5 Things You Probably Forgot About User-Generated Content (UGC)

User-Generated Content (UGC) is hot topic these days because it’s a relatively cost effective way to close the sale, create customer loyalty, and boost SEO.
In case you’re just getting started let me take a step back. UGC refers to any content that users create for your site. UGC can be large-scale (like Wikipedia and YouTube, where all of the site’s content is generated by users) or it can be small-scale (like customer reviews on a shopping site, where users just add to content that is already there). UGC is very affordable, because in most cases it’s free. It’s also viewed very highly by search engine algorithms, making it a vital piece of an overall SEO strategy.
A recent webinar by Bazaarvoice on UGC reminded us of five key aspects of UGC that even the most seasoned professionals can sometimes forget or overlook:
- SEO Isn’t #1
While it’s easy to tout the SEO benefits of UGC, the primary purpose of UGC is to improve user experience. Why is this distinction important?
As a business if you handle UGC as an SEO-related activity you are categorizing it as a marketing effort to benefit your business. If you handle UGC as you should, as part of user experience, you are categorizing it as an activity to benefit your customer.
In the end, both will contribute to the bottom line but having the right focus means that the parameters set for business decisions will be appropriate. - Reviews and… What Else?
UGC is not just a fancy way of saying “customer reviews.” While customer reviews are the most widely used form of UGC for ecommerce businesses other UGC includes videos and images. Companies that best utilize these forms of UGC are ones that encourage users to take pictures/make videos of their products in use. - Even the Bad Is Good
The beauty of UGC is that even the bad is good. Well… mostly. In terms of product reviews, some companies go to great lengths to make sure all feedback that is displayed about a product is positive. In reality, however, showing the good alongside with the bad is better for establishing consumer trust and loyalty. (more…)






