. For instance, ask them to reply with their contact details or fill out a form.
Include a Timeline: Offer a timeline of when you need an answer, when they can expect the product to arrive, and when they need to follow up with their review. This will help ensure you get your review back on time.
Make Your Pitch Personal: Keep it personal by addressing the reviewer by name, acknowledging their work, and expressing enthusiasm for them testing your product.
Follow Up: If you don’t get a response after a few days, follow up with a polite reminder. If the original email got overlooked or forgotten, a follow-up shows you’re serious about the matter and encourages them to take action.
Sample Pitch for Testimonial Link
Launch Your Outreach Campaign
Once you’ve crafted your pitch and identified the influencers and reviewers you want to reach out to, implement your outreach plan.
Track Your Outreach
Track your outreach efforts and respond promptly to any responses. Be aware that some influencers might be unwilling to test your product, so be prepared to hear a few rejections.
Remember, the goal is to build relationships with influencers, so be patient and friendly—they’ll be more likely to review your product if they like you!
Follow Up
When you’ve sent out your outreach emails, quickly follow up with the influencers to ensure they received the product, ask for their thoughts, and remind them to post their review.
Keep the communication friendly and be mindful of the influencer’s timeline and expectations. If they need more time, be willing to extend the deadline.
Send Samples When Requested
Once you’ve received positive responses, send the samples as soon as possible. Ensure to include all the information they need, such as usage tips or contact details.
If you can, offer the influencers additional incentives, such as discounts, exclusive access to additional products, or other freebies.
Earn Backlinks!
All these steps will help you earn backlinks and gain more visibility for your product and brand. With the right outreach efforts in place, you’ll be able to connect with potential reviewers and influencers that can help you build a powerful presence and better reach your target audience.
If you follow these strategies, you should soon see a steady stream of positive reviews and backlinks coming your way! Good luck!
