Goodreads vs Amazon reviews: which one sells books

Authors ask readers for reviews 'on Amazon and Goodreads' as if they were the same request. They are not. One of them sits next to the Buy button. Here is what each platform's reviews actually do for a self-published book, and where to send a reader who will only review once.

Amazon: the review that sells the next copy

An Amazon review appears on the page where the purchase decision is made, feeds the star rating that shows in search results and ads, and counts toward the thresholds Amazon's own recommendation systems use. It is also the review Amazon Ads conversion depends on: the same ad sent to a listing with twenty reviews converts several times better than to one with three.

Amazon reviews are harder to get. Readers need an account that has spent money on Amazon in the past year, the platform removes reviews it dislikes, and reviewing takes more steps than on Goodreads.

Goodreads: the review that builds a readership

Goodreads reviews are seen by readers deciding what to read next, not what to buy now. They matter for discovery in book clubs, for 'want to read' shelves that turn into sales months later, and for your author profile. Goodreads ratings also run noticeably lower than Amazon's: readers there rate against every book they have read, and a 3.8 on Goodreads is a good book. Do not panic at the gap.

Goodreads reviews are easy to get, which is both their advantage and why they carry less weight with shoppers. Anyone can post; Amazon owns Goodreads but does not use its reviews on the store.

If you can only ask once

Ask for Amazon. The review next to the Buy button is the one that pays for the next one. Then, in the thank-you, mention that cross-posting the same review to Goodreads takes thirty seconds. Readers who review on Amazon first usually will; readers asked for Goodreads first rarely come back for Amazon.

ReadRipple verifies Amazon reviews because that is the one we can check on your page and the one that changes your sales. Readers are welcome to cross-post, and many do.

Set up both before launch

• Claim your Amazon Author Central page and add a photo and bio.
• Claim the Goodreads author profile and add the book with the right ISBN or ASIN, so early reviewers can find it.
• Put the direct Amazon review link in your back matter; Goodreads second, as a one-line mention.