Visitor engagement with reviews suggests activity and momentum. It shows that there’s traffic on the page.<\/p>\n

Does that mean that a page with no review votes is bad for your book? No. It’s more that any activity is better than no activity. But the fact that there’s no interaction with reviews isn’t going to crush your book.<\/p>\n

3. It might help readers make a decision.<\/h3>\n

You know what “groupthink” is, right? In short, it’s conformity.<\/p>\n

It’s similar to what happens when I’m looking at a menu with too many choices. I get so overwhelmed (heaven forbid I should select something that tastes bad . . . ) that I ask my companion, “What are you getting?” That’s often what I order.<\/p>\n

It works that way with review votes, too. If a reader review does a nice job of making a case for reading a book and several people have declared that review helpful, it gives others the courage to take a chance and buy it.<\/p>\n

It also works the other way around. If many found the specifics in a one-star review helpful, those noticing the review and the votes might decide to move along without making a purchase.<\/p>\n