The importance of testimonials on websites

It’s difficult to part with hard-earned money. You work long, grueling hours to keep that cash flow cycling in your direction. So when you spend it on things that don’t involve a mortgage or keeping your electricity on, it’s understandable that you’d want to make sure you’re putting your money in the right place.

Testimonials are the soft nudge customers need to slide that credit card. Every website should have a visible section dedicated these positive recommendations — they’re honest and they’re coming from people who aren’t getting paid to say it. Help your customers understand your product better through the eyes of other customers by following some of these suggestions.

Put it high up on the page
If someone is bragging about you, you’d want that to be the first thing people hear about you, right? Testimonials should be really high up on your page. Visual Website Optimizer up higher on a webpage, a company can improve how many people actually buy from them by 34 percent published a case study.

Details sell stories
I had a great writing teacher that really put things in perspective for me with one single question:  “Which paints the picture? He was hot or he had a great butt?”

Testimonials need to be the same way.

Choose the testimonials that talk about how you were the only carpet company that spent two patient hours going through color swatches, or your fitness company not only gave the customer a great workout, but also helped them reach their goal of rippling abs after a year.

Don’t ignore tweets!
Twitter can be just as fortifying as a full-fledge review on Yelp. They are a short 140-character stream of consciousness straight from the people who are interacting with you. If you see positive tweets about your business, it’s important to showcase them on your website. Retweet them to your account, post them on Facebook, embed them on your website. Don’t let that positive energy get buried.

Get the reviews on camera
It’s one thing to have a very long, well thought out testimonial from a devoted customer that wants to spread the good faith to other potential buyers — but it’s a whole other level when you can get that person on camera to vouch.

We are an incredibly visual culture and we don’t like being told to read something that’s more than 300 words. Keeping the video under a minute or two is going to take up a lot less time from the viewer who has to get the kids to soccer practice in 10 minutes, and it’s also going to garner more of their concentrated attention. Video testimonials are also great for the skeptical review reader who thinks that anything positive is coming from someone who works there. Putting that person on film eliminates that suspension of disbelief.