Testimonials Can Increase Your Web Traffic

We've all seen and read product testimonials. They're a very valuable tool for merchant salesand can often tip the scales in determining a customer's decision to buy. But testimonialsoffer another superb benefit. It's the benefitto you and your marketing strategy.

When I'm on a site offering a product or serviceI like to click on customer testimonials because they are generally short and easy to read. Peopletypically point out exactly what they like about a product and how they used it to their benefit.Testimonials come from real users, they're not some ad written by the company.

Now, let's take the testimonial concept and thinkabout it as a marketing strategy for you and your business.

Website testimonials describe how buyers feel about the products they have purchased and used. If you, asa buyer, offer your testimonial with your name andwebsite address this now becomes a very valuable marketing tool for you. It will expose you and yourbusiness to everyone looking at that merchant's website. If the merchant site happens to be a well-known site offering a high demand product, this could mean huge exposure for you.

Note that many merchant sites will display your websiteaddress but will not put an actual link to it. While it's ideal to have a link to your site it's not always necessary. I often investigate sites of testimonialgivers whether there is a link attached or not. As longas your website address is displayed, that is goodenough.

Testimonials can also double as a great linking strategyas well. If your testimonial includes your link and isdisplayed on the front page of four or five high rankingmerchant sites this can increase your link popularitytremendously. By doing this you have also just eliminatedthe concern of linking to competitor sites and you've avoided the hassle of reciprocal linking.

Testimonials don't only need to be addressed to merchants you buy from. You should also send your testimonials to ezines or free online services thatyou use. Send them in the form of complimentary notes. Compliment their products or services and describe how you find them useful. Websites interested inboosting sales will often use them and you aremuch more likely to get printed if you are delivering a compliment.

Elizabeth McGee has spent 20 years in the service and support industry.She has moved her expertise to the world wide web helping businesses findtrusted tools, enhance customer service, build confidence and increasesales. You can visit Elizabeth's sites at:http://www.pro-marketing-online.com http://www.homenotion.com