Recently Music Forte added a big section for song reviews.  And as we’ve so far noted, just about everyone is getting 5 star ratings.  That’s great! But then of course, many are wondering, "What’s the point of standing around and scratching each other’s backs?"

Let’s talk about those, because believe it or not, there are plenty of reasons to have your music reviewed.

SEO Benefits:
Can you ever really have enough 1st page Google rankings? When your song is reviewed, that review page gets dissected in a number of ways.  There are so many relevant keywords that may point to your newly reviews song.  Of course, titles with popular keywords may be highly competitive.  But add the word "review" to the search, and you’ll probably find a first place listing with Google in just a few days.  Furthermore, you might find that keyword is highly searched.

A quick demonstration with a Tom Waits song, entitled "Grapefruit Moon" yields 792,00 competitive searches. Unfortunately, our member’s version of this song is not showing up on the first page of Google.  But if we add the word "review" in our search (Grapefruit Moon review), we are still hitting a highly competitive search term and Music Forte is providing the first page and first position with Google (out of approx. 429,000).

I know what you might be thinking, "Who searches for these things?"  The answer is somewhat unknown, but the higher number of competitive results will give you a better idea of how important that keyword may be.

So as we "dissect" the song review page, we discover that there are many keywords and keyword phrases that are pointing to your review page.

Aesthetics:
There are many areas at Music Forte that provide listings of your music.  While this might not seem to be of big importance, statistics show that it does make a difference.  Take a look for yourself.  Which listing grabs your attention?

Esthetics, while may be construed as "fluff" do play a role, but they should not interfere with integrity.  A lot of 5 star-reviews of your songs all made by the same person will lead to doubt.

Be sure and ask for honest opinions of your music in our forums or from your friends, as visitors will not be that easily fooled.  A manipulated review could turn visitors away.

Promo Kits:
Don’t rule this one out.  You never know when you’ll get a comment so great, that it needs to be included in your press kit; or even just added as a testimonial on your website.  Take those poignant comments and use them to your advantage.

Sales:
Since we’ve already covered the increased traffic benefits, let’s get right down to the money. The actual review page streams your music instantly to the visitor.  Additionally a scrolling marquee advertises where the song and CD can be purchased.  Also, a picture of the artist appears with a link to their Music Forte page.  This is a great place to capture an mp3 sale.  And since we’ve updated the mp3 sales pages, you don’t have to worry about a visitor purchasing just one song.  They can add as many as they want from your song list, and YOU have the ability to set the price for each song. 

In Conclusion:
Good reviews certainly are good for the ego, but they have many benefits.  As an independent musician, why not take advantage of all the free opportunities that are available? 

- Taka Fujiwara