Last updated: March 2, 2018

Amazon sellers know how important product reviews are. But not all product reviews are created equal. In this post, we’re going to explain what the differences are between a regular product review and a verified purchase product review. We’ll also teach you how to get verified Amazon product reviews using Feedback Genius.

The Importance of Product Reviews

Amazon has made it abundantly clear just how important product reviews are to its system. Reviews help shoppers make educated purchasing decisions. Reviews also help products rank in search. Products with more 5- and 4-star reviews tend to rank better than products that don’t. Amazon also ranks products based off of relevancy, and it will rank certain reviews higher with its machine learning system.

We have seen the removal of the verified purchase badge on items purchased with a discount by Amazon. The reviews haven’t been removed though, which leads us to believe Amazon is trying to incorporate unverified reviews into the system.

Amazon Verified Product Reviews vs Unverified Product Reviews

What is a verified purchase product review?

• A review written by a shopper who purchased the item on Amazon
• Shoppers have a choice to mark a product review with the “Verified Purchase” label
• Amazon must verify the purchase. Some products purchased at a discount aren’t verified for the label
• The label is meant to add quality and relevance to a product review

What is an unverified product review?

• Product reviews of items not purchased on Amazon, or products Amazon was unable to verify the purchase.
• These reviews are not considered as helpful to shoppers and are considered less relevant

How to Get Verified Product Reviews

The easiest way to get verified product reviews is to let shoppers organically review your products when they buy them. But why wait for shoppers to eventually leave you a product review? Instead, you can proactively message them and ask for a product review using Feedback Genius.

Step 1: Request the product review

• Working with the assumption that any product purchased on Amazon is qualified to receive a “Verified Purchase” badge, you can message anyone who purchases from you with a solicitation to leave a review.
• Within Feedback Genius, you’ll want to determine your message’s timing to ask for a product review. You can read our guide for more information on how to ask for a product review.
• Use the “Discount Applied” filter in Feedback Genius if you want to exclude shoppers who received your product at a discount. This will increase the chance of getting a verified purchase stamp.

Step 2: To get or not to get a verified product review?

• Remember, a review is still helpful and useful even if it is not tagged as a verified purchase. Many shoppers don’t exclusively use this filter for products they’re researching.
• Additionally, you can get product review notifications with Feedback Genius. These notifications will let you respond to any product review in the form of a public comment on Amazon.

Wrap Up

Feedback Genius helps maintain the reputation of your brand and for you as a seller. Message shoppers proactively based off of order events to reach them at the most opportune moment to get their opinion.

Learn more about how Feedback Genius can help maintain your reputation on Amazon.