review websites industry

The Best Review Sites for Businesses in 2024 [Including Industry Breakdowns]

CMO, Direction.com

• Updated: April 18, 2024

The best review sites not only serve as a beacon for guiding potential customers to trustworthy businesses but also empower those businesses to shine by showcasing real-world satisfaction and excellence in service.

Customer reviews serve as the cornerstone of credibility for businesses in the digital age. They not only forge a pathway to building trust among potential customers but also significantly enhance a company’s online visibility, directly contributing to its search engine rankings.

The influence of customer reviews extends beyond mere perception; it has tangible impacts, with a substantial percentage of consumers willing to pay more for products or services from brands they trust, underscoring the vital role that online review management plays in a business’s success.

In this landscape, the role of industry-specific review sites emerges as crucial for businesses aiming to target their niche effectively. Such platforms cater to specialized sectors — ranging from real estate and dentistry to auto repair, restaurants, and legal services — offering tailored spaces where relevant customer feedback can significantly influence decision-making.

These sites not only provide consumers with insights specific to their needs but also enable businesses to stand out among competitors in their particular domain.

By leveraging these industry-specific platforms, companies can more precisely reach their target audience, ensuring their promotional efforts resonate with those most likely to engage with their services or products.

3 Benefits of Getting Customer Reviews on the Best Review Sites

1. building trust with potential customers.

Customer reviews are pivotal in forging trust among potential customers.

Trust significantly influences consumer decision-making, with research indicating that 46% of U.S. consumers are prepared to pay more for products or services from brands they perceive as trustworthy.

This data illustrates the direct correlation between positive customer feedback and the perception of a brand’s reliability and trustworthiness, making it an essential factor for businesses aiming to differentiate themselves in competitive markets.

2. Enhancing Online Visibility

Reviews play a critical role in boosting a business’s online visibility. They influence a company’s ranking on review platforms like Google Business Profile (GBP), Yelp, and Tripadvisor, which in turn affects its visibility on search engines.

Search engines use data from these platforms to populate local search results, positioning businesses with higher review counts and better ratings more prominently.

This enhanced visibility is crucial for attracting potential customers who are actively searching for related products or services online.

3. Increasing Sales

The impact of customer reviews extends beyond trust and visibility, directly influencing sales.

Positive reviews serve as social proof that can sway purchasing decisions, encouraging potential customers to convert into actual buyers.

Additionally, the presence of positive feedback can lead to increased customer spending, as it establishes confidence in the brand.

This connection between customer reviews and sales growth underscores the importance of actively seeking and managing customer feedback as part of a strategic approach to business growth.

Top 10 Best Review Sites

1. google business profile.

Google Business Profile ( GBP ) is an essential tool for businesses looking to manage their online presence across Google’s various services, such as Search, Maps, and Shopping.

By enabling companies to create and update their profiles with key information and customer reviews, GBP plays a critical role in improving local search visibility.

A well-maintained profile with positive reviews and accurate information can significantly boost a business’s chances of appearing in top search results, making it easier for potential customers to find and choose their services over competitors.

2. Facebook

Facebook serves as a powerful platform for businesses to engage with their customers and collect valuable reviews.

By creating a business page, companies can interact with their audience, share updates, and encourage customers to leave feedback.

These reviews can influence Bing’s local search results, given Bing’s integration with Facebook data. This integration highlights the importance of maintaining an active and positive presence on Facebook to enhance visibility and credibility.

Yelp is renowned for its ability to help users discover and evaluate local businesses. With its extensive database of customer reviews and ratings, Yelp aids consumers in making informed decisions about where to dine, shop, or seek services.

The platform’s popularity and its impact on local businesses are significant, as Yahoo uses Yelp reviews to inform its local search results. For businesses, this means that a strong presence on Yelp can lead to improved visibility and customer trust.

4. Tripadvisor

Tripadvisor is a crucial platform for travel-related businesses, offering a space for customers to share their experiences with hotels, restaurants, and attractions worldwide.

Reviews on Tripadvisor can greatly influence a business’s visibility on search engines like DuckDuckGo and Bing, which utilize Tripadvisor data in their local search results.

For businesses in the travel industry, collecting positive reviews on Tripadvisor is vital for attracting tourists and enhancing their online presence.

G2 is a leading platform for B2B and software companies, providing a space for users to leave detailed reviews about software products. This feedback helps others in the industry discover and evaluate software solutions based on real user experiences.

For software companies, a strong profile on G2 can lead to increased visibility among potential buyers and influence purchasing decisions, underscoring the importance of collecting and showcasing positive reviews.

Critical for retailers, Amazon’s customer reviews influence purchasing decisions and product visibility both on Amazon and in search engine results.

7. Trustpilot

Offers businesses a platform to build trust through customer feedback, affecting purchasing decisions across various industries.

8. Angi (formerly Angie's List)

Specializes in home services, providing a trusted source for homeowners to find and review service providers.

9. Better Business Bureau

Offers a rating system that impacts consumer trust and confidence in businesses across North America.

10. Foursquare

Helps users discover local businesses and services, with reviews influencing decisions on dining, shopping, and more.

Industry-Specific Review Sites

Specialized review platforms play a crucial role in various sectors by providing tailored spaces for customer feedback. These platforms cater to the unique needs of each industry, enabling businesses to showcase their expertise, build credibility, and attract their target audience more effectively.

Real Estate

In the real estate industry, platforms like Zillow, Realtor.com, and Trulia stand out as top review sites for brokers , agents, and real estate services.

These sites offer comprehensive listings and customer reviews that help potential buyers and sellers make informed decisions.

Reviews on these platforms can significantly enhance an agent’s or brokerage’s visibility and trustworthiness, making them indispensable tools for real estate professionals seeking to expand their clientele.

For dental practices, patient reviews on platforms such as Healthgrades, Zocdoc, and RateMDs are invaluable.

These sites allow patients to share their experiences, helping others to find trustworthy dental care providers.

Positive reviews on these platforms can greatly influence new clients’ decisions, highlighting the importance of maintaining a high standard of care and encouraging satisfied patients to leave feedback.

For legal professionals, client testimonials on platforms like Avvo, Martindale-Hubbell, and Lawyers.com are critical in building a law firm’s reputation.

These sites allow clients to rate their experiences with attorneys, providing valuable insights for others seeking legal representation.

Positive reviews can enhance a lawyer’s credibility and attract more clients, underscoring the importance of delivering exceptional service and encouraging satisfied clients to share their experiences.

Blueprint for Collecting and Leveraging Reviews Effectively

Collecting and leveraging customer reviews is crucial for businesses looking to enhance their reputation and attract more customers.

Here’s a comprehensive blueprint for effectively gathering and utilizing reviews:

Encouraging Customers to Leave Reviews

• Ask at the Right Time : Timing is key when asking for reviews. Choose moments when customer satisfaction is highest, such as after a purchase or a positive interaction with your service.
• Make It Easy : Simplify the review process by providing direct links to your business’s review pages on platforms like Google Business Profile, Yelp, or industry-specific sites.
• Leverage Multiple Channels : Utilize email follow-ups, SMS, and social media to remind customers to leave reviews, ensuring you reach them through their preferred communication methods.
• Offer Incentives : Encourage reviews by offering small incentives, such as discounts on future purchases or entry into a contest, while making sure to comply with the review platform’s policies regarding incentives.

Managing Online Reputation Across Platforms

• Monitor Regularly : Use tools to monitor your business’s reviews across various platforms. This will help you stay on top of what customers are saying and respond promptly.
• Claim Your Profiles : Ensure you’ve claimed your business profiles on all relevant review sites. This allows you to update business information and respond to reviews.
• Engage with All Reviews : Show customers that you value their feedback by acknowledging and responding to all reviews, whether positive or negative.
• Use Negative Feedback Constructively : View negative reviews as an opportunity to improve. Address customer concerns, make necessary changes, and follow up to resolve issues.

Responding to Feedback

• Thanking for Positive Reviews : Express gratitude for positive reviews with personalized responses. This reinforces positive experiences and encourages loyalty.
• Handling Negative Reviews Diplomatically : Respond to negative reviews professionally and calmly. Offer to take the conversation offline to resolve the issue privately, if necessary.
• Highlight Improvements : When addressing negative feedback, mention any steps taken to rectify the issue or improve services, showing commitment to customer satisfaction.
• Follow Up : For customers who have had issues resolved, gently ask if they would consider updating their review or sharing their positive resolution experience.

Leveraging Reviews for Business Growth

• Showcase Testimonials : Feature positive reviews prominently on your website, in marketing materials, and on social media to build trust with potential customers.
• Analyze Feedback for Insights : Regularly review feedback to identify patterns or areas for improvement. This can inform business decisions and help enhance customer experience.
• Share Achievements : If your business receives awards or high ratings on review platforms, share these achievements with your audience to build credibility.

By implementing these strategies, businesses can effectively gather, manage, and leverage customer reviews to enhance their online reputation, improve services, and attract more customers.

Elevate Your Business Reputation with Strategic Review Management

The strategic selection of review platforms tailored to your industry and business objectives is paramount. The right mix of general and industry-specific review sites enables businesses to reach their target audience effectively, build trust, and enhance their online visibility.

Actively managing your presence on these platforms is not just about collecting positive reviews; it’s about engaging with your customers, addressing their feedback, and continuously improving your service offerings based on insights gained.

To truly maximize the benefits of online reviews, businesses must prioritize regular monitoring, thoughtful responses to customer feedback, and the leveraging of positive reviews to bolster their reputation.

This proactive approach to review management can significantly impact customer perceptions, drive sales, and foster long-term loyalty.

For businesses looking to streamline this process and elevate their online reputation, Direction.com offers a comprehensive reputation management software solution.

Our platform simplifies the task of managing your reviews across multiple sites, providing you with the tools needed to effectively gather, analyze, and respond to customer feedback.

About The Author

Connor Wilkins

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Tired of Yelp? 14 Alternative Business Review Websites

If you're looking for another perspective, check out some other online review services.

Table of Contents

Modern consumers thrive on information. Before making buying decisions, customers routinely seek out the opinions and experiences of others to determine whether or not a company is credible and its products or services are worthwhile. Business review websites are excellent resources for consumers seeking information and often include business-specific tools to help organizations boost brand awareness and expand their marketing reach. 

While Yelp is perhaps the best-known business review website, it’s far from the only reputable one. We’ll explain more about business review websites and highlight 14 Yelp alternatives to consider. 

What are business review websites?

Business review websites collect customer reviews about the companies they do business with. These aren’t professional reviews, and they aren’t paid. They’re from actual customers sharing honest feedback.

For example, say you recently hired a local company to install a fence in your backyard. After the service is completed, you can review that company on a business review website. When you leave a review, you’ll often choose a letter or number rating. You’ll usually have the option to summarize your thoughts about the service you received.

By sharing your positive or negative experiences, you help other potential customers decide whether or not to use that company in the future.

Best Yelp alternatives for business reviews

Many consumers turn to Yelp when researching products and services. Additionally, small businesses use Yelp to boost brand awareness and enhance their local marketing strategy . However, Yelp isn’t the only game in town. Here are 14 Yelp alternatives that can help you generate positive online reviews and grow your business. 

1. Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business)

Google Business Profile , formerly called Google My Business, allows you to list your business on Google Maps and appear in local search results. It’s free to list your business and information, such as your business location , hours and phone number.

You can also invite your customers to leave a review on Google. Collecting and responding to Google reviews shows you care about customer feedback; more reviews will help you rank higher in Google searches. To get started, set up and personalize your Business Profile on Google .

2. Facebook Page reviews

If you use Facebook ads for your business, you probably already have a Facebook Business Page set up. Your Facebook Business Page is a great place to stay in touch with your customers and share helpful information about your business.

It’s also an excellent place to collect customer reviews. Take advantage of this feature by turning on the ratings and reviews option in your Facebook Page settings. From there, invite customers to leave reviews sharing their experiences with your company.

3. Angi (formerly Angie’s List)

Angi is a major name in business reviews. As a platform for accurate information about local businesses from vetted users, Angi guarantees its reviews are legitimate.

Users pay a membership fee to access the site and write reviews, which are graded in letter form. Businesses that sign up with Angi can interact with members, establish a profile, and respond to reviews about their company. Businesses can also take advantage of deals and discounts when they sign up with Angi. Organizations can sign up for an Angi account online. 

4. Better Business Bureau

The Better Business Bureau is one of the most trusted names in business ratings and reviews. The BBB grades businesses from A+ to F based on several factors, including reviews, complaints, and business responses to reviews and complaints. The BBB is a trusted organization, and its ratings could significantly impact a small business. 

The accreditation process ensures that a business makes a good-faith effort to resolve customer complaints and respond to inquiries. This effort makes a business more trustworthy in consumers’ eyes. Accreditation (and its fee) can give a business increased exposure online, access to workshops and webinars, and much more. Visit the BBB online to start the accreditation process for your business. 

5. ConsumerAffairs

Collecting reviews for a business is just one service ConsumerAffairs for Brands offers. When a business signs up, it receives access to numerous resources, including articles on how reviews and a strong reputation can increase revenue, how to find brand ambassadors , and how to convert negative customer experiences into positive ones. Visit ConsumerAffairs for Brands online to create a business account. 

6. Foursquare

While Foursquare is best known for its check-in feature, businesses that claim their listings also give customers the ability to leave ratings and tips (reviews) for other customers.

If you sign up for Foursquare for Business , you’ll be able to access user analytics, add your own tips, and offer customer rewards.

7. Glassdoor

The unique thing about Glassdoor is that it allows current and past employees to rate the companies they work for. This is a vital tool for job searching, helping job seekers learn as much about a company as possible.

When you sign up for a Glassdoor for Employers account , you can read reviews of your company as a workplace and find quality candidates when hiring employees for open positions.

8. HomeAdvisor

This site is similar to Angi (in fact, they have the same parent company). It helps customers find and review professionals for home improvement projects. All reviews are verified and go through an extensive screening process.

If you are a professional offering home improvement services, signing up with HomeAdvisor Pro allows you to connect with HomeAdvisor users in your area looking for a specific service.

9. Judy’s Book

While it’s not free to add or claim your business on this site, the perks of Judy’s Book for Business are worth it. It’s free for customers to review your business directly on the site, but if you receive other testimonials through social media, email, letters or other sources, Judy’s Book allows you to post them on your business page at no extra charge.

When you add your business to Judy’s Book , you also get a free mobile listing, competitor tracking, a higher search engine ranking and much more.

Manta is a small business directory that helps local U.S. businesses connect with consumers and each other. While customer reviews are not the site’s primary function, they are one of its features. Visit Manta online to add your business. 

11. Merchant Circle

MerchantCircle aims to connect customers with deals, advice and price quotes from local small businesses. Its search functions are structured primarily by city and business category. By default, it ranks the listings from highest-rated and most frequently reviewed, working its way down.

The MerchantCircle Help Center has various links to articles to help new businesses get set up.

12. OpenTable

Although OpenTable was once just for making restaurant reservations, customers can now leave reviews and star ratings. When you search for restaurants, a list based on your search criteria pops up.

One of the first things you’ll notice is the star rating under the restaurant name, the number of reviews, and the percentage of reviewers who recommend the restaurant.

If you are starting a restaurant or want to get an established restaurant on OpenTable, sign up on the OpenTable for Restaurants page to start collecting reviews and increasing your reservations.

13. Superpages 

Unlike most other review sites, Superpages isn’t tied to a specific category or service. So, whether your business is a restaurant, plumber, nail salon, electrician or anything else, you can register it and begin collecting reviews.

This site also allows users to write in-depth reviews specific to your business’s category, making it easier for potential customers to find the review and, therefore, your business. Visit Superpages online to claim or manage your free business listing.

VendOp aims to connect people with vendors that best match their needs. Potential customers can search for vendors based on their needs and be presented only with vendors that provide those services, streamlining the search process.

The site also offers a community of real customers who share their experiences with vendors, so potential customers can better understand who they’re working with while helping other vendors improve their services. Visit VendOp online to learn how to use your LinkedIn account to sign up for this platform.

How can business review websites benefit your company?

Many businesses feel nervous at the thought of customers leaving them a review, but customer reviews can be a powerful tool for your company. Here are some of the ways business review websites can benefit you:

• Business review websites create social proof . If a customer is on the fence about purchasing from your business, they’re more likely to move forward if they receive a positive recommendation from a friend or family member. Positive reviews create social proof and help new customers feel comfortable doing business with you.
• Business review websites improve SEO . If you run a local business, you can’t afford to ignore business review websites. For example, receiving and responding to Google Business reviews will improve your business’s search engine visibility and increase the odds that local customers will find you.
• Business review websites help you provide better customer service . Nobody wants to receive a negative review from a customer, but it isn’t always a bad thing. If you respond to negative reviews and take steps to remedy the mistake, you could build more customer loyalty over the long run. And you learn valuable information about how to improve your business in the future.

Using business review websites to your advantage

Many companies rely on business review websites like Yelp to improve their reputation and visibility online. However, there are countless alternatives to Yelp to consider when seeking online reviews and business marketing tools. From Google Business Profile to ConsumerAffairs, these business review websites can help create social proof that your business is worth investing in. 

To encourage online business reviews from customers, consider offering incentives like online coupons or simply asking them to leave a review to help your company. Make it easy for customers to find your business on major review websites so they’re not inconvenienced by the request.

Sammi Caramela contributed to this article. 

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33 Customer Review Sites for Collecting Business & Product Reviews

Published: July 10, 2023

We (and the rest of the internet for the past decade) have already spent some time convincing you of the importance of acquiring online customer reviews for your business. (Did you know that in a recent HubSpot Research survey, 1/3 of respondents said review sites played an important role in their purchasing decision-making process?)

But if you're new to customer reviews or not sure where to find them, let's brush up on some basics and highlight why they're relevant for your business.

In a bit of a time crunch? Use the jump links below to navigate to the exact content you're looking for.

Table of Contents

• Customer Reviews & Their Benefits

Best Customer and Product Review Sites

Customer review sites for b2c companies.

• Customer Review Sites for B2B Companies

Customer Review Sites for Both B2B & B2C Companies

Other places for consumer reviews, customer reviews.

Customer reviews are pieces of feedback given to a business based on a customer's experience with the organization. These reviews can be public or private and are collected by either the company or third-party review sites. By obtaining and analyzing customer reviews, businesses can measure customer satisfaction and improve their customer relations.

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Benefits of Customer Reviews

There are two major reasons why customer reviews are important.

1. Customer reviews are a learning opportunity for your business.

Negative or neutral reviews provide your company with an opportunity to learn and develop. You can see exactly where your business is failing to meet customer needs and remove common roadblocks in the customer journey .

For particularly poor reviews, reps can follow up with these customers and prevent potential churn. They can highlight specific pain points and craft personalized responses geared to specific problems. This makes your customer service team appear more invested in your customers' goals, which results in fewer negative reviews and increased customer retention.

2. Customer reviews are marketing and sales tools for your business.

The other major reason for obtaining reviews is the opportunity to share them with potential customers. Positive reviews can be used as customer testimonials during lead acquisition and can help you add more contacts to your CRM . In fact, 91% of consumers read at least one review before purchasing a product. So, don't just pat yourself on the back the next time you get a five-star review; Make sure everyone knows how good a job your company is doing.

With that in mind, it's not safe to assume we all know where to track down those positive customer reviews. I mean, we might all be able to rattle off one or two sites ("Yelp! And I think you can get them to show up in Google Maps, too?"), but we don't exactly have a laundry list of options at our disposal

Check out our list of the best product review websites for B2B and B2C companies. Keep in mind that every industry has niche sites, too. For instance, those in the restaurant industry may want to be on UrbanSpoon or OpenTable. This blog post won't get into sites that are specific to one industry, but it will provide review sites that apply to businesses in almost any industry.

• Amazon Customer Reviews
• Consumer Reports
• Consumer Affairs
• TripAdvisor
• Google My Business
• Influenster
• HubSpot's App Marketplace
• FinancesOnline
• Compare Camp
• TrustRadius
• SoftwareWorld
• Salesforce AppExchange
• Better Business Bureau
• Facebook Ratings and Reviews
• Top Ten Reviews
• Your Own Website

1. Amazon Customer Reviews

Amazon was one of the first online stores to allow consumers to post reviews of products in 1995 , and it remains one of the most important resources for consumers looking to make informed purchase decisions. Even if people can and do buy a product elsewhere, if it's sold on Amazon.com — unless it's gasoline or drug paraphernalia , that is — then many people will look up its Amazon review before they decide to buy.

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What's going to separate your product from one that looks just like it? Those shiny gold stars and good customer reviews. Products are rated on a five-star rating scale, which is broken down by the percentage of reviews per star, followed by most helpful customer reviews and most recent customer reviews.

Benefits of Amazon Customer Reviews:

• Amazon has over 300 million users who can see your review.
• Amazon's rating system is straightforward and easy to understand.
• Amazon offers a product ranking feature that rates your product's popularity.
• Amazon users are loyal — 22% won't look at competitors if they discovered the product on Amazon.

2. Wirecutter

Part of the New York Times, Wirecutter is an excellent resource for customers looking for honest, independent product reviews. All products go through rigorous testing by the Wirecutter team so readers can rest assured that their recommendations are legit.

From a business perspective, there isn't much you can do to influence ratings on this site, but it should encourage your brand to make its products the best they can be.

Benefits of Wirecutter:

• Reviews on Wirecutter are in-depth and highly researched.
• Although Wirecutter earns commission through affiliate links, they do not earn if readers return a product they recommended that they are dissatisfied with — keeping reviewers honest.
• Wirecutter gets about 12 million readers per month and serves as excellent promotion should your brand get chosen as one of its top picks.

3. Angi (Formerly Angie's List)

Geared toward U.S.-based service businesses, Angi is a "higher-end" review site, because users actually have to pay for membership. But you get what you pay for. The reviews, given on an A–F scale, are typically very well-thought-out — not a lot of that ranting and raving that's more common on free review sites. The reviews can't be anonymous, which helps cut down on fake or misrepresentative reviews, and companies are allowed to respond to the reviews posted about them, too.

It's free to set up a page for your company. Once you have yours, encourage your customers who are on Angie's List to leave reviews there — members are the only ones allowed to do it!

Benefits of Angie's List:

• Reviews on Angi are typically of high-quality since users need to pay to use the site and can't post anonymously.
• Even though this is a paid subscription service, it's free to list your company on Angi.
• If a customer has a bad experience with a recommended provider, Angi will work with both the customer and the company to resolve the issue.

Have customers located in Australia? CHOICE is an independent, member-funded consumer advocacy website based in Australia. It independently evaluates products and provides detailed reviews to its members.

The bulk of its work involves consumer rights, exposing shady industry tactics, as well as providing product reviews. In addition, it allow members to rate and discuss specific products and services with other CHOICE members. If you have customers in Australia, we recommend encouraging those who are on CHOICE to leave reviews there.

Benefits of Choice:

• Choice posts over 200,000 reviews each year and serves about 2,400 institutions worldwide.
• Since Choice evaluates products and services independently, its reviews are unbiased.
• Choice has a "Choice Picks" page where you can see the best products that it recommends.

5. Trustpilot

Trustpilot is a fast-growing, community-driven consumer review platform based in Denmark, although it has expanded out of Europe into 65 countries, including the U.S. The platform for businesses helps companies from all over the world proactively collect customer reviews. It's the customers who write both product and seller reviews, keeping it third-party verified.

While there is a basic version for free (this lets you create a profile page and collect customer reviews), the paid versions let you create customizable review invitations, share ratings and reviews on social media, and link review data to your internal business systems.

Benefits of Trustpilot:

• Over 500,000 websites are rated on Trustpilot.
• Trustpilot uses its own review system to rate its website. Based on about 136,000 reviews, Trustpilot is rated four stars out of five.
• Trustpilot has advanced SEO features that help your website rank higher on SERPs when customers leave reviews for your company.
• Trustpilot can be integrated with Shopify, Magento, and MailChimp.

6. TestFreaks

Similar to TrustPilot, the Swedish-based TestFreaks helps companies proactively collect customer reviews and write seller reviews to complement them.

Another cool addition? Its question and answer feature, which lets prospective customers post questions and receive answers directly from your customer service team.

Benefits of TestFreaks:

• TestFreaks has 100 million crawled reviews from over 15,000 sources.
• TestFreaks provides a content moderation team that analyzes content in over 20 languages.
• TestFreaks has an import feature where you can upload external customer reviews into its website.

Which? is an independent consumer review organization that tests and reviews products and then writes about them. Unlike Angie's List, it's the folks at Which? who write the reviews — not the customers. They don't accept submissions for product testing or survey inclusion, but they do encourage people to let them know about their products and services by emailing [email protected] .

While this leaves less room for you to influence whether your products end up on their site, it's still worth knowing about and checking in on this popular site, especially if you have customers in the U.K. The website has product reviews for everything from dishwashers and tablets to cars and credit cards. It tests and reviews all these products, and then writes about both its methodologies and results. It also surveys customers for things like the best and worst firms for customer service .

A lot of its content is free, but customers can become members for £10.75 per month to get access to a "Best Buys" and "Don't Buy" list, the latest reviews of products from its test labs, and access to its consumer legal advice service.

Benefits of Which?:

• Which? offers more than 8,000 free reviews.
• Which? tests and reviews more than 3,600 new products every year.
• To prove that it's impartial, Which? provides a video that shows users how it tests and reviews each product.
• Which? is 100% independent. It doesn't accept freebies from product manufactures or retailers so its reviews remain unbiased.
• Which? offers a "Safety Alert" feature that notifies users when a product is deemed unsafe. There's also a "Brand Alert" feature that lets you know if a brand has a history of creating unsafe products.

8. Consumer Reports

A nonprofit organization, Consumer Reports is an independent product-testing organization that runs unbiased tests to rate and recommend products. It has reviewed over 7.7 million products, accept no advertising, and pay for all products that it tests. (Fun fact: The company buys and tests 80 cars each year! ) This is about as legitimate as it gets. As such, there's not much you can do here "except" if you sell a product, make sure it's really, really good.

If nothing else, you could take this website as a lesson in excellent content creation. For each product it reviews, it provides the review criteria, product overviews, a buying guide, and social sharing buttons. It's all quite comprehensive and, well, helpful. Pretty much the key to great content, am I right?

Benefits of Consumer Reports:

• Consumer Reports has over 63 testing facilities — including its 327-acre auto test center.
• Consumer Reports has spent over $30 million on testing and rating products.
• The company plans to test more than 8,500 new products in 2021.
• There are over eight product categories to choose from — each having several subcategories within them.
• Consumer Reports provides an overall score for each product, so you know exactly how it compares to other products in its category.

9. Consumer Affairs

Consumer Affairs is a for-profit organization that reviews companies using an “overall satisfaction rating." This average is scored on a one to five-star scale that's updated every time a new review is submitted. Each company's page provides a list of all its reviews, which includes the consumer's star rating as well as a short explanation for its score.

Consumer Affairs also allows users to submit review recordings, which are two-minute videos where people talk about their experience with a brand. This makes the review much more compelling because you can actually see the person talk and express their genuine feelings about the company.

Benefits of Consumer Affairs:

• Consumer Affairs offers a "trending" section where you can view its lastest and most popular reviews.
• Consumer Affairs provides a demo for brands looking to buy a subscription to its service.
• The "Review Feed" feature allows you to research all of your customer reviews in one, scrolling feed.
• Consumer Affairs has a "Video Review" option where customers can record themselves giving a review.

10. TripAdvisor

If you're in the travel, hotel, airline, entertainment, or restaurant industries, you'll want to check out the reviews on the popular website, TripAdvisor. As the largest travel site in the world, it has over 225 million reviews, opinions, and photos taken by travelers. It also has some awesome content on low airfares, travel guides, rental listings, and advice forums for pretty much every location in the world you could possibly imagine. A lot of people look there before booking a trip.

The key to a successful profile on TripAdvisor is making it as close to the top of the popularity index as possible, so that people searching for information in a specific place see your listing. According to TripAdvisor , the popularity ranking algorithm is based on three key components: quantity, quality, and recency of reviews. Here's an excerpt of the advice they give businesses looking to improve their ranking:

"Quantity : Ask your guests to write reviews, and use our management center tools to remind them after they check out. Offering incentives for reviews is against the rules, though — take a look at our policy to make sure you understand what is and isn't okay.

Quality : Guests who enjoyed first class hospitality and a memorable experience are more likely to write positive reviews. Monitor what previous reviewers have written to see what worked and did not work best for your property so you can maintain and improve your service.

Recency : Recent reviews factor more strongly on your popularity rankings and older reviews have less impact on a hotel's ranking over time. Once again, encourage guests to write reviews to keep fresh content rolling in."

Benefits of TripAdvisor:

• TripAdvisor has collected over 887 million reviews for eight million companies.
• TripAdvisor Plus gives you access to discount hotel pricing for over 100,000 locations.
• The average TripAdvisor Plus member saves about $350 the first time they use their membership.
• TripAdvisor Business Advantage showcases your company's best reviews so customers see them first when reviewing your profile.

Yelp is a free review site that lets consumers rate businesses on a five-star scale. Any business can set up a profile on Yelp for free, and users can set up their own free profiles to review a business. You're free to respond to reviewers, too, but we recommend taking a balanced and polite approach to any negative reviews you receive, as Yelpers are in a pretty tight-knit community.

Yelp has also come under fire over the past few years for some slightly shady practices, like incentivizing businesses to advertise with them in exchange for gaming the search results for their business ("Pay us money and we'll push bad reviews down!"). Savvier consumers have learned to look at Yelp reviews as a whole and with the reviewer's clout in mind, instead of getting turned off by a business because of one bad listing.

That being said, it's still to your benefit to get a constant stream of positive online reviews coming to your business' Yelp account so happy customers are always at the top of your review feed — especially if you're a location-based business. Yelp profile information contains things like store hours and location information, so your profile will often turn up when people Google your business.

Benefits of Yelp:

• Yelp has roughly 184 million monthly users worldwide.
• Anyone can sign up for Yelp and it's fairly easy for customers to leave a review — making it a good source of customer feedback.
• Yelp users are a tight-knit community. Active users will provide a lot of detailed feedback for your business.
• Research shows an increase of one star in your Yelp rating can increase revenue by 5-9%.

12. Google My Business

You know those reviews that show up when you search Google for a business? Yeah, those things are on this list in a big way.

Google's Pigeon algorithm update uses distance and location ranking parameters to deliver improved local search results. So, in order for your business' website to be properly optimized for search, you'll want to set up verified accounts with local directories — especially Google's, called "Google My Business." Getting reviews, comments, pictures, and so on, especially on Google, can give you a boost in search. Only verified local Google+ pages can respond to reviews.

An added bonus? Google Maps pulls that information and those reviews into the app, so having a lot of content in there will make your business look more reputable.

Benefits of Google My Business:

• Google is the world's largest search engine and controls over 90% of the search engine marketshare.
• Google can localize your review search, meaning it will only show results for businesses located in the area that you searched.
• It's free to create and customize your Google Business Profile. Setting up only takes a few minutes.
• Nearly 10% of Google's search algorithm is influenced by Google Reviews. The more positive reviews that you have, the higher your business will rank on SERPs.

13. Influenster

If you sell consumer products, Influenster is a review site you'll want to make sure you've covered.

Influenster features customer reviews and news about consumer products — primarily skincare, beauty, makeup, hair, and other health and body products. Visitors can search the site by brand name or by a specific product they're looking for, and Influenster links to websites where visitors can buy the products.

The reviews are comprehensive and feature lots of detail and images to accompany them. So if you're in the beauty business, consider directing your shoppers to review your products on Influenster to help attract new customers, too.

Benefits of Influenster:

• There are over six million users who are actively leaving reviews on Influenster.
• Influenster users have left over 50 million organic reviews on the website.
• Influenster sends its users "VoxBoxes" where they can test out new products for free.
• Influenster helps businesses create "sampling campaigns" where you send users a sample of your product then follow up afterwards to sell them the complete version.

Review Websites for B2B Companies

14. hubspot's app marketplace.

HubSpot's App Marketplace is a space where businesses can browse through extensions, tools, and apps that connect to their HubSpot account. Some apps are built by HubSpot, while others were designed by partners and third-party organizations. Offering all of these tools in one place makes it easier for HubSpot users to add new features to their accounts that may not be included with their subscription.

The nice part about this customer review site is that it's categorized based on the product you're looking to install. There's individual sections for Marketing, Sales, and Service tools, as well as other sections like finance, workflow integrations, popular apps, and more.

Reviews are rated on a five-star scale and customers have to answer questions like, "What did you like about this product? What did you dislike about it?" and "What problem did this product solve?" These questions provide more context into the review so you know exactly why a customer rated a business or product the way they did.

Benefits of HubSpot App Marketplace:

• There are more than 500 apps featured in HubSpot's App Marketplace.
• Product pages not only list reviews, but also pricing info, notable features, and account requirements for downloading each tool.
• Customers have the option to upvote reviews that they find helpful.
• The reviews on this site provide "quality ratings" for features like ease of use, functionality, purchase value, and customer support.

15. FinancesOnline

FinancesOnline is one of the fastest-growing platforms for B2B & SaaS software reviews, with more than 2,800,000 visitors every month . It gathers thousands of user reviews every month, with each reviewer authenticated via LinkedIn to ensure only actual users share their experience with the community. User reviews are based on detailed surveys, which offer a really in-depth look at each tool. Algorithmic analysis is also a foundation for quarterly reports in the most popular categories. To balance the user perspectives, each review also includes a detailed analysis prepared by the internal team of B2B software experts, who analyze key usability factors such as features, integrations, mobile support, etc. This evaluation is then combined into the unique SmartScore™ system, which gives readers an easy reference on what the experts' community thinks about each business solution. As an added bonus, the product pages rank high in Google, so getting a few positive user reviews on their site could be beneficial for your brand recognition.

Benefits of FinancesOnline:

• FinancesOnline has roughly three million visitors to its site every month and over ten thousand detailed company reviews.
• The SmartScore system grades products on several factors including functionality, collaboration features, customization, ease of use, and more.
• FinancesOnline uses a customer satisfaction algorithm that calculates an overall score for a business based on reviews, comments, and opinions that are posted on various social media channels.
• The "Verified Quality Seal" let's users know that a business or product is reliable and trustworthy.

16. Compare Camp

Compare Camp is a B2B review site that deals primarily with business software. If you're looking to introduce a new tool or system to your company, Compare Camp can help you pinpoint the exact software that's right for you. Not only does this site show you how other people feel about a specific product, but it also lays out the key benefits of the product as well as any new trends that may be occurring in that particular industry.

When you first navigate to the site, Compare Camp provides you with a list of software categories to choose from. After you select a section, it gives you a description of the category along with a detailed list of product and company options. Compare Camp also explains any varying types of products within that section as well as the top features you should look for when buying that software. It's a very handy guide to have especially when you're considering a product that you haven't purchased before.

Benefits of Compare Camp:

• Over 100,000 companies use Compare Camp every month.
• There are over 25 product categories to choose from, including CRM Software, Sales Software, eCommerce Software, and more.
• Each category provides a "Top 10" list of the best software available in that section.
• If you're not familiar with a product, each category provides a brief description of what the software is and why you might want it.

17. G2 Crowd

If your business sells software, you'll want to be sure you have a presence on G2 Crowd. Every month, more than 5 million people looking to buy software read the 1+ million user reviews on this website so they can make better purchasing decisions.

G2 Crowd operates kind of like Yelp, but in a specific niche. Companies are reviewed on a five-star scale, and reviews cover everything from setup and ease of use to security and support. Reviewers answer questions like "What do you like best?"; "What do you dislike?"'; and "Recommendations to others considered the product." Also, you can upvote and downvote others' reviews.

Benefits of G2 Crowd:

• There are nearly 1.4 million reviews featured on G2 Crowd.
• G2 Crowd offers a video review option where users can record themselves leaving a review.
• When a customer leaves a review, you can see whether the customer is a verified user and how active they are on the platform.
• G2 Crowd allows businesses to request reviews from customers. This helps you build a pool of customer reviews for your company.

18. TrustRadius

Like G2 Crowd, TrustRadius is an online review site for software businesses. Reviewers on the site are authenticated via LinkedIn to make sure they're users (although the reviews themselves can still be anonymous), which allows users to see what their LinkedIn connections are saying about particular pieces of software on TrustRadius. This adds a layer of trust for someone reading the site.

You can use the site to browse reviews of individual companies, or compare two companies side-by-side to compare their five-star ratings, screenshots of their products, pricing details, and user comments from reviewers.

In addition to the company reviews, TrustRadius has put together a whole bunch of buyer guides for categories including talent management software, business intelligence software, core HR software, social media, and A/B testing to help people find the right product for them based on hundreds of reviews and user ratings.

Benefits of TrustRadius:

• There are over 300,000 customer reviews posted on TrustRadius.
• TrustRadius does not sell leads or ad placement. This keeps reviews unbiased and vendors can't skew results.
• TrustRadius reviews are more in-depth. On average, each review has more than 400 words.
• Each customer review is vetted by TrustRadius' research team and is evaluated for quality, depth, and detail.

19.  SoftwareWorld

SoftwareWorld is a dynamic software and services review platform that may help you showcase your products or services to a wider range of audiences, or a potential customer searching for the right solution. SoftwareWorld is a top-notch digital review platform that allows companies to get listed and showcase their products and services on the platform. It also enables users to freely navigate the categories and listicles to identify the software and services they may require. Some of the crucial categories that SoftwareWorld offers are accounting software, CRM software, ERP software, and LMS software.

SoftwareWorld allows customers (active or previous) to write reviews and share their experiences of particular products or services. They just need to register and sign in on the platform with their LinkedIn credentials to ensure review authenticity.

Benefits of SoftwareWorld:

• The platform incorporates 5000+ software and 2000+ services listed in more than 500 categories for users to explore.
• SoftwareWorld’s product pages include crucial details, starting with a detailed overview of the product followed by a category-wise feature listing, pricing section, and FAQs.
• It provides comprehensive buyer’s guides for vital categories to help users make selections with confidence.
• Unfamiliar with software? No worries. All the software pages have a brief introduction, enlightening what the software is and how your business may benefit from it.

20. GoodFirms

GoodFirms is a B2B research and review platform that focuses on connecting service seekers with the right software and service providers.

GoodFirms analyzes the top-performing companies and software solutions based on three important pieces of criteria: Quality, Reliability, and Ability. These metrics are further segmented into authentic feedback by customers, a portfolio of the company, its market penetration, years of experience, and serviceability. The companies are then ranked based on their cumulative research scores. GoodFirms offers quick filters to sort the service providers by their hourly rate, location, and number of employees.

Benefits of GoodFirms:

• GoodFirms has over 30,000 customer reviews and 60,000 business profiles on its website.
• GoodFirms offers a discussion platform where customers can form an online community and talk about specific products and brands.
• GoodFirms provides over one thousand unique case studies that outline new trends and technology emerging in your industry.
• When searching for a specific company or product, customer reviews can be filtered by device, location, and industry.

21. Salesforce AppExchange

Have an app on the Salesforce AppExchange? Then you'll want to keep track of your app's ratings and reviews there.

Reviews are based on a five-star rating system, and each app has reviews listed with the most helpful positive review and most helpful negative reviews first, followed by all reviews, from which users can filter by rating, date, and helpfulness. This customer review site has embraced transparency, letting users access thousands of reviews and see the number of downloads with just a few clicks.

Benefits of Salesforce AppExchange:

• There are over five thousand products that are listed in Salesforce AppExchange.
• This site features a live chat option where you can speak with someone if you have questions about a business, product, or review.
• Users in Salesforce AppExchange can comment, like, and report other customer reviews.

21. Better Business Bureau

A nonprofit site, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) evaluates all types of businesses against a set of best practices for how businesses should treat the public. It doesn't directly recommend or endorse any businesses, products, or services; it simply provides the public with information about businesses, and whether they have met the BBB's accreditation standards. It will also review both accredited and non-accredited businesses.

A business' profile listing on the BBB contains general overview information, like a short company bio and the company's accreditation status, a history of any complaints made about the business and whether they were resolved, customer reviews, and the BBB's A - F rating of the business.

Benefits of the Better Business Bureau:

• There are more than 5.4 million business profiles listed on the Better Business Bureau.
• As a government-sponsored organization, you can trust that its reviews are unbiased.
• Attaining your BBB accreditation shows that your business is reliable and trustworthy.
• Last year in the United States, BBB reviews were accessed more than 120 million times.
• 88% of consumers prefer to do business with a company that is BBB accredited.

22. Glassdoor

Glassdoor is an employee review site that helps anyone — from prospective employees to prospective customers to investors — get an idea of what a company is really like from the inside. In other words, it helps measure the more qualitative factors of things like valuation.

Employees can share what it's like to interview and work at their companies, and the site shows visitors which companies are rated highest by their employees. Many employers use it to build their employment brand so they can target and recruit candidates, but you can also use the reviews to share ideas internally for improvement among your management team.

Creating an employer account is free, and it's easy to track and respond to reviews. For example, you can set up alerts so you get an email each time a new review is posted so you can acknowledge and respond to each one.

Benefits of Glassdoor:

• There are about 90 million reviews, salaries, and insights listed on Glassdoor.
• Over 60 million people use Glassdoor every month to research a company or provider.
• Reviews are left by employees who have experience working with that company.
• When a company responds to a review, it shows you the name of the employee as well as their job title.

Similar to Glassdoor, Blind's platform provides a place employees can leave feedback about what it was like to work at a particular company — though it focuses on the tech industry. On the site, professionals can anonymously communicate with other members, ask questions, provide company insights, and get advice.

What sets Blind apart from its competitors is that it feels like you're dropping in on a water cooler conversation in your office rather than a standard review site.

Benefits of Blind:

• Employers can view discussions in real-time from verified employees.
• Get authentic, anonymous, and unfiltered reviews.
• Over 7 million users across 300,000 companies.

Manta is a marketing agency that also functions as a customer review site primarily features small- to medium-sized businesses. Rather than displaying the top customer reviews right away, Manta organizes search results based on the relevance of your keyword. Then it displays the list of companies with their contact information, so users can quickly connect with a business.

Manta is different than most review sites because it focuses more on connecting people than it does on reviewing products and services. To find customer reviews, you need to select a business, go to their individual listing page, and scroll past their features and products before seeing a review. That way, customers use the reviews as one of the final selling points for purchasing a product or service.

On Manta, the goal is to rank your business as high as possible for each relevant keyword that users can search. So long as your company is in the top search results, you'll have a higher chance of connecting with leads using this site.

Benefits of Manta:

• Manta has data on 35 million businesses spanning across 149 countries.
• Every month, Manta adds 14,000 new listings to its website.
• It's easy to leave reviews on Manta. You just fill out a star rating and write a short description justifying your rating.

25. Capterra

If you're a SaaS business, Capterra is a review site that evaluates software sold by B2C and B2B companies. It has an easy-to-use internal search engine which lets users search for software based on industry, company, or software type. Once a search processes, Capterra displays a list of companies relevant to your keyword and a brief summary describing their product(s).

Users can also compare products on the site. Capterra has a "compare to" feature which lets you select up to four companies and displays the benefits of each side-by-side. You can see everything from ease-of-use to the quality of their customer support, all in one comprehensive view. This makes it easy and efficient for users to find software that best fits their needs.

Benefits of Capterra:

• There are over 1.5 million validated customer reviews posted on Capterra.
• Capterra provides 800 categories to choose from as well as reviews for over 50 thousand products.
• Before clicking into a review, Capterra provides a brief overview of the company, its products, and its mission.
• Capterra provides a pros and cons list for each business profile. This gives users a snapshot of the best and worst features for each company.

26. HundredX

HundredX is a review site and a customer service tool . Businesses create an account on the website and ask customers to leave feedback after working with them. HundredX streamlines the process by providing tools that automatically send out surveys and collect feedback on behalf of the business. With this site, customer services teams don't have to manually seek out reviews or scan third-party sites to obtain customer feedback .

The benefit of signing up for HundredX is the reviews are private. If you get a bad review, leads can't see that feedback and be influenced by the negative comments. This gives your company a chance to correct your mistake before losing potential customers.

Benefits of HundredX:

• HundredX provides profiles for over 1,600 businesses spanning across more than 60 unique industries.
• HundredX offers incentives for users to leave reviews. Roughly 90% of its users participate on a regular basis.
• HundredX's tools helps you create an automated system for creating surveys and collecting customer reviews. This provides an ongoing stream of feedback as you continue to grow your customer base.

Online reviews also exist on sites that aren't necessarily built just to publish online reviews. Some businesses use their social presence and website to encourage online reviews ... and some brands just get them unsolicited, for better or for worse.

Here are some sites that, if you choose to (please, choose to) can serve as additional hubs for online reviews. And they're awesome, because they have enormous reach, and you have some — if not entire — control over these properties.

27. Facebook Ratings & Reviews

Did you know there's a place on Facebook for fans to leave ratings and reviews of your business? There sure is ... it's named, aptly, Facebook Ratings & Reviews. It appears on the left-hand side of your Facebook Page, and you can't move or remove it like you can other parts of your Page.

Anyone logged into Facebook can post a rating or review of a business. All they have to do is go to the Reviews section of your Page, click the grey stars to choose a rating, and then write an optional review. They can make that review public, visible to friends, or visible only to them.

Benefits of Facebook Ratings & Reviews:

• There are more than 2.7 billion users who are active on Facebook each month.
• To collect reviews on Facebook, all you need to do is set up a Facebook Business Profile.
• 2/3 of Facebook users visit a local business's Facebook Profile at least once a week.
• Facebook is a platform designed for communication. This increases the chance of having productive conversations with those who leave a review for your business.

28. Twitter

The ridiculously fast-paced nature of Twitter makes it seem like a weird place to try to accumulate reviews. But while users might not always search for reviews directly on Twitter (unless you started some kind of review hashtag, perhaps), tweets are still indexed in search results. That means a user's tweet, whether complimentary or less-than, could pop up in the SERPs when someone's searching for reviews on your business.

Not only that — there are things you can actively do with the positive tweets coming at you. For instance, we tested the element of social proof on conversions here at HubSpot, attaching three tweets that gave positive reviews on an ebook we were promoting at the time. Guess what happened? The CTA with the three tweets converted better than the CTA with no tweets. If you start to "Favorite" tweets that could serve as positive reviews in the future, it'll be easier to find them when you want to use them in your marketing.

Benefits of Twitter:

• There are over 300 million daily active users on Twitter.
• Twitter lets you communicate both publicly and privately with users. This means you can respond to customers on your feed, but also move the conversation to direct messaging if needed.
• Feedback on Twitter is very immediate. When customers want to voice an opinion about your business, they can do it almost instantly on Twitter.
• Twitter reviews are qualitative. You don't have to worry about an overall rating or satisfaction score when customers leave reviews.

30. Foursquare

Yes, people still use Foursquare. In fact, a ton of people are still using it: racking up 55 million monthly active users (MAUs) to be exact.

Not only can you check-in to different locations and businesses using the app, you can also leave reviews on Foursquare — making it another interesting platform where your brand or business could be discovered by potential customers looking for suggestions — and five-star reviews.

If your business depends on walk-in foot traffic — restaurants, coffee shops, shopping boutiques, etc. — make sure your Foursquare business profile is filled out and updated so people can find you when they go to check-in — and then ask your visitors to review you there.

Benefits of Foursquare:

• There are over 55 million monthly active users on Foursquare.
• Over two million businesses are using Foursquare to connect with customers.
• Foursquare provides marketing tools for your business. You can give special promotions and discounts to existing customers as well as provide tips for new users who are visiting your business for the first time.

31. Superpages

Superpages lets you search for businesses based on their distance from you, overall rating, industry subcategory, online videos, and even promotional coupons.

Once you find a company that you like, this site shows you where the business is on the map as well as a review summary outlining all of the reviews left for the organization. Visitors can quickly assess what other users are saying about the business and use the coupon links to get the same deals as other customers.

Benefits of Superpages:

• Customers primarily use the map/location features to search for businesses. This is ideal for small- to medium-sized businesses that many only be located in a few areas.
• Each company profile has a "view services" tab that explains exactly what the organization has to offer.
• Superpages provides a service that evaluates your brand's online reputation for free.
• Superpages is centered around local participation. So, you can trust that reviews left for your business are coming from customers in your area.

32. Top Ten Reviews

It’s hard to resist a good top 10 list. Top Ten Reviews satisfies this craving by giving visitors a list of 10, detailed reviews for every post on the site. These posts have a wide topic range as well, touching on everything from mattresses to landscaping to laptops.

There's also a "trending" bar that shows you categories that are currently popular on the site. As a business owner, this can give you an idea of what consumers are buying more of at that particular moment.

Benefits of Top Ten Reviews:

• Top Ten Reviews has reviews for products ranging everywhere from gas-powered lawnmowers to eyeglasses.
• Each review has an "our verdict" section that summarizes the pros and cons of each product as well as whether or not the website would recommend it.
• For each product, Top Ten Reviews provides the latest deals available and links users to where they can find them.
• Top Ten Reviews are very detailed. They have sections outlining the product's features, its specs, overall performance, user testimonials, and more.

33. Your Own Website

Finally, the one place where you have total and utter control: your website. It's an excellent place to publicize reviews you receive (perhaps embed some of those tweets you favorited?).

You could carve out a section of your website dedicated just to reviews and testimonials , and even include a form so happy customers can submit their unsolicited reviews.

But if you're actively campaigning for positive online reviews and you encounter happy customers who want to leave you a positive review but don't have accounts on sites like Yelp, Angie's List, or Google, it's handy to have a place on your website to publish their kind words. Consider adding testimonials to landing pages and product pages, too.

Benefits of your own website:

• You have complete control over the format and rating system for your reviews.
• You can dictate which reviews you want to publish on your website.
• Having reviews on your website is timely. People browsing your site can read your positive reviews as they're shopping for your products.

Which customer review site is best?

The easy answer is all of them. The right answer is a little more subjective.

The best customer review site for your business will be whichever one(s) your customers are using most. The more reviews you obtain, the more you'll learn about your business and how customers feel about you.

Don't forget to share this post!

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Small Business Trends

26 business review sites where customers rate you.

If you buy something through our links, we may earn money from our affiliate partners. Learn more .

Business review sites are an essential part of the customer buying journey today. Purchasers make snap decisions about a firm simply by reading business reviews — without ever calling your company, setting foot in your store or visiting your website.

What is your presence like on review sites? Have you found all the sites where customers review your business? Are the reviews mostly positive?

Managing your presence is called online reputation management and it’s something you should be doing on business review sites. Reputation management involves identifying, monitoring, and influencing your business’s credibility and reputation online. And central to review sites are customer reviews.

Best Business Review Sites

The following 26 sites include the best B2C review sites, important for businesses that sell to consumers (examples: Yelp and HomeAdvisor). We also identify the best B2B review sites, for businesses that sell to other businesses (example: G2). Focus on the sites applicable to your industry so you can reap the benefits when buyers use them to make purchase decisions.

1. Google My Business

Google My Business (GMB) is the single most crucial review and listing tool for local businesses. It is is one of the top review sites, replacing what was previously called Google Local. An essential tool for garnering a credible online reputation, it can also help with ranking your business in various kinds of search results. Use this Google My Business Cheat Sheet to get started.

2. Bing Places for Business

Bing Places for Business is the Bing search engine’s version of Google My Business. Consumers can leave ratings and reviews about a company. Local businesses, including businesses with multiple locations, can claim their listing and complete a profile to add their listings to Bing Places, all for free. Once verified, information will appear in Bing Local search and map results.

3. Facebook Ratings and Reviews

Facebook is much more than a social media portal to share posts. The hugely popular social media site is also where followers can leave ratings, reviews, and recommendations on a business’s Page using its Facebook Ratings and Reviews platform. Businesses can turn off ratings and reviews in their Facebook Page settings.

4. Better Business Bureau

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) prides itself on being an ethical marketplace that allows individuals to recommend businesses. The BBB is one of the oldest and most trusted sites, and verifies all consumer reviews. Businesses can also become a BBB accredited business , and the Better Business Bureau assigns its own ratings from A to F but these ratings are independent from reviews by the public.

5. Amazon Customer Reviews

Amazon has been allowing consumers to post reviews about products since 1995. Garnering a string of 4- or 5-star reviews on this leading online retailer’s site can help businesses generate many new sales and build a solid reputation. Business reviews also apply to any listing in Amazon’s Handmade section and to service providers in the Amazon HomeServices section.

Some small business owners and marketing managers have a love-hate relationship with Yelp , feeling that positive reviews at times get less visibility than negative ones at the site. However, you can’t deny Yelp’s importance. Its pages show up frequently in internet searches. It’s a consumer destination, too. The site also trains companies to respond to reviews. A Yelp listing can help businesses manage their online credibility and reputation. Yelp is one of the top review sites and an important place to encourage potential customers to do business with you.

7. Foursquare

Using its Swarm and CityGuides apps, Foursquare lets users check-in and rate venues they visit. Users can also leave “tips” for others visiting the establishments. Companies that sign up for Foursquare for Business can take advantage of user analytics. Businesses can also add their own tips to Foursquare and make customer reward offers. Foursquare data is often included in other sites and maps.

8. HomeAdvisor

If you operate a home improvement business or provide services to homeowners, listing your services on local business review websites like HomeAdvisor and collecting business reviews can positively impact your business and help you get new customers. All reviews placed on HomeAdvisor go through an extensive screening process and are verified by the site’s moderators.

9. Yellow Pages

You can get a free business listing on Yellow Pages which enables businesses to manage the reviews placed on the site about their company. Yellow Pages has transitioned from paper to digital, and is now supporting businesses online with local marketing and reviews. While the yellow pages are no longer the heavyweight driver of new customers the way they were decades ago when print books ruled, make sure to claim your business there.

10. TripAdvisor

TripAdvisor is a review platform focused on the hotel, travel, restaurant, airline, or entertainment industries. Customers share reviews of hotels and other establishments connected to the travel industry. Given that TripAdvisor has collected more than 878 million reviews, it’s in every travel business’s interest to claim its listing and generate positive reviews on one of the largest travel sites in existence.

11. Angie’s List

Angie’s List is regarded as one of the most credible business review sites, being early to offer business listings. Reviews cannot be from anonymous sources on Angie s List, which again, adds to the credibility of the evaluations posted there. Companies can set up a page on Angie s List for free where customers can leave reviews.

12. TrustRadius

TrustRadius is an online review source designed for software businesses. Adding to the credibility of TrustRadius is the fact that all reviewers are authenticated via LinkedIn. This enables users to view what their connections on LinkedIn say about their business and software products.

13. OpenTable

If you own or run a restaurant, registering on OpenTable will enable customers to make reservations and write reviews. Restaurants receive a star rating on OpenTable based on the number of reviews and the percentage of people who recommend the restaurant. Naturally, the higher the review rating, the better a restaurant’s credibility and online reputation.

14. PlanetRate

PlanetRate enables customers to write reviews on businesses of all industries. Companies can register on PlanetRate and actively collect reviews. Users can write in-depth analyses of companies on PlanetRate. Any positive feedback on this review site can influence how consumers perceive your business.

15. Salesforce AppExchange

Salesforce AppExchange is an enterprise cloud marketplace designed to extend the Salesforce platform. It lets users rate businesses through a five-star rating system. Businesses with a Salesforce AppExchange app can keep track of their app’s rating and monitor their online business reviews.

16. Trustpilot

Trustpilot allows businesses to generate a profile page and encourage customers to provide reviews. Companies can send customizable review invitations for a higher-level paid membership fee and share their reviews and social ratings on social media.

17. Glassdoor

Glassdoor users can search reviews and ratings of more than 700,000 businesses around the world. Employees can also share what it is like to work for a company on Glassdoor. With candid and honest reviews about a business’s services, products, and what it is like to work for, Glassdoor can be an invaluable source for enhancing a company’s reputation with prospective employees.

G2 (formerly known as G2 Crowd) is a business review site for companies that sell software. Business software apps are ranked on a five-star scale. With more than five million business users heading to G2 each month to read reviews and buy software, having quality ratings on G2 can directly influence business buying decisions.

Customers can search for vendors of a particular industry and specification on VendOp . The site provides a portal for purchasers to share their experiences with other customers. Users can search reviews by ratings, service, and location on VendOp.

Manta is mainly a business review site, one dedicated to small business. Business owners can claim and customize their page to improve online visibility and marketability. Consumers can search from millions of businesses, and registered users can leave star ratings and write reviews.

Avvo is a business review site for attorneys. Consumers can review their lawyer for the benefit of other consumers and assign up to 5 stars. Avvo claims to include 97% of all lawyers in the United States in its database, and also lists them by practice specialty. All reviews are subject to approval by Avvo, which separately provides its own rating of 1 to 10, based on specified criteria.

WebMD is a vast site getting over 100 million visitors a month, containing medical information for consumers. It also has listings of doctors and dentists, and allows consumers to leave business reviews of them.

23. FinancesOnline

FinancesOnline is an independent review platform that addresses B2B, SaaS, and financial companies. It helps users find and compare software products and services best suited to their needs. They can also read customer product reviews and reports from experts. Currently, the site has more than 50,000 online reviews from users of software products.

24. Merchant Circle

Opening its virtual doors in 2005, Merchant Circle has more than 15 million local business listings across the U.S. in its database. Consumers refer to Merchant Circle to find businesses, read reviews by consumers, and get competitive quotes from companies they seek out. Make sure you claim your business listing. It can be a source for acquiring new customers.

25. Sitejabber

Sitejabber is a site with online reviews of businesses which also lets customers get answers to questions from other customers and the business itself. After making a purchase, customers can leave their own feedback and get help resolving any issues that may arise.

Which? is an independent not-for-profit UK-based consumer review site that reviews services and products and then writes and shares the reviews. Managing to have commendable reviews written about your products or services on Which? can go a long way in generating a sound and credible online reputation.

Business Review Sites Comparison

Other Review Sites

Over 100 larger sites allow user-generated reviews, plus many smaller niche-specific ones.

Some prominent review sites include:

• General & Local Businesses : CitiSearch, Local.com, ConsumerAffairs
• Product & Service Reviews : Viewpoints
• Handmade & Vintage : Etsy
• Books : Goodreads
• Automobiles : Cars.com, Edmunds, CarGuru
• Services & Freelancers : Care.com, Thumbtack, Fiverr
• Food & Restaurants : Zomato
• Travel & Accommodation : VRBO, Airbnb
• Real Estate & Housing : Zillow, Houzz, Apartments.com
• Financial : Bankrate
• Apps : Apple Apps Store, Google Play

What is a Customer Review?

Customer reviews are a form of customer feedback. They usually include some text, as well as a star rating of 1 to 5 stars, with 1 being poor and 5 being excellent.  While there are many places you can find online business listings , the sites below go beyond listings and are popular places for customers to leave reviews.

A customer review is a powerful tool in the digital era, acting as a word-of-mouth endorsement or critique based on firsthand experience. Beyond its basic definition, a customer review can significantly influence a potential customer’s perception and decision-making process. About 72% of U.S. consumers have written a review for a local business.

Reviews create a sense of community around a brand, with customers often engaging in discussions and sharing experiences. There are various forms of customer reviews:

• Text Reviews : The most common form, offering detailed opinions and experiences.
• Video Reviews : Growing in popularity, these provide a visual and personal touch, often perceived as more authentic and engaging.
• Image-Based Reviews : Customers share photos of the product in use, providing visual proof of their experience.

The psychological impact of these reviews is profound. Positive reviews can build a sense of trust and reliability around a brand, while negative reviews can raise red flags for potential customers.

However, even negative reviews, when managed well, can demonstrate a company’s commitment to customer satisfaction and improvement.

The Benefits of Business Reviews

Consumer trust.

Potential customers often trust peer reviews over traditional advertisements or promotions. This trust stems from the belief that fellow consumers provide unbiased, genuine experiences. Businesses with higher ratings and positive reviews often enjoy greater credibility in the market, resulting in increased customer acquisition.

Business Improvement

Feedback, both positive and negative, can be invaluable for businesses looking to refine their products, services, or overall customer experience. By acting on customer insights, businesses can address underlying issues, improve their offerings, and demonstrate a commitment to customer satisfaction.

Enhanced Visibility

Positive reviews can significantly bolster a business’s online reputation. The algorithms of many review platforms promote businesses with higher ratings, making them more visible to potential customers. This increased visibility can drive more traffic to a company’s website or physical location, potentially leading to increased sales and growth.

Engagement and Customer Relationship Building

Responding to reviews, both positive and negative, offers businesses a chance to engage directly with their customer base. Addressing concerns, thanking customers for positive feedback, or offering solutions to problems can foster customer loyalty and show potential clients that the business values its community.

Informed Decision Making

Reviews can act as a gauge for understanding market trends, consumer preferences, and areas of innovation. By analyzing feedback patterns, businesses can make data-informed decisions about product development, marketing strategies, and service improvements, ensuring they remain competitive and relevant in their industry.

5 Tips for Leveraging Business Review Sites

The following best practice tips will help you use online review sites to get highly sought-after, positive reviews.

Claim Your Business Profile

Claiming your business profile on various review sites is a crucial first step in managing your online presence. When you claim your profile on platforms like Yelp, Google My Business, and TripAdvisor, it allows you to manage the information displayed about your business. This includes updating contact details, business hours, and responding to customer reviews.

Once claimed, it’s essential to regularly update your profile. For example, posting about any new services, special events, or promotions can keep your profile fresh and engaging. It’s also a platform to showcase your business’s personality through photos and posts.

On Google My Business, for instance, regularly updating your profile can improve your visibility in local search results, making it easier for potential customers to find you.

Encourage Business Reviews 

Encouraging customers to leave reviews is a delicate but essential part of managing your online reputation. Start by creating a culture that values customer feedback.

Train your staff to remind customers to leave reviews post-purchase or service. You can also use follow-up emails or texts as gentle reminders.

Remember to make the process as easy as possible for customers. Provide direct links to your review profiles in your digital communications.

On-site, QR codes that lead directly to review platforms can be a convenient option for customers.

Embrace each review as the equivalent of free advertising and an integral part of your digital marketing through happy customers.

Don’t Incentivize Reviews

While it’s important to encourage reviews, offering rewards or incentives for them can backfire. It’s essential to adhere to the guidelines of review platforms. Incentivizing reviews can lead to biased feedback and may violate the terms of service of many platforms.

Instead, focus on creating exceptional customer experiences that naturally prompt customers to leave positive reviews. If customers express satisfaction in person or via email, suggest that they share their experience online. Always express gratitude for any feedback given, whether incentivized or not.

Don’t Write Fake Reviews 

The temptation to bolster your business’s online presence with fake reviews should be avoided at all costs. Fake reviews can severely damage your credibility and can lead to penalization by review platforms.

Consumers are increasingly savvy at spotting inauthentic reviews, and getting caught can result in long-term damage to your reputation.

Focus on authentic customer experiences and use negative reviews as an opportunity to show how your business responds constructively to criticism. Transparency and honesty in your online presence are critical to building lasting trust with your audience.

Respond to Negative Reviews

Handling negative reviews with grace and professionalism is crucial for maintaining your business’s reputation. When responding to a negative review, it’s important to remain calm, professional, and empathetic. Apologize if necessary and offer to rectify any legitimate issues raised.

Your response should be personalized, addressing the specific concerns of the reviewer. Offer to continue the conversation offline to find a resolution. This not only helps to potentially salvage a customer relationship but also shows other customers that you’re committed to their satisfaction.

Publicly responding to and resolving negative reviews can turn a potentially harmful situation into a display of excellent customer service.

It turns out that 30% of consumers reverse negative reviews on online review sites when the company responds, according to a survey by ZenBusiness. Yet, only 12% of consumers say their reviews are often or always responded to. Therefore, by responding, you gain a real advantage over all the other small businesses that never respond.

Do I Still Need My Own Website if I Have Review Site Listings?

You should always have your own company website. Some businesses use their Google My Business profile, Facebook page or other business review sites as a replacement for a website of their own. But this is not wise, for one simple reason: third-party sites are outside of your control.

If Facebook decides — however unjustly — to delete your Page, it could take weeks or months to appeal and get it back, if ever. An effective digital marketing strategy should include both your own website as well as business review sites.

Should I Display Reviews on My Website?

Yes. A number of software apps are available to help with aggregating reviews and displaying them on your site. The software reminds customers to review your business post-sale. The apps also automate collecting reviews that have already been published on third-party sites, and provide widgets so you can embed and display reviews on your own website. Examples: GatherUp , Reviews.io and BirdEye .

Do Customer Review Sites Help with Search Engine Rankings?

Information from business listing sites, including user reviews, can show up high in search results in numerous ways. In particular, GMB and Bing Places information is often displayed prominently in the respective Google search engine and Bing search engine pages and maps. A search engine optimization (SEO) professional who specializes in local SEO can help you with a local SEO strategy and explain more.

Rather than focusing just on rankings, however, think broadly about “visibility”. Review sites give you more places to be found online. Too many small businesses are effectively invisible online. The more review websites your company appears in, with positive ratings, the better.

The internet has given consumers the power to make or break a business’s reputation by leaving reviews on social media sites like Facebook, search engines, or any number of business review sites like Yelp. It’s in your best interest to embrace review sites to make a positive brand impression.

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The 25 Best Review Platforms

Definition | Benefits of Reviews | Best Platforms |

The most popular review platforms are generally those that aggregate user reviews in a way that makes it easy for consumers to sift through them and understand more about the product or service.

Given that most consumers rely on user reviews to inform their purchase decisions, it’s hard to overestimate the importance of these review platforms for businesses.

What is a review platform?

A review platform is a site which collects user reviews of products and services and then displays them according to various filters such as star rating.

The purpose of the review platform is to highlight the experience of customers who have had hands-on experience with the product or service. Since it’s not always easy to take a company’s word about its products or services at face value, many consumers like to browse through user reviews before they part with their cash.

The review platform is, as such, an essential tool for both business owners and customers. It can make or break a company’s reputation and credibility, so it’s in the interest of business owners to ensure they provide a five-star service to their clientele.

While reviews aren’t everything, it’s hard to uphold a positive online reputation without them. Even if the reviews for the company aren’t 100% positive, more reviews inevitably leads to more exposure and increased visibility. This usually results in customer interest, which can usually be converted into sales.

What are the benefits of having customer reviews?

Customer reviews should form an integral part of your marketing efforts if you’re a business owner. If you neglect them, they can tear your business down by tarnishing your reputation, but if you nurture them they can skyrocket your sales and propel you to further growth and success.

1. Easier purchasing decision 

If you want to secure more sales, putting more time and effort into your marketing strategy seems like a wise course of action.

Yet, you don’t necessarily need to spend a lot of money or even that much time.

How is that possible?

Well, let’s just say that the user review should be seen as a powerful (and free) marketing tool that you should take advantage of.

The magic phrase here is social proof.

Reviews provide your product or service with a legitimacy that you won’t find anywhere else. That’s because the words come from your customer base.

This social proof can ease a customer’s concerns about the product on offer and perhaps even convince them to make the decision to purchase .

2. Better clickthrough rates 

As a business, you want your customers to not just show interest in what you have to offer but to make purchases.

After all, without sales, all the interest in the world won’t mean anything for your financial goals.

To improve clickthrough rates, star ratings are something you need to pay attention to.

While there are ways of using negative reviews in your favor, it goes without saying that glowing four, and five-star reviews are best.

These four and five star reviews will most likely boost your clickthrough rates, as customers will have a much easier time parting with their cash if they perceive the product as well-rated.

It’s much harder to convince someone to invest in a two-star product than a four-star one, so you should do your best to keep customers happy so you can shoot for the stars.

3. Trustworthiness

Businesses sometimes have a bad reputation.

Due to the amount of misleading marketing out there, and the number of cutthroat entrepreneurs who care about nothing other than sales, it makes sense that the average customer is reluctant to trust a company’s words.

That isn’t to say you can’t have an effect with your words; it just means that your words have more power if your customer base backs them up .

You could claim that your product is the best in its category and even have third-party testing to back up your claims, but if a few hundred people have bad things to say about it, then your sales will likely suffer.

You need to foster customer trust and loyalty by proving that you are sincere and responsive to customer feedback.  

4. Provides Useful Feedback

Without customer feedback, how can you improve upon the products/services you offer?

Reviews are essential for the improvement process, since they give you invaluable information that – if used correctly – can help you increase customer satisfaction going forward.

While it isn’t always easy to hear, negative feedback and criticism from customers are very useful.

Because it shows you if your product has any clear flaws or issues that need to be addressed. It’s very challenging to climb the rankings and get flawless star ratings if a lot of customers have drawn attention to the same problem.

As such, feedback, regardless of whether it is positive or negative, is essential for any business to grow.

What are the best review platforms? 

We’ve gathered together 25 of the best review platforms, so you know exactly where to go for real product feedback whether you’re a customer or a business owner.

These platforms all do a great job at presenting the user reviews in a way that’s easy to understand, and easy for you to browse according to various filters so you can quickly find the information you need to make a purchase decision or find out what customers are saying about your business.

1. Trustindex 

Trustindex is used by more than 20,000 businesses, as a platform to display customer reviews and increase sales.

If you’re having trouble finding the best way to proudly show off your five-star reviews and recommendations, then you needn’t look further. Trustindex offers a wide variety of widgets for popular review platforms such as Google, Amazon, and Yelp to help you boost your SEO ranking and customer trust.

2. TripAdvisor 

TripAdvisor is a review platform that focuses on the travel and leisure industry.

It’s ideal for holidaymakers and businesses in the tourism and hospitality sectors, looking to improve the overall customer experience.

The huge review platform receives an estimated 390 million unique monthly visits across its 49 sites, from customers and business owners from all over the world.

3. Google My Business

Google My Business is a service that allows customers to check out local business ratings, and business owners to manage their online reputation and visibility.

It’s an essential tool for business owners as it allows them to be found online and locally, especially if they focus on boosting their local SEO.

Given that most consumers use Google on a regular basis, it’s a great platform to leverage for visibility and for customers it’s easy to find out information about a business quickly.

4. Facebook

Facebook is first and foremost a social media platform facilitating social connections and conversation, but it is also widely used as a review platform.

If you set up a business page on Facebook, you can reach a lot of potential customers through the ‘shares’ and ‘likes’ you collect.

It’s currently estimated that there are around 2.89 billion active monthly users on Facebook, so this should dispel any doubts about the visibility you can achieve with Facebook reviews.

Amazon is one of the largest online retailers, stocking products from thousands of companies all over the world.

That makes it an excellent review aggregator, and a great website to visit to get an idea about a product or service from the customers themselves.

With an estimated 2.45 billion average monthly visits this year, you can’t argue with the importance of a site like Amazon for customer reviews.

Yelp is all about crowd-sourced business reviews, covering everything from dentists to hair salons.

As such, it’s a great review platform for service-based businesses and for consumers looking for the best price/quality nearby.

Yelp brings in around 178 million unique visitors every month.

7. Better Business Bureau

The Better Business Bureau, or BBB, is all about fostering customer trust by revealing what a business is really like.

This review platform is for discerning customers looking for a reliable company, and for business owners it’s an important platform to come across well on.

The BBB receives around 7 million monthly visitors every month.

8. Foursquare City Guide

Foursquare City Guide, as you might have guessed from the name, provides reviews about businesses locally in your city.

The app will give users personalized recommendations based on their preferences, so as a business owner you want to be one of the first local businesses to pop up for customers.

The platform receives around 3 billion global visits each month.

9. Yellowpages

Yellowpages is perhaps best known as the large catalogue which you turn to whenever you need to find a local business.

Through the review platform’s website, customers can write reviews and browse existing reviews to inform their purchase decisions.

Yellowpages has on average 60 million monthly visitors.

10. Trustpilot

Trustpilot is one of the most trusted online review platforms, with more than 500,000 companies in its database.

It’s a dedicated review platform that covers a variety of niches from health and fitness to clothing and even travel insurance.

As such, it’s a good website to rank well on if you have a niche business.

If you are looking for good Trustpilot alternatives read our article.

Angi, formerly Angie’s List, is an online directory which provides crowd-sourced reviews for contractors and businesses in your area.

As such, it’s a good review platform to perform well on if you’re an independent contractor or if you run a small local business.

The website receives around 10-11 million monthly visits.

12. Glassdoor

Glassdoor is the go-to website for finding information about businesses and what they are like to work for.

As such, it’s an important website for hiring future employees or for job seekers trying to secure their next position.

If you treat your employees well, you can rank highly on Glassdoor and boost your online reputation. There are around 67 million unique monthly viewers.

13. Choice Reviews

Choice Reviews is part of the Association of College and Research Libraries and gives users access to hundreds of thousands of academic reviews.

As such, if you’re in the education niche, supplying academic textbooks and the like, then you’ll want to make sure you rank highly on the website.

Which? is a UK-based website and magazine which is all about promoting consumer choice.

The brand presents various options to its customers based on reviews and ratings as well as in-house testing, so it’s a great website to be featured on.

15. ConsumerReports

Consumer Reports, formerly Consumers Union, is a nonprofit based in the US which serves the consumer through independent product testing.

The review platform conducts its own through research and testing to put products through their paces and provide customers with a detailed assessment.

The website targets every type of product from fridges to exercise bikes, and has an estimated average of 13 million unique monthly visitors.

16. Consumer Affairs

Consumer Affairs is a website built on the idea that ‘knowledge is power’.

As such, it’s a website that promotes transparency and seeks to get to the bottom of company’s claims about their products and services.

Covering an extensive list of business types and services, from insurance to movers, it’s a go-to review platform for many customers. It draws in on average around 4 million unique monthly visitors.

17. Citysearch

Citysearch is an online city guide that can provide holidaymakers and tourists with all the information they need to know about business in various niches in their destination.

For example, if you’re heading to Chicago and you want some pizza restaurant recommendations, you can use Citysearch to see the options along with user reviews and ratings.

It is considered to be one of the most popular local city guides in the US, helping around 11 million customers a month to reach a purchase decision.

18. Yahoo! Local Listings

While Google My Business is one of the most popular local business listing platforms, Yahoo! has its own rival service called Local Listings.

With this service, you can claim your business listing online and manage it to make it possible for customers to find you locally.

It’s a good platform to boost your local visibility, as on average Yahoo! receives 200 million unique monthly visitors.

19. Influenster

A review platform for influencing purchase decisions, Influenster aims to show customers reviews from ‘people just like you’.

The platform relies on modern metrics such as social media analytics to assess a product’s popularity across social media.

As such, it’s a good website for the young, modern consumer. It has around 2.5 million monthly unique visitors.

20. G2 

Not all products are physical, these days there’s a huge demand and market for software.

G2 is one of the best websites to head to for detailed reviews on software options, so if you’re a tech company or startup it’s a good website to rank well on.

There are around 5 million monthly visitors to the website.

21. TrustRadius

TrustRadius is another software reviews platform, so again, if you’re a tech company selling digital property to other businesses then it’s worth checking the site out.

There are around 1 million monthly visitors, which may not seem like much, but considering it’s a specific niche it’s a large audience for software companies.

22. Manta Business Reviews

Manta Business Reviews provides reviews for around 35 million businesses.

You can claim your business listing on the website to boost your visibility, and tap into the pool of customers that regularly use the website.

23. GoodFirms

GoodFirms provides reviews for service-based companies and software products.

If you work for, or run, a B2B (Business to Business) tech company then GoodFirms is a website you’ll want to look into.

The website receives around 700,000 monthly visitors.

24. HubSpot App Marketplace

HubSpot is a popular online marketing company, but it’s the App Marketplace we’re interested in for customer reviews.

Through the website, you can find out what customers have to say about your app or about an app you’re looking to invest in for your business.

It’s a reliable website that can help inform your app purchase decisions.

25. Capterra

Capterra is a well-respected website that brings software reviews to the masses. It refers to itself as the ‘world’s leading software reviews and selection platform’ which means it has a lot of clout in the software industry and it’s an invaluable resource to businesses in the niche.

As such, it’s an excellent review platform to aim for if you sell software to businesses or directly to consumers.

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Best Consumer Business Review Websites in Your Industry

This is the ultimate guide to   Consumer Business Review Websites.

In this guide we’ll show you the top 19 review websites, what type of businesses they are best for, and some unique features about each.

Let’s get started.

Did you know that more than half of business-goers visit an establishment within 48 hours of an online search?

According to BrightLocal, 70% of people read multiple reviews before choosing a business and only 53% consider patronizing a business with less than 4 stars. Clearly, online reviews have an influence on where people choose to shop.

It doesn’t matter if you own a small artisan coffee shop that relies on local foot traffic or a high-end spa that primarily gains customers from referrals. Local businesses of all types will benefit from having an active presence on more than one review website.

In this guide, we provide a comprehensive view of the top review websites, the characteristics of their user bases, and the different features and rating scales offered by each.

Jump ahead:

• Google Business Profile - A must for every local business
• Yelp - Great for organic local search
• Facebook - #1 social network
• Angie’s List - The home of home services. Membership required?
• Better Business Bureau (BBB) - A place for business owners to build trust and credibility
• CitySearch - Great for entertainment and hospitality businesses reliant on tourism
• Judy’s Book - Users can add you to their “books” which will help your business
• Merchant Circle - Be found based on price
• Superpages - Directory for anybody and everything
• Manta - For “mom and pop” shops
• Foursquare - Ideal if you rely on foot traffic
• TripAdvisor - Your customers travel to you
• Zomato - Restaurants, listen up
• Trustpilot - One-stop-shop for reviews, free for both sides
• PlanetRate - If your customers are looking for specific features
• DealerRater - Biggest auto-specific review site
• Cars.com - Popular shopping site for all dealers
• CarGurus - Value-forward shopping site for dealers in US, Canada, and UK
• Edmunds - Editorial powerhouse with some shopping activity

Google Business Profile (GBP)

A must for every local business

According to HubSpot , there are 70,000 Google searches every second. This equates to about 5.8 billion searches per day, making Google the most widely used search engine. An active GBP page is crucial for local business owners to increase their web traffic and engage with customers online.

While Google Business Profile offers many helpful tools for business owners to market themselves online, such as appointment booking and social posts, their review service is the stand out.  

Google uses a five-star rating system, with one star being the lowest possible score. Every business's average rating is readily displayed on their page next to the total number of reviews they’ve received.

Reviews have a maximum character amount of 4,000 and no minimum character requirement, meaning that many Google reviews contain no commentary at all. Reviewers have the option to edit their review, so if their experience was improved after the fact they can update their rating to reflect that. 

Google has a   detailed content policy   and reviews are monitored to ensure that illicit content and spam are removed. In addition, Google uses commonly used keywords to organize reviews. For example, if you search “BMW of Ramsey,” the keywords that pop up include finance, lease, and professional. Researchers can then click these terms to see reviews relevant to their needs. 

Google offers a variety of tools to help local businesses gain online traction. For a complete, comprehensive guide to your GBP page, please refer   here .

Great for local organic search

Yelp is one of the most well-known online directories, with   184 million reviews   across their platform. In fact, some search engines such as   Bing   and   Yahoo   have eliminated their own review feature and integrated Yelp reviews into their platforms. 

Users can choose to view reviews in different ways, like by highest rating or through the unique “Yelp Sort” feature, which lists reviews by specific quality factors such as relevancy and distance. In order to leave a review, users must set up a Yelp account, which they can do for free. There is no character minimum for Yelp reviews, but the max is 5,000 characters. Users are given a 30-day period during which they can update an old review. Yelp has strict policies in place to ensure reviews are authentic and accurately reflect the customer’s experience, and anyone has the ability to report reviews they believe violate these policies. 

Business owners can also create free Yelp accounts and update their profiles with contact information, business details, and photos. They can choose to respond to both positive and negative reviews publicly, or handle disputes over private messaging.  Yelp’s reporting feature displays data such as number of reviews received per month and what users do after visiting the page, like visiting the business’s website. 

If you own a business that requires reservations and appointments, Yelp offers a booking option which can be integrated into your Yelp page, making it simpler for customers who want to visit you. There are also paid options for businesses who want to go the extra mile in establishing their online presence. Advertising campaigns help boost listings to the top of search results, although they are clearly marked as “Sponsored Results.” 

Yelp provides a number of video clips designed to help business owners utilize the platform in its entirety. For example,   here   is a video of a business owner explaining how to respond to Yelp reviews.   Here   is another that teaches business owners how to update their profile. These resources may benefit business owners hoping to get the most out of their Yelp page.

#1 social network.

Facebook   has   2.5 billion active   monthly users, making it one of the most popular social media sites. While initially designed as a social networking site, Facebook has gained popularity among businesses as well. It provides a ton of potential for direct customer feedback and engagement through recommendations, posts, comments, and ads. Business owners can create free pages specific to their business. 

Facebook’s feature is a little different than other   business review websites . Only people with a Facebook profile are able to leave reviews, and instead of a rating scale, customers answer the question “Do you recommend this business?” After selecting yes or no, they can add comments, photos, and even tag the employees they worked with, if the employees also have a Facebook page. Posts have a character limit of 63,206. Who knows how they came up with that number - email us if you know!

Any Facebook user can leave a review or comment, and it’s not uncommon for businesses to receive unfounded feedback. Business owners should remain professional no matter how absurd a comment or review may seem. It’s especially important to be tactful when engaging with customers on Facebook since it is such a public and highly-used network, where threaded conversations are the norm. It’s not uncommon for anonymous Facebook users to support an upset customer in an argument with a business - it’s important not to let these threads spiral out of control. While particularly absurd reviews and comments can be reported, Facebook will only remove them if they directly violate   their content policy .

Beyond reviews and comments, Facebook has a lot to offer both small local businesses and large companies. Business owners can flesh out their pages with contact information, a list of services offered, photos, videos, and more. Facebook offers an appointment booking feature, direct messaging, and targeted advertisements to help businesses reach prospective customers. For more in-depth information on how to set up a Facebook Business page, please review our   guide . 

Angie's List

The home of home services. Membership required?

Angie’s List offers listings for local businesses in the United States. It is a popular site among home service providers, but currently features listings for more than 720 different types of services. There are certain industries that aren’t allowed to post their information on Angie’s List, including lawyers, restaurants, large utility companies, schools, hotels, and airlines. Setting up a listing is free and simple; business owners and service providers simply create an account and fill out the required information. 

Membership is required for consumers who want to use Angie’s List, and they can choose between a few different options. The free “Green” membership offers access to service providers, ratings, and verified reviews. The “Silver” and “Gold” memberships offer unique support tools, like access to the Angie’s List customer service team. They can help users compare prices, book appointments, and find a provider.  

Members also have the option to post reviews. According to their site, the five million Angie’s List members submit more than 60,000 reviews each month. This site grades on an A-F scale, rather than the standard star-rating. While Angie’s List keeps user data and contact information confidential, reviewers’ names are included with their review. This policy is in place to ensure that reviews come from actual customers who are posting about genuine experiences. Angie’s List also takes steps to ensure authenticity by background checking the businesses who advertise with them. For providers to win the “Super Service Award,” a badge on their profile indicating high levels of service, they must also pass a background check.

Beyond the usual review feature, Angie’s List has a complaint resolution team to help users and businesses work through their issues. When a negative review is posted, the team informs the business owner. Once the issue is resolved, the old review is sent back to the user so that they can update their feedback. If the issue is not resolved, the original review remains posted.

Better Business Bureau (BBB)

A place for business owners to build trust and credibility

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) is a nonprofit organization that evaluates business operations against a set of “best practices” for how businesses should treat customers. According to their website, their mission is to advance marketplace trust. The BBB never endorses businesses or products and they don’t offer any paid advertising options, as that would lead to an unbiased display of information. 

Business owners must apply to have a listing on the BBB. Once the listing is created, owners can claim their business profile and add additional information. Businesses become accredited when their practices meet the standards set forth by the BBB. They also receive a rating on an A-F scale. 

Any person can post a review on a BBB page, rating the business from one to five stars. A full history of past complaints and whether they have been resolved are listed publicly. These complaints influence a business’s accreditation status. 

City Search

Great for entertainment and hospitality businesses reliant on tourism

CitySearch serves as a local guide for dining, entertainment, retail, travel, and professional services in the United States. Their online directory has a search tool which allows users to research a type of business in a specific location. Search results are always determined by keyword and distance. 

CitySearch uses publicly available information to create their listings, which business owners can then claim. Business owners can also choose to set up their own profile. Once claimed or created, profiles can only be updated and edited by verified owners to ensure that all the information is valid. 

Any person can post a review on a business’s page, no membership required, using CitySearch’s thumbs up, thumbs down rating feature. Not only can users leave reviews, once a year they can vote on the “Best Of” list. The “Best Of” list highlights business in specific categories, such as “kid friendly restaurants” and “high end hair salons.” To provide extra insight for potential buyers, CitySearch integrates reviews from other websites into their platform. While they have strict review content guidelines regarding spam as well as potential conflicts of interest, they can only remove reviews that have been posted through their platform. 

Judy's Book

Users can add you to their “books” which will help your business

Judy’s Book is a searchable database that showcases information and reviews for a plethora of businesses and services. It currently has 11 million business listings, 4.5 million reviews, and 1 million monthly page views. The SocialSearch tool, which is their internal search engine, helps users find local establishments.

While Judy’s Book is free for consumers, business owners must pay to claim their listings. Paid membership includes access to local advertising and enhanced content, such as the ability to add media, search and keyword analytics, and more. 

Both members and non-members can leave a review; however, if a user does not have a membership, they cannot go back to edit a review after posting. To post a review, users “vote” either thumbs up or thumbs down and then leave more detailed feedback, if they wish. The website has auto-filters in place to weed out any fictitious or spam reviews. Judy’s Book also integrates reviews from other websites into their platform. 

Users are given the option to create “books” of their favorite and least favorite businesses. Since books are viewable by other users, having your business chosen as a favorite is a form of marketing. Another unique feature of Judy’s Book is their “kid score,” a 1-100 rating system of how kid-friendly an establishment is. 

Merchant Circle

Be found based on price

Merchant Circle is a listing site designed to help potential customers find the best local option by comparing price quotes for specific services. Currently, it has 100 million users and around 2 million business listings. 

Search results are arranged by the highest rating and most frequently viewed. Both users and non-users can rate and review businesses. In addition, reviewers can privately message a merchant instead of posting their review publicly.

MerchantCircle offers paid features such as marketing and analytic data and the ability to claim listings across other web listings, providing more uniform search results for consumers. 

Directory for anybody and everything

Superpages is another online directory with search results organized by relevance, ratings, or distance. Businesses and reviews are categorized by specialty, such as professional services, local contractors, and healthcare providers. 

A Superpages profile is free for consumers, and anyone with a profile can leave a review for a business. There is a character minimum of 100, with the option to add photos as well.

While business profiles are free, Superpages also offers paid features. There is a tool that allows business owners to screen for listing errors across multiple sites and then update any incorrect information. Their marketing solutions include additional SEO & SEM tools and social media advertising. 

For “mom and pop” shops  

Manta’s slogan is “The Place For Small Businesses.” They claim to be a listing site for mom and pop shops and other local businesses. Business owners can create and customize their listings for free. Manta also offers paid marketing features, through which businesses can run advertisements on Manta, build and design a website, and claim listings across the web.

Search results are organized by keywords first and then rating. Ratings out of five stars are clearly displayed on business profiles. Any person can leave a review and return to edit or update their comments at any time.  

Ideal if you rely on foot traffic

Foursquare is a social-networking app and website designed to help users find businesses. As of January 2019, Foursquare had 55 million active users . Any user can create a listing, however, only business owners can claim these listings to become the authorized page manager. In addition, there are options for chain establishments to manage their locations individually or as one brand. 

FourSquare may be most well-known for its unique “check-in” feature. The site offers incentives for users to check-in, or digitally declare that they’ve visited a location, encouraging them to be more active online. It also encourages users to leave more reviews.

The rating and review feature on Foursquare is based on a 1-10 number scale. Businesses are assigned a rating, not only from average of customer ratings, but based on an algorithm that accounts for direct feedback on the app as well as likes and dislikes from other social sites. Users can view the rating once they are on a business page, where they will also find more detailed information and what Foursquare calls “Tips.” Tips are both positive and negative comments that users post after their visit. Other users can then vote on whether they agree with the tip or not. For example, if a user posts a tip that says “great cafe, free wifi,” but the cafe owner recently got rid of the free wifi, another user can downvote this tip and state that the information is outdated.   

TripAdvisor

Your customers travel to you

TripAdvisor is a review site best-suited for businesses that attracts tourists, including restaurants, entertainment venues, museums, transportation companies, hotels, and other lodging accommodations. There are currently 6.5 million accommodation listings and around 350 million reviews on TripAdvisor, making it easy for customers to learn about previous guest experiences while planning a trip. The website is translated into 28 languages.

Official representatives of travel businesses can create listings for free. These listings appear on the TripAdvisor directory, as well as on other travel websites. There are four listing categories to choose from: hotels, restaurants, attractions, and vacation rentals. 

Any internet user can leave a review on TripAdvisor. Reviews are on a five-point scale, one point meaning terrible and five points meaning excellent. Reviewers are also prompted to list what time of the year they were travelling and what type of trip it was, such as a business trip or a family vacation. After the initial information is provided, reviewers are prompted to add photos and additional details, such as how well they slept and what type of extra amenities were offered. For those using TripAdvisor as a research tool, they have the option to compare businesses by rating as well as price quotes. 

Restaurants, listen up

Zomato is a review website and app specific to restaurants. Originally launched in Delhi, India, the website now has 1.5 millions listings across 24 countries around the world and 100 million active monthly users.

Business owners must create their restaurant listing, after which they can add details such as if their restaurant has wifi, a smoking area, happy hour, and vegetarian menu options. Table reservation and online ordering can be integrated into Zomato profiles, and business owners can also run paid advertising campaigns. Zomato users can filter listings by rating, cost, and popularity. Users can also toggle the results to be categorized by attributes of the restaurant, such as dine-in, take-out, or type of cuisine.

 While the general public can read reviews, diners must create an account to post a review. Dine-in reviews have a 140 character minimum, while take-out reviews do not have a character minimum. Both include a rating from one to five. Users are limited to one review per establishment but have the option to edit their content. Reviews that are older than six months often get deleted and, like most sites, Zomato forbids spam, fake reviews, and malicious content. 

One-stop-shop for reviews, free for both sides

Trustpilot is a listing site which services 65 countries, including the US. There are 83 million third-party verified reviews on the site. 

Trustpilot claims to be a one-stop-shop for online reviews. Both users and businesses can create accounts for free. After a customer completes a transaction with a business, they are sent an invitation to post a review. The invitation includes instructions that walk the customer through the review process. 

Trustpilot has strict legal guidelines surrounding review content to avoid spam and inappropriate content, with humans and robots screening every review to make sure the content is accurate. The website also offers insights for businesses on how to combat fake reviews.

If you customers are looking for specific features

PlanetRate is a listing site for virtually any industry. If a business owner can’t find their industry listed as a category, PlanetRate claims they will take steps to create a category and help get that business listed on their site. 

PlanetRate uses specific filters so that consumers can find exactly what they are looking for. For example, users can search for a doctor who takes insurance, or a gym with a parking lot. Customer reviews also help consumers with their search, as reviews include specific criteria ratings such as cleanliness of facilities and affordability.

For users to post a review, they must create an account. PlanetRate “verifies” users by linking their PlanetRate profiles with a personal Linkedin or Facebook profile. Ratings are done on a 1-10 scale and include written commentary as well. 

DealerRater

Biggest auto-specific review site

DealerRater coined itself the “gold standard” for car dealership reviews and research. Designed to help car buyers and sellers find the right dealership, the website also has car recall information and helpful tips for car buyers. 

Currently DealerRater attracts 14 million monthly users and has over 6 million customer reviews. 

Dealerships must claim their listing to be featured on DealerRater. They provide the option to syndicate review content for other websites such as the dealer’s website, Cars.com profiles, and Facebook pages. DealerRater keeps it personal, allowing customers to review and contact specific members of the sales team. It also allows dealerships to post their positive DealerRater reviews to Facebook, for added exposure. 

The review feature allows any person to leave a review, as long as they have not been employed or affiliated with the location for the past five years. Reviews have a 25 word minimum, and users are prompted to add a star rating, select employees, and select whether their feedback is for the sales or service department. DealerRater has an auto-filter to monitor content and eliminate spam; dealerships also have the option to report reviews that may violate the guidelines. In addition, DealerRater notifies dealers when they receive a negative review. 

Locations can also apply to become DealerRater certified, meaning they have taken additional steps with the site to prove their commitment to customer satisfaction. Once accepted for certification, DealerRater will provide these dealers with best practice training, closely monitor their reviews, and alert them when conflict resolution is needed. 

DealerRater also offers three options of paid membership, which come with additional benefits: DealerRater Connections, DealerRater Connections Plus, DealerRater Essentials for Independents (used car dealers). These memberships give business owners a two-week grace period where their negative reviews remain private as they attempt to resolve the complaint with the customer. Other solutions include personalized employee profiles and SEO tools. 

Popular shopping site for all dealers

Cars.com has around 30 million visits per month. It was created to help connect car buyers with car sellers, and customers can inquire about vehicles directly through the website. While both dealers and independent sellers can sell through this site, only dealers are allowed to be rated and reviewed. Dealership ratings are a calculated average of reviews from the previous 24 months, providing researchers with an up-to-date perspective. 

Anyone can leave a review, but only those who create a Cars.com account have the ability to save vehicles, receive price drop information, and get notifications on new listings. Previous employees and affiliates, such as employee family members, are prohibited from leaving reviews. Cars.com limits users to one review per dealership, and no spam, personal information, or illicit content can be posted. 

When leaving a review, the user will be asked to provide their reason for visiting the dealership - either new sales, used sales, or a service visit. Other information they are prompted to share includes whether they recommend the location and if they followed through with the purchase. They are required to leave an overall star rating, as well as a star rating for four categories: customer service, buying process, quality of repairs, and facilities. Reviews have a 25 word minimum that maxes out at 4,000 characters. 

Cars.com offers paid services for dealers, including vehicle advertisement and online performance analysis. Some additional features for car shoppers include vehicle history, a payment calculator, car comparison, and trade-in value tools.  

Value-forward shopping site for dealers in US, Canada, and UK

Cargurus is designed to help customers make informed decisions when buying a car. Available for shoppers in the US, Canada, and the UK, it is the most visited car shopping site among other third-party options. 

CarGurus has over 5 million car listings. Each includes the vehicle’s price, information about the seller, and CarGurus’ analysis of whether the deal is fair or not. All dealerships are notified when they receive a customer inquiry. CarGurus offers paid options including the dealer dashboard, which provides data to help price and sell more effectively, and marketing services. 

Customers are prompted to leave a review after interacting with a dealer through the CarGurus platform. In order to leave a review, they must agree that they have contacted the dealer, are not associated with the dealer in any way, and are not employed by them. CarGurus confirms this information by checking the users phone number or email address. If the contact information isn’t found in the dealer’s archives, they are not able to proceed. Each review goes through a screening to ensure the CarGurus guidelines are being met. Dealers can dispute reviews they believe are fraudulent. If the review is determined to be fake, the reviewer may lose permission to use the platform in the future.

Dealerships have the option to publicly respond to reviews, and other users can mark reviews as helpful. While all reviews remain on the site, only reviews from the previous two years are calculated into the overall score for a location. In addition, CarGurus gives out “Top Rated Dealer” awards annually to the dealerships with the highest-rated reviews.  

Editorial powerhouse with some shopping activity

Edmunds is another site that helps catalyze the car-buying process for shoppers and dealers. Their services include a car finder tool, a vehicle comparison tool, and a discovery tool that directly connects interested buyers to local dealerships. While the platform only receives about 300 reviews annually, Edmunds remains a valuable option for car shoppers and local dealerships. 

Reviewers select sales or service before posting their feedback. Once reviews are submitted, they will be screened by the Edmunds team prior to being published. After publication, reviewers can edit their feedback only once. Dealers are able and encouraged to respond to reviews. These responses go through the same screening process as reviews to ensure authenticity. Dealership ratings are an aggregate of their review scores from the previous two years. 

Beyond dealership reviews, Edmunds also has reviews for specific vehicles. The Edmunds team test drives cars and assigns them a rating from one to ten on a variety of categories, such as the vehicle’s interior, comfort, storage, and overall value. They also provide a list of pros and cons. Vehicle prices are listed according to their True Market Value (TMV), which makes it easy for buyers to compare dealership prices and make an educated decision. 

Now it’s your turn

While creating a listing on every business review site is unnecessary, staying active on Google, Facebook, Yelp, and a few industry-specific sites is vital for maintaining your online reputation. It’s equally important to respond to your reviews in a timely and thoughtful manner. Responses help boost your SEO, increase the numbers of reviews you receive, and even improve your overall rating. 

If the notion of answering all of your online reviews is intimidating, Widewail is here to help. We answer reviews on behalf of our clients and enrich our responses with SEO-boosting keywords. We only notify our clients when they receive a negative review, saving them time and energy that can be better spent with their in-person customers. 

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Your Industry’s Best Review Sites

• July 10, 2024

Getting Reviews In The Right Places

Trust is the single most important tool a business can use to thrive. When a business builds a positive reputation, its likelihood for longevity skyrockets. But the manner in which businesses build this trust has changed. Today, your online reputation is just as important as your face-to-face interactions. While there are timeless review websites that have a record of popularity, it can be difficult to stand out among the noise. This is why ReviewInc emphasizes the value of industry-specific review sites.

By creating a trusted reputation within your specific niche, you can access customers that otherwise wouldn’t have been able to find your business. Today, we’ll not only learn what those websites are but also why developing a presence within them can be a game-changer for your business.

Why Are Reviews So Important For A Business?

If you’ve only begun your journey to learning online reputation management, here is your first piece of essential information: Online reviews are the new word of mouth. 88% of customers report that they trust an online review just as much as they would a personal recommendation by a friend or family member.

Building positive reviews online impacts not only how your business is received but also how much profit you could be making. There is evidence that some customers not only distrust but altogether avoid businesses with no reviews.

The Top Two Review Websites For Online Reputation Management

While industry-specific review sites are a common oversight for businesses growing their online reputation, that doesn’t mean that you have room to neglect the large ones. The proper way to successfully grow your reputation is by using both popular review sites and industry-specific ones in a strategic, two-pronged approach. The popular sites in question, of course, are Google and Facebook.

• Google Reviews

Google reviews has been the most popular review platform for years, and this trend is likely to continue. In fact, over 80% of consumers check a business’s Google Reviews before deciding to visit it. This means, in short, that there’s no getting around the necessity of having a quality Google Business Profile .

Facebook Reviews

Though changes do happen with time, one certainly hasn’t; Facebook remains the world’s most popular social media platform in 2024, with a whopping 2.9 billion monthly active users. With a user base so expansive, it’s highly important that your business not only has a presence on the site but is also positively received.

The Importance of Niche: Introducing Industry-Specific Review Sites

As we stated, the two top review websites are an excellent starting point for building your online reputation. However, they’re far from the only way. Customers have begun to turn to industry-specific review websites for a more personalized experience. This also allows you to expand the digital footprint that your business possesses, reaching a market that you otherwise would’ve been invisible in. Let’s sort through some of the most popular industries and the review sites most closely associated with their markets.

Automotive Review Websites

The online reputation of the auto industry is one of the most important, as the industry itself has its fair share of non-legitimate offers, salespeople, and service providers. In order to reassure your consumer base that you have their best intentions in mind, you must have social proof to back it up. If that isn’t enough evidence that you need to build a positive reputation, businesses that have higher numbers of reviews often earn as much as 50% more revenue .

Some of the best car dealer and car repair review sites:

• DealerRater : Specializes in dealership reviews, offering detailed information on dealers and employees.
• Cars.com : One of the largest automotive listing sites featuring reviews for dealerships and cars.
• CarGurus : Provides data-driven insights and considers dealer reputation in car deals.
• Edmunds : Known for comprehensive car reviews and buying guides.
• RepairPal : Focuses on auto repair shops, offering a Fair Price Estimator for transparency.
• Carwise : Offers reviews for auto body repair shops, aiding in selecting quality repair services.

Doctor and Medical Review Sites

Nearly three-quarters (71%) of patients examine online reviews of a medical practice before making any decisions. This means that, as a medical practice , your online reputation is the very first impression that patients are exposed to.

If you think that number seems high, that’s because this is a semi-recent trend. In 2013, the same data source reported that only about 25% of patients consulted online reviews before seeking treatment. That means that in a span of seven years, patient reliance on online reviews skyrocketed by 46%, a number that will not go down any time soon.

Here are the most common specialized review sites for medical practices to keep yours ahead of the game:

• Healthgrades : Offers detailed profiles and patient reviews of healthcare providers.
• RateMDs : Enables patients to rate and review doctors and healthcare facilities.
• ZocDoc : Facilitates online appointment booking and features patient reviews.
• Vitals : Provides patient reviews and ratings for healthcare providers.

Home Improvement Review Websites

Home service providers work in their clients’ personal spaces, which are valued both financially and emotionally. Therefore, managing your online reputation is essential.

Clients can learn quite a bit about your business from reviews. They learn how punctual you are, whether or not you caused damage to the property, and details about your manner. Considering that one in five customers are willing to walk away after reading a review they deem bad enough, presenting yourself and your business in the best possible light is a near-guaranteed way to avoid a loss.

Here are some of the best industry-specific review sites for home service providers:

• Angi (formerly Angie’s List) : Specializes in reviews and ratings for home service providers.
• HomeAdvisor : Connects homeowners with local service professionals for various projects.
• NextDoor : A neighborhood-focused platform for recommending and reviewing local service providers.
• Houzz : Dedicated to home improvement and interior design, featuring reviews for professionals.

Law Firm and Lawyer Review Sites

While your reputation in the courtroom will always be important, your online reputation as a law firm or lawyer is becoming increasingly imperative. In a Thomson Reuters survey , two-thirds of respondents said that they’d hire a lawyer with reviews over one without a digital footprint.

While older populations agree with this sentiment, this is especially important for those seeking young clients, as 81% of millennials expressed that they’d consult reviews before choosing their legal representation.

Some of the most common places to target positive lawyer reviews are:

• Avvo : Allows clients to rate and review lawyers, offering peer reviews and detailed profiles.
• Lawyers.com : Offers client reviews and ratings for attorneys and law firms.
• Martindale-Hubbell :  Provides peer and client reviews for legal professionals.
• FindLaw : Features reviews and profiles of lawyers and law firms.

Hospitality Review Websites

If there’s one industry that is entirely dominated by its online reputation, it’s hospitality. In fact, four out of ten travelers have decided to avoid a destination entirely due to reading bad reviews about the local accommodations and attractions.

Hospitality is also, unfortunately, highly saturated. 20% of hospitality-related businesses fail within their first year of opening. In this critical position, there is no choice other than to ensure that you are as accessible and positively received as possible.

The most popular hospitality specific review sites include:

• TripAdvisor : Essential for reviews on hotels, restaurants, and attractions.
• Booking.com : A key platform for hotel reviews and reservations.
• Expedia : A major player in travel and hotel bookings, featuring extensive reviews.

Dental Review Sites

Much like doctors, reviews are also becoming important for those practicing dental care. In fact, the ADA Health Policy Institute found that 88% of dentists surveyed have been receiving an uptick in online reviews. If they’re receiving them, and your practice isn’t, this could mean that you risk following behind and appearing inexperienced to potential patients.

Below are a few of the most frequently used dental review sites:

• Healthgrades : Provides detailed profiles and patient reviews of dental professionals.
• RateMDs : Allows patients to rate and review dental professionals.
• ZocDoc : Facilitates online appointment booking for dental professionals.
• Vitals : Offers patient reviews and ratings for dental care providers.

Start Getting Reviews In Front Of Your Customers Today

Having quality online reviews is no longer something that is ‘nice to have’- It’s vital for all businesses that wish for continued growth and success. By understanding the importance of both popular and industry-specific review sites, businesses can strategically ask for feedback and enhance their online reputation.

With ReviewInc’s help, this process doesn’t have to be a headache. ReviewInc offers tools to help businesses effortlessly manage online reviews , making sure that their reputation shines brightly across all relevant platforms. Start getting your reviews in front of your specific customers today, and watch your business thrive!

Discover the power of targeted review sites and boost your business reputation.

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June 2, 2021

19 Business Review Sites for Improving Your Brand Visibility

The Importance of Getting Listed on Business Review Sites

General business review sites, healthcare review sites, restaurant and food service business review sites, hotel and travel business review sites, automotive review sites, other popular business review sites.

Getting listed on the right business review sites is one of the most effective ways to improve your brand presence, boost local SEO performance, and acquire new customers.

That’s because online reviews — more so than traditional marketing and sales messages — heavily influence consumers’ purchase decisions. According to customer reviews research:

• 92.4% of consumers use reviews to guide most of their ordinary purchase decisions.
• 94% of consumers said a negative review convinced them to avoid a business.
• 4 in 5 consumers will reverse a decision after reading negative reviews.
• 25% of consumers only trust reviews as much as personal recommendations if there are multiple reviews to read.
• 53% of Internet users typically visit a business within 48 hours of performing a local search. Photos (24%), reviews (21%), and position on local search engine results pages (SERPs) are the three things they considered “most important.”

33% of diners wouldn’t eat in a place with a restaurant star rating of fewer than 4 out of 5 stars.

Getting your business locations listed on the best review sites not only helps improve your brand presence in search results. It also increases your brand’s visibility to new customers, which leads to more website or store visits and sales.

This isn’t to mention the huge reputational benefit of having customers talk about your brand. Positive reviews are like thank-you cards the whole world can see. 

Keep in mind, though, that planting your business’s flags on all the possible existing business review sites and online directories is not the most effective strategy. The majority of new business comes from only a handful of the best review sites. Brands need to differentiate themselves by proactively managing their presence on these top sites, and not by getting listed on every single directory.

For enterprise-level organizations with tens or hundreds of business locations, implementing a local listing management solution is often a helpful way to improve search performance and acquire new customers. 

However, if you’re just getting started with listing your company on business review sites or with creating an online review management strategy, you can use this updated guide to identify where your brand should have a presence.

Take the guesswork out of your strategy. Instantly generate your brand's online Reputation Scorecard, complete with review highlights, ratings, keyword trends and more.

These review sites are not industry-specific. At the very least, you should create claim your company’s business listings on these sites because they influence buyers, hold strong domain authority, and boost search engine rankings. 

Google / Google Maps / Google My Business

Apart from being a search engine giant, Google also happens to be one of the best review sites because of products like Google Search and Google Maps, which display business information alongside Google reviews and ratings.  

• Google Maps itself has approximately a 70% market share . 
• Based on ReviewTrackers data , Google also holds 73% of all reviews posted online.  
• 63.6% of consumers check reviews on Google alone before they visit a business.

You can claim or list business locations using Google My Business , a dashboard that streamlines the management of business information across multiple Google sites, services, and products.

Here’s a step-by-step guide:

• Visit https://www.google.com/business/ to sign in or create a Google account for a business.

• Once logged in, you can search for a listing by typing the business name and address in the search box. Results will appear in a list as well as on the map.
• If none of the results match your business, you can click “Add Your Business.” You will then choose the business type: storefront (restaurants, hotels, etc.), service area (taxi service, delivery, etc.), or brand (products, brands, causes, etc.).
• The next step is learning how to use the Google verify my business feature. The verification code will be mailed to you – this takes one to two weeks – and once you’ve entered the code into your account, you’ll finally be able to start managing your local business information on Google.

• If a business has ten or more locations, you can sign in to your account and add them all at once using the bulk upload tool. See our guide to bulk Google My Business uploads to learn more.

Facebook is a top platform for companies hoping to build and enhance their social media presence. With a Facebook business Page , brands can connect with consumers, share news and announcements, and set up Call to Action buttons that drive engagement.

The social media company also added Facebook reviews or (later re-branded as) Recommendations, a feature that allows users to review and recommend (or not) local businesses. Recommendations and reviews on Facebook continue to be increasingly crucial in influencing the purchase decisions of consumers.

• To manage a Facebook page that includes Recommendations, you have to select Local Business or Place as your category. Please keep in mind that not all Facebook pages can enable and display recommendations, reviews, and ratings.
• Once you select a category, you’ll have to submit business information, such as the page’s secondary category, the business or place name, address, and phone number. Make sure that the information provided is complete, correct, and up-to-date.
• To make sure that your Facebook page is review- and recommendations-ready, you have to choose Local Business as your page category, which means that you’ll also have to specify a physical address or location. You then have the option to narrow this page category down to, say, a restaurant, a café, a hotel, a hospital or healthcare facility.

To change your page’s category to Local Business:

• Go to the About tab on your Facebook Page and click Page Info.
• Select Local Business as the page Category.
• Select a more specific category such as restaurant or café.
• Save the changes.

To add your business’ physical address or location:

• Click Page Info on the About tab of your Facebook Page.
• Click Address to enter your business’ physical address, and fine-tune your location by dragging the pin on the map.
• Check the box next to Show map and check-ins.

Read this guide for detailed information on Facebook reviews and how to set them up on your Page.

Founded in 2004, San Francisco-based Yelp has collected approximately 214 million crowd-sourced reviews of businesses and companies in a wide range of categories — from restaurants and hotels to dentists, boutiques, and mechanics.

Studies have shown that 82% of Yelp users visit the site when preparing to spend money. Also, 93% of Yelp users go on to make purchases at the business they looked up and researched on the site.

You can use the Yelp for Business dashboard to manage and respond to reviews. You can also read ReviewTrackers’ guide to claiming your business page on Yelp . Before you create a Yelp business profile, make sure that another user hasn’t already added the business. Once that’s confirmed, visit https://biz.yelp.com/claiming .

• Click on the “Claim my Business” button.

• Yelp will prompt you to enter the name of the business and its geographical location. For added accuracy, or if the business is part of a chain, enter the specific street address.
• Yelp will show you a list of businesses with similar names to help you see if a listing already exists.
• If a listing exists, click on it and you will be prompted to follow additional steps to claim it and validate the claim.
• If the listing is not available, you’ll be asked to add the business to Yelp. Yelp validates the business entry through email.

• Once you receive the validation email, you will be able to access the full Yelp profile.

Tripadvisor

Tripadvisor describes itself as the world’s biggest travel site, and it’s hard to disagree. Founded in 2000, the travel planning and booking site has collected over 350 million customer reviews and opinions covering more than 6.5 million accommodations, restaurants, and attractions. It also generates 340 million unique visits per month, operates in 48 markets worldwide, and operates other travel media brands, including BookingBuddy, Oyster, SeatGuru, Viator, and VirtualTourist.

According to World Travel Market, Tripadvisor ranks ahead of personal recommendations, tourist board websites, and guidebooks as the most trusted source for travel planning.

Don’t get the wrong idea: while Tripadvisor is a great platform for hotels, it isn’t just for hotels. The review website also offers reviews and ratings of restaurants, tourist attractions, tour operators, theme parks and entertainment attractions, museums, landmarks, and other types of businesses that cater to travelers.

Claiming a business on Tripadvisor allows you to connect with customers and travelers from all over the world, and generate unique new opportunities to build your brand, acquire new customers, and grow the business.

Here’s how to claim your Tripadvisor listing.

• Go to the Tripadvisor owners page and click on the “Claim Your Listing” button on the navigation toolbar.

• You can create a new Tripadvisor for Business account with an email address or with an existing set of Google or Facebook credentials.
• If your business doesn’t appear in the search box of the “Claim Your Listing” page, you may add a new listing by filling out the form at https://www.tripadvisor.com/GetListedNew .

• Once you find your business, you may connect it with your Google or Facebook account.
• You have two options for verifying ownership of your Tripadvisor listing: phone or credit card. Choose one of the options to confirm your identity.

For more information, check out our guide to using Tripadvisor for business .

Healthcare is an industry where reviews and ratings can heavily influence patients’ decisions. Whether you’re a solo practitioner, an exec representing a hospital or healthcare network, a multi-location practice with tens or hundreds of clinics and offices, or a marketing agency specializing in serving healthcare clients, these healthcare review websites should be on top of your list.

Healthgrades

Along with Yelp, Healthgrades ranks as one of today’s most trusted doctor review sites . Nearly 1 million people a day rely on Healthgrades to research, compare, and connect with physicians and other healthcare professionals.

You can claim and update your free profile on Healthgrades by registering on the site and visiting the signup page . The site also has sponsored programs for providers who want to promote their practice. Those managing or marketing a hospital or another healthcare facility can also check out Healthgrades’ solutions suite to drive growth, increase engagement, boost patient acquisition , and improve clinical performance.

Those claiming a listing on Healthgrades for free can follow the steps below:

• Visiting the signup page . 

• Enter the name of the medical provider and their location then click on the “Get Started” button.
• If you can’t find your name or your provider’s name, contact Healthgrades .

Vitals.com is home to over 1 million doctor, dentist, and medical facility profiles and more than 9 million reviews and ratings. Vitals’ database allows users to search by specialty, name, location, condition, and insurance.

Those with a Vitals profile can manage and edit their business information, including display name, practice address, specialties and expertise, and education and awards. A Vitals profile also allows medical professionals to respond to reviews.

To claim a listing on Vitals:

• Navigate to the signup page .

• Complete the form and agree to the terms of service and privacy policy.
• Click on “Claim Your Listing”

For more information, check out the blog post on how to manage your Vitals reviews .

RateMDs is home to over 2 million patient reviews and ratings, as well as current health trends coverage and medical specialties information.

Doctors and healthcare providers are listed on RateMDs for free. Claim an account by clicking on the “Claim Doctor Profile” button on the RateMDs home page. You can also contact RateMDs to remove out-of-date or fake listings.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to creating or claiming your business listing on RateMDs.

Click on the “Claim Doctor Profile” link on the RateMDs home page.

• Enter the name of your practice and its city then click “Get started.”

Doctor.com is a platform that lets health professionals tap into multiple healthcare networks. The Doctor.com network has an audience of about 30 million people each month and incorporates data from popular business review sites like Google, Yelp, Bing, Vitals, and Healthline.

Signing up for Doctor.com provides visibility on sites across its network and access to review generation tools, a Showcase Page, and experienced consultants.

Here’s how to add a listing on Doctor.com:

• Visit https://www.doctor.com/solutions/listing-accuracy . 
• Scroll to the bottom of the page and click “Book a Demo.”

In today’s digital age, diners quickly become online critics on restaurant review websites. With their words, they’re making personal recommendations not only to their friends and family but to the whole world.

By getting listed on review websites listed below, you can expand your brand’s digital footprint and position your restaurant locations to drive more traffic, reservations, orders, and deliveries. For a more comprehensive list, be sure to read our updated guide on restaurant review sites . 

OpenTable, a San Francisco-based website, lists over 40,000 restaurants worldwide, and 21 million monthly users find a new place to eat thanks to the OpenTable platform. Here’s how to add a new restaurant to the website.

• Visit OpenTable’s special website for restaurateurs .

• Your first and last name
• Email address
• Phone number
• Restaurant name
• Restaurant location (city, state/province, zip/postal code, country)

• After filling out the form, OpenTable will contact you via phone or email to “provide information about OpenTable’s products and services.”
• Instead of filling out the form, you can also opt to call the company directly at (866) 951-7154.

Grubbub, Eat24, and MenuPages

Chicago-based Grubhub is an online and mobile food ordering and delivery platform that connects diners with local restaurants. The company also owns Eat24 and MenuPages. 

To add your restaurants to these business review sites, you’ll have to sign up directly on the Grubhub website.

• Navigate to https://get.grubhub.com/join .

• Fill out the form and enter your name, email, phone number, restaurant name, and restaurant location. Then click “Get started.”
• A sales representative will contact you as soon as possible.

Online reviews are shaking up the hotel, travel, and hospitality industry. In a world where consumers are exposed to a seemingly unlimited number of travel and recreation solutions, what others say about a property or operator, or how they rate their experience on review websites can spell the difference between a brand and its competition.

Booking.com

Booking.com aims to offer the best prices for any type of property, from small, family-run bed and breakfasts to executive apartments and five-star luxury suites. Booking.com also publishes verified guest reviews to accompany its listings.

When you create your business listing, you’ll have to add your property details, photos, and payment policies during registration. Here’s a step-by-step guide:

• Click on “List your property” on the top-right corner of the home page .

• Complete the form and click “Get Started” to continue the listing process.

Expedia, Hotels.com, Travelocity, and Orbitz

Expedia is one of the most well-known travel brands online, with several travel sites to its name, including Expedia.com, Hotels.com, Travelocity, Orbitz, Hotwire.com, Trivago, Egencia (formerly Expedia Corporate Travel), Venere, Expedia Local Expert, Classic Vacations, Expedia CruiseShipCenters, and eLong.

Expedia.com, Travelocity, and Hotels.com function as accommodation booking services that also serve up online reviews and ratings for information-seeking travelers.

• Go to the Expedia Lodging Partner Services home page and click on the “List your property” button on the top-right corner of the page.

• You will go to another page where you have to fill out a form. In addition to a full name, email address, and phone number. You will also have to tell Expedia the number of properties you plan to add that have different addresses.

The automotive industry is in the midst of an exciting transformation. Sales-oriented corporations are taking a backseat to tech innovators and customer experience leaders. With a wide range of channels generating a wealth of customer data, organizations that listen to the Voice of the Customer on channels like business review sites and social media are the ones that will be able to truly understand customer needs and desires.

Cars.com and DealerRater

Owned by DealerRater, Cars.com is one of the most popular review websites for car buyers and dealerships. Apart from dealership reviews, it also offers comprehensive automotive information for shoppers in the form of price comparison tools, inventory search, auto loan calculators, expert opinions, photo galleries, and a large new and used car inventory.

DealerRater is an automotive review site that has more than 1.5 million reviews, and a sophisticated process that ensures every review is written by a real person with a real-life automotive shopping experience. DealerRater reviews are organized based on the level of customer service, quality of work, friendliness, price, and overall customer experience.

Planting your flag on Cars.com or DealerRater is easy. The first option is to sign up for Basic Listing access.

• A Basic Listing account is a free account that allows you to claim your dealership listing on DealerRater and utilize features like the ability to respond publicly to reviews, update your dealership listing and contact information, and even tag employees on reviews.
• From the DealerRater home page, click “Are You a Dealer?” in the upper-right corner of the page. (If your dealership is located in Canada, make sure you access this page from DealerRater.ca.)

• This will take you to DealerRater’s Dealers page. Scroll to the bottom of the page, and click “Claim Your Dealership Now”.
• Enter the name of Your Dealership in the pop-up window which will open, and click the auto-fill listing for your dealership when it is displayed.

• Enter your contact information (first and last name, job title, and email address) in the spaces provided.
• Note that DealerRater will ask you to claim your listing with an account registered to your dealership email address. If you do not have access to an email address under your dealership’s domain, you will have to provide DealerRater with a contact at the dealership who can authorize your access.
• Click “Claim This Dealership” to submit your request. Your request will be routed to DealerRater’s Client Services Team, and you should receive notification that your request has been processed within 2 business days.

The second option for claiming your business on DealerRater is by signing up for DealerRater Connections. A paid service, DealerRater Connections helps your dealership engage with potential customers, monitor your presence across the web, and promote your reviews, employees, and reputation across major search engines and automotive sites.

DealerRater Connections gives you access to extra features like the ability to start asking for reviews more easily with DealerRater’s LotShot tool, syndicate customer reviews to a network of millions, display your reviews in one place with an enhanced testimonial feed, allow shoppers to pre-select their salesperson, and make your listing stand out with premium ad placement.

The number of business review sites continues to grow. There is no shortage of sites that focus on specific industries, ranging from banking and financial services to real estate, senior housing, legal services, and automotive.

Employers have to do more to stand out for job applicants, and that starts with claiming a Glassdoor business page. Job applicants are looking for a new job in the same way a consumer looks for a new product, and that means looking at reviews.

• The first step is to visit the Glassdoor for Employers website . Clicking on the green “Sign Up” button will take you to a page where you can fill out a form for a free employer account .
• Glassdoor’s form asks you to fill out basic information such as your first, last, and company names. You’ll also need to put in your job title, the number of open jobs available at your office, a work email address, and a password for the profile. You also have to check a box, which confirms that you are a representative of your company’s HR, recruiting, marketing, or PR departments.

• You’ll also have to fill out some additional fields on the following page before the application is sent to Glassdoor’s Content and Community team for final verification. The overall process can take up to a maximum of 3 business days.

For more information, read our guide to using Glassdoor for employers .

SeniorAdvisor

SeniorAdvisor.com features trusted reviews and advice on local senior living communities, providing the information users need to make an informed decision.

• Those without a SeniorAdvisor business account can get one by filling out the form on the sign-up page .

• With a business account created, click on the blue “Claim this Profile” link that sends a claim request to SeniorAdvisor.com. You will be notified via email within 1-2 business days once the request is approved.
• Complete the form that appears, then click “Schedule my demo now.”

Zillow’s database includes information on 110 million US homes, complete with online reviews and ratings of real estate pros and firms.

To claim your listing, you will have to create an account and click the “I am a landlord or industry professional” box to create a profile. From there, you will need to fill out additional information such as your professional type and contact information. According to Zillow, real estate agents will need to make sure that ” the email addresses of your Zillow profile and the listing must be the same.” This is because Zillow listings are syndicated by various listing feed providers, which makes it easy for information to sync across all listings.

• Navigate to Zillow’s new account page .
• Add your email address and create a password. Then click on the “I am a landlord or industry professional” box.

• Selection your profession and add details about your name, ZIP code, and contact information.
• Click “Continue” to finish the process.

Avvo allows private parties to ask for legal advice on the phone, or online at a very low cost. Users can do it for free by asking for advice on the Q&A forum.

Avvo displays about 97% of all practicing attorneys in the United States, and it uses a proprietary algorithm that rates attorneys on a scale of 0 – 10 through customer-generated reviews and ratings based on data pulled from public records, bar associations, regulatory agencies, and court records.

With over 6 million unique visitors every month, Avvo is the place to be to connect with high-value legal leads and prospective clients.

• Navigate to the Avvo “Claim your profile” page and enter a lawyer’s full name, city, state, and zip code.

• Depending on the results, you can have one of two options: create a profile from scratch, or locate the existing profile within the Avvo directory and claim it. If the lawyer in question passed the bar and was practicing for at least one year, then chances are high that Avvo automatically created a professional profile.
• There are up to four different options available to verify your identity and claim your profile: LinkedIn, Facebook, Email, or Phone. Follow all directions during the verification process to complete the claim.
• If for some reason you don’t have a profile yet, then you will have to follow these steps: using the “claim your profile” page, go to the listing of lawyers with names similar to yours.
• Those that don’t have an existing profile can scroll to the bottom of the page of listings to find an option to create a new profile. You will need to fill out basic personal and professional information that includes your license to practice and states where you are a member of the bar. You will also need to indicate if you are currently under any disciplinary action.
• You can finish claiming by creating a username or by logging in with a  Facebook, Twitter, Google, or LinkedIn account.

Lawyers.com

Lawyers.com provides consumers with legal information, and the ability to search for lawyer reviews by location or expertise. The site collects both client ratings and peer ratings, which appear on every listing. Over 34 million people search for legal assistance and legal services on Lawyers.com every year.

To create or manage the information on your business listing on Lawyers.com, you will have to create a profile on the Martindale Legal Marketing Network .

Final Thoughts

Once you have your listings claimed and set up, you should continue to proactively manage your brand presence on these business review sites. Not only will this help your company stand out from the competition; it should also improve your search visibility, boost your customer acquisition strategy, and drive more conversions.

Nikola Bojkov

30+ review sites to collect more customer reviews in 2024.

Find practical tips and a list of industry-specific websites where you can submit your business to collect and display reviews from your customers.

What’s all the fame with online reviews and review sites? 

Well, maybe if you know that  82% of consumers visit review sites before they purchase a service or a product, you’ll see how big a deal this is, which means that online reviews can make or break any big or local business. 

Yes, that big is their power.

If you’re new to customer reviews and you’re not sure where to find them, collect them, or how use them, let me clear things up for you.

In the following text, you can find practical tips and a list of industry-specific websites where you can submit your business to collect and display reviews from your customers.

5 reasons to be present on business review websites

1. general review sites, 2. review sites for smes, 3. travel & hospitality review sites, 4. home services review sites, 5. restaurants review sites, 6. ecommerce review sites, 7. review sites for legal services, 8. it review sites, 9. medical & healthcare review sites, 10. automotive industry review sites, 11. real estate review sites, the most important one, now, what to do with all that reviews.

Embed Google Reviews Widget

Automatically collect and embed Google reviews and use AI reviews management tools to unlock your website’s sales potential.

FYI : You can automatically embed Google reviews widget on your website and show authentic user-generated reviews, increasing trust for more sales. Try it now.

Before the list, just check the reasons why you need to start creating a profile on some of these websites today:

1. Consumer reviews are everywhere!

You can’t hide from reviews. 

Like it or not, they will be displayed online, and they can make or break a business’s bottom line. Fortunately, reputation management plans and strategies can bring a positive change to your online reputation.

So, you should consider managing your business listing on as many relevant review websites.

2. They make you more visible

Being a wanted brand means being a visible one as well. 

People will look on Google and social media when they want to make a purchase. Search engines have their specific functionality algorithms and ways of indexing and ranking. 

Having a good reputation will help you favor those algorithms and have a top position in local searches. Having positive reviews can significantly boost your local SEO efforts.

3. They ARE your social proof

People are becoming increasingly dependent on third-party reviews. 

When it comes to making a purchase decision, they really rely on recommendations and customer reviews, even from total strangers. This is why social proof is so powerful.

With this in mind, businesses have a massive demand for customer feedback and reviews. And people are not shy in giving them – positive and also negative reviews.

4. They are trust signals

Your business reputation is your number one asset. 

Having carefully managed and optimized consumer reviews can emit strong trust signals and influence potential customers’ decisions to make a conversion. 

This makes your business profile trustworthy.

5. Consumers are comfortable leaving reviews

People are usually more comfortable saying their opinion on review sites than on your own business page or website. 

That’s because they go there with the intent to buy something from a business and they usually return. Sometimes to buy again, sometimes to rate the provider high, and sometimes to say that the seller sucks.

Google My Business

Google business profile is a free tool offering businesses to manage their online presence across Google. You’ll have to set up a verified account and information so your business’s website will be optimized appropriately. 

You’ve got a bonus: This amplifies Search and Maps as well – making your business look even more reputable.

• Why care?  Google is the master of internet search.
• Pricing:  Free
• You need it if you want business reviews for ANY type of business.

Learn how to get more Google reviews >

As the most popular social platform, Facebook is now used for business purposes as well. Anyone logged in on Facebook can post a recommendation on your business page. 

That’s why consumers commonly leave reviews and recommendations there. Those are the reasons why Facebook is becoming a popular review source. You’ll definitely want to claim your business’s best here – on your Facebook page.

• Why care?   Facebook recommendations are often consulted before making purchase decisions.
• You need it if you want business reviews for   any type of business.

You want your business to be taken seriously? If so, you need to keep up a high reputation on the most professional social media network. 

LinkedIn product reviews allow members to share their feedback on a particular product on LinkedIn product pages. Leaving constructive and honest feedback, members help each other in making informed purchase decisions.

The name and the profile picture of the reviewer are visible to anyone that views the product reviews. That’s why they are so credible. It’s almost impossible to fake reviews.

• Why care?  LinkedIn’s professional experiences give added credibility to any review given.
• You need it if you want business reviews for any type of business

Oh yeah, people are still using Foursquare business reviews. You can check in to different locations and places using the mobile app. But most important – you can leave a review for any of those places. 

If you are a business on the go, make sure your Foursquare profile is up to date and full of positive reviews.

• Why care?  The most popular check-in review platform.
• You need it if you want business reviews for   any type of business that’s on the go.

It is a review website where people can post reviews about local businesses. The good thing about Yelp is that your happy customers are always at the top of your review feed. It’s effortless for business owners to manage and respond to reviews from the Business dashboard.

Yelp became one of the most popular review sites, especially for SMEs, so you should seriously consider managing your Yelp profile.

• Why care?   97% of people will read local business reviews  before giving them a shot. That’s huge. You should really, really care.
• Pricing:  Free and Paid Version

Better Business Bureau

BBB ( Better Business Bureau ) helps in finding businesses across the US. It’s one of the most trusted and ethical review platforms for local business clients. The good thing is that BBB has its own ways of putting pressure on business owners, so they implement the changes that want to be seen.

The accreditation process guarantees that your business is working in good faith to resolve customers’ concerns.

• Why care?  Showing the BBB’s badge on your website shouts integrity.
• Pricing:  Only Paid Version

Glassdoor is an employee review platform allowing employees to anonymously review their former and current companies, salaries, and employers. Glassdoor gives an accurate picture of how one company is from the inside.

The platform is very user-friendly. You can easily find your reviews and respond to them. Also, you can set email alerts never to miss a review.

• Why care?  Glassdoor amplifies employee advocacy.
• Pricing:  Free and Paid Version

Yellow Pages

Yellow Pages transformed from paper to digital and still is one of the most popular review directories. It offers many types of information, such as maps, email addresses, phone numbers, business listings, and many more.

The main goal is to support local businesses for marketing and reviews. 

• Why care?  You can claim your business on YP and have the opportunity to have premium visibility on the website.

Manta is an SME review website with substantial traffic and review capabilities. It doesn’t display your good reviews right away, but instead, it organizes the search results based on your relevance for the keyword. 

Business owners can easily customize their profiles to improve their visibility and marketability. And users can leave star ratings and write reviews.

• Why care?  The platform can rank your business higher for each relevant keyword and get the best chances of connecting with leads.

TripAdvisor

If you’re in the traveling or hospitality business, you’ll want to check out the reviews on TripAdvisor. As the king of the niche, it has millions of reviews and users’ experiences. 

Its popularity rating algorithm is based on the quantity, quality, and recency of reviews. So, you’ll want to put some effort into managing these reviews for sure.

• Why care?  It’s the largest travel site in the world, with over 225 million reviews, opinions, and photos taken by travelers around the world.

Booking.com

Booking.com is the synonym for looking for accommodation, you should seriously consider your Booking reviews. Guest reviews play a crucial role in people’s decisions, both travelers and business owners. They matter to travelers as independent sources of information. 

On the other hand, for business owners, reviews are reputation factors and a valuable source of feedback. So make sure you encourage your guests to leave you a review.

• Why care?  You want to be present on the platform that has over 215M visits, don’t you?

Angie’s List

Angie’s List is a US-based home service online review site, being one of the most credible. User reviews are scaled from A to F and can not be anonymous, which gives trustworthiness to the business. That’s why homeowners feel comfortable picking services from this site.

You can set up a page for free where customers can leave reviews right away.

• Why care?  It’s a business review site that gives significant credibility to small businesses.
• Pricing:  Free

HomeAdvisor

HomeAdvisor is a digital marketplace connecting homeowners with local service professionals and service providers to handle home improvements and maintenance. All the reviews, referrals, and testimonials are going through an extensive screening process. You can be confident that all the reviews are verified, and the chance for fraud is almost equal to zero.

• Why care?  HomeAdvisor allows businesses to engage with leads and new customers on a much higher level by giving credibility.

If you run a restaurant, make sure you have your business listing on OpenTable . This business review platform enables customers to make reservations and write reviews for the locals they visit.

Restaurants receive a star rating from the OpenTable administrators based on the number of reviews they received by visitors. 

• Why care?  The more reviews you collect, the better restaurant’s rating and credibility.
• Pricing:  Paid Version

Claiming your business on Zomato is a smart move to go with. It takes only a few steps, and you’re ready to collect your reviews. 

You can choose from two methods: searching your business through Zomato Business Page or adding it manually in the database. Either way, in just a few clicks, you’ll be all set-up for your customer reviews.

• Why care?  The platform provides online ordering, table management, and many advertising and merchant tools.

Eat24 is straightforward and user-friendly, with filters that allow users to search by restaurant location or cuisine type.

Eat24 is a leading food delivery service that covers thousands of local restaurants nationwide. And with so many reviews on the mobile app from people across the country, you’re sure to offer a dish for even the pickiest eater.

• Why care?  Eat24 is the go-to service for food delivery and pickup. Make sure you’re there.

Since it is one of the oldest online stores, Amazon has trained the consumers to leave reviews almost every time they experience the products and services. 

It’s a trustworthy site for ratings, and it’s one of the most important resources when consumers are looking to make informed purchase decisions.

• Why care?  Amazon is the key source of information for any business that does any amount of eCommerce. It’s the damn leader!

If you have a store on Shopify, you better start collecting product reviews. Shoppers won’t take action before seeing at least 4 good reviews  for an item.  As an online retailer, you have to know that.

Shopify is ease of use eCommerce platform, and you should take the advantages it gives you to establish a strong reputation on it. The great thing is that you can manage and moderate the reviews you receive. Also, you can create stunning Shopify reviews widgets  to make your shop stand out.

• Why care?  Shopify is the new black for eCommerce. Make sure you’re keeping the step up.

Avvo provides legal services to anyone in the market for help, a simple and cost-effective way to find the right attorney. On their profile page, you can see past clients’ reviews, disciplinary actions against them or others with similar names that could be confusing, client endorsements from other lawyers and peers in the industry, and some helpful guides.

• Why care?  97% of the attorneys in the US are rated on Avvo. So, your competitors are there, why wouldn’t you?

Lawyers.com

Lawyers.com provides consumers with legal information, as well as the ability to search for lawyer reviews by location or specialization. 

The platform offers valuable insights into every attorney’s rating. It lets your potential clients know how many current and past clients have given your law firm ratings in addition to peer ratings from other professionals in the field.

• Why care?  Over 34 million people look for help on Lawyers.com every year.
• Pricing:  Paid Version

Captera is a very relevant SaaS review site. When you search on Capterra, instead of showing reviews, it displays a list of companies/products relevant to your keyword and a short summary for each. 

Also, it lets users compare the results, which makes the platform very user-friendly.

• Why care?  It is very effective in connecting users with the right software solutions.

You will want to be present on this site for sure! This site has massive traffic from people who are looking for software solutions and reading reviews about them. 

The specific thing here is that the software reviews cover everything connected with the software – from how easy-to-use it is to technical support.

Why care?  G2Crowd is the number one review website for software solutions. You can shine with your greatest assets.

TrustRadius

TrustRadius is based on LinkedIn authentication. Users can see what their LinkedIn connections are saying about the software products and solutions. The comparing option allows users to have a deeper insight into the chosen products or companies.

• Why care?  The LinkedIn authentication gives double credibility – TrustRadius + LinkedIn.

Caring.com is a website that provides information and support for those caring for aging parents or loved ones. 

The site has a comprehensive directory complete with reviews of caregiving services, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, independent communities, memory care facilities, and continuing care retirement communities. 

• Why care?  For such a delicate matter, your audience is looking for social proof . Make sure to provide one.

Doctor.com is a company that connects medical professionals with patients and the public, providing them visibility on popular review sites like Google, Yelp, Bing, Vitals, and Healthline. 

With an audience of about 30 million people each month and incorporation of these popular sites into their network for additional exposure for all members involved in the process, Doctor.com provides a platform where patient reviews can be generated quickly and efficiently instead of having to go through the tedious task themselves. 

• Why care?  The platform provides visibility on sites across its network and access to review generation tools.

Cars.com is a popular site for car buyers, rentals, and dealerships because it offers comprehensive automotive information in the form of price comparison tools, inventory search, expert opinions, photo galleries, and of course, a large new and used car inventory.

It gives you the ability to collect and display your customer reviews in one place with an enhanced testimonial feed.

• Why care?  It’s the most consulted car dealership website in the USA.

Car Gurus is an automotive research and shopping website. It assists shoppers in comparing cars across the platform.

Users have the option to rate a car or a car dealer and write a review. They can search for your business and compare it with others based on the rating you already have.

• Why care?  The car dealer review site with over 47M visits. 
• Pricing:  Free to post a car, but you’ll be charged $99 when the vehicle is sold.

Realtor .com

Realtor.com listings are the closest to the gold standard. The platform is updated daily by realtors. For this reason, Realtor.com is picked for the most accurate real estate website .

Leaving reviews and writing testimonials is very easy. Users can compare homes, neighborhoods, and even realtors. So, make sure you keep an excellent rating there.

• Why care?  It has the best reputation among real estate review platforms.

Zillow takes authentication very seriously. They will want to make sure that you use legit information and not posting anything that will bring customers to delusion. That’s why it a trusted review website for real estate. 

It is connected to other listing providers, which makes the sync-in information easy.

• Why care?  It includes information on 110 million US homes, complete with online reviews and ratings of real estate pros and firms.

Definitely, the one site you must use to boost your business reputation is your own website! 

It is the only site you have under total control. You can hand-pick your best reviews to shine on your website and  manage the negative reviews  the way they should be treated.

You can collect your best reviews from all sites and display them on your own website. You can even create a dedicated page with reviews and testimonials and show how proud you are of your well-earned reputation.

You can embed a review collection form on your website and keep the reviews coming. That way, your users can submit their reviews effortlessly.

You’ve done a big job there, claiming your business on the most critical directories! Congrats!

But, the process doesn’t stop here. That’s only a step. 

Now, you have to take the management in your hands to keep that reputation up high. You’ll have to respond to that reviews, ask for new ones, and organize all of them. 

We created this  proven plan for online review management  to help you maintain an outstanding online reputation.

As said before, there’s no running away from online reviews. They are here to stay. So make sure you play the game right.

And, remember: ALWAYS is the right time to outline your reputation management strategy, set your goals, and get started now!

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Nikola Bojkov is the CEO of EmbedSocial, an entrepreneur who turns problems into products. With over a decade of hands-on experience with social media APIs, he guides EmbedSocial in its role as a technical partner for both SMEs and large agencies, maximizing the impact of their user-generated content. EmbedSocial has offices in Skopje, Tokyo and Lisbon with over 250,000 users.

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The 12 Most Credible Review Platforms for Customer Feedback

In this day and age, next to nobody makes a decision without consulting the internet first. Think about it – what do you normally do if you need the answer to a question? Or if there’s a fact that you’d like to know? You Google it, right?

So, what do you think your potential customers do when they’re considering a new product or trying out a new business? They’re going to Google it too. And they’re going to want to find out other people’s experience by looking at review platforms.

Did you know that   90% of consumers   read online review sites before visiting or buying from a business? Reviews can not only build your reputation but also support your company’s marketing efforts, influence your campaigns and play a huge role in your overall success.

We will cover…

What is a review platform?

How do get customer reviews?

The benefits of customer reviews

The most popular review platforms, the best review platforms for b2b companies, trustradius, the best review platforms for b2b and b2c companies, angie’s list, the best review platforms for seo, google my business, bing places.

•  TripAdvisor

Review platforms are places where customers can leave feedback about products or services for others to read.

The wider the word spreads about how good your company is, the more people you’ll attract, so ideally you want these reviews to be as honest and as positive as possible. Whilst the reviews themselves are the attraction to new customers, displaying them in the ideal place is an important step in the right direction for your business. Hence, including reviews on your website and social media accounts is a good idea.

How do you get customer reviews?

The best way to encourage customer reviews is simply to ask. Quite often, customers are more than happy to give you feedback about their experiences with your products or services, especially if those experiences are positive.

Here are a few ways you could go about this:

• Put up signs, stickers, or badges in your business, or on your website,  for online review sites. This not only encourages customers to write reviews but prompts people to read those reviews too, potentially attracting new customers. Plus, badges instantly instill faith in the customer.
• Include a CTA (call-to-action) on the back of a menu, receipt, invoice, or coupon code asking the customer to leave a review.
• Automate an email campaign that is triggered once a customer shops at your business or uses your services. This way you can ensure that only the customers who experienced your brand are prompted to leave a review.   See how to do this with Zapier .
• Or, the simplest way of all, is just to verbally ask the customer. After you make a sale, give a customer a good meal or provide a great service, ask them what they thought and if they would be willing to leave a review. If you don’t ask, you don’t get!

What makes customer reviews so impactful?

Higher search ranking

Firstly, reviews help your business rank higher on search engines like Google or Bing. The more your customers trust you, the more Google will trust you and consequently, you’ll attract even more customers. A   study by Moz   revealed that reviews contribute over 15% of a website’s ranking factor. For local businesses this can really make a difference.

Better click-through rate

Not only will you rank higher on result pages, if you have glowing reviews and you add the star ratings to your website, Google will show them on the results page. Look at the example on the screenshot below. Which listing would you click on? The one with the stars, right?

Those stars are called Google Seller Ratings and can have an incredible impact on your CTR (click-through rate).   Here’s how to get them working .

Help the purchasing decision

Even more importantly, reviews are beneficial because they influence your customers’ decisions. Reviews build trust, promote confidence in your business and a couple of good reviews could be the tipping point for whether a customer sticks with you or decides to go elsewhere.

Now that you know the benefits of customer reviews, here are some of the best online review platforms for your business. Depending on your niche, you have plenty of options to gather reviews with these review platforms.

Before we dive into the nitty-gritty of which online review sites fit a specific niche best, let’s take a look at the ones that are the surefire ways to get started.

Facebook Ratings and Reviews

More than just a place to catch up with friends and giggle at cat videos, Facebook can work wonders as a review platform. With more than   2.7 billion monthly visitors , it is the largest social network in the world, and it’s also in the   top 10 highest used websites   for global internet engagement. Straight off the bat, Facebook reviews will give you a huge advantage.

Having a Facebook page for your business also gives you the highest range of options of any of the online review sites listed in this article. Not only can your customers leave reviews and read the reviews of others, but they can like and comment on other people’s feedback and ask questions.

Yelp   is certainly old school, yet still used by millions. Originally focusing on restaurants, it built quite a strong reputation before branching out into almost every other industry. If you’re on Yelp, make sure to claim your business profile quickly so that you can keep track of what is being said about your brand.

Like many review platforms, you can’t edit the reviews on Yelp, but you can respond to them, so try to keep things friendly and helpful. Furthermore, Yelp helps train small businesses how to take control of their customer reviews and how to hold social events for Yelpers (a.k.a. Yelp reviewers).

Are you catering to other business owners? If you are a bookkeeper, business supplier, software company, or other business-to-business company, the following review websites will help you spread the word.

A favorite among SaaS (Software As A Service) companies, if your business sells software, you’ll want to make sure you have a presence on   G2 . As the leading B2B software review platform, they’ve collected over 1,000,000 reviews for different products and have over   4 million monthly visitors .

With a nifty LinkedIn authenticator, reviewers can post reviews or easily share their thoughts on a particular software preference with their entire LinkedIn network. This both adds another layer of trust to the readers and is an easy way to reach a potentially large, relevant audience.

G2 allows you to compare businesses with hundreds of similar services by 5-star rating, price, ease of use, quality of support, set up speed, and much more. Visitors can also upvote or downvote reviews based on their own experiences. Business owners can easily read competitors’ reviews to get a better understanding of what consumers are looking for.

Perfect for eCommerce, marketing, and other online businesses,   Reviews.io   gathers honest feedback for your business using an invite-only option. This means that customers can only leave reviews if a company requests it, via a simple email invitation.

Businesses can ask their customers to leave reviews on specific services, products, or the business as a whole. This gives companies a lot more control over who leaves feedback. As a verified Google review partner, all feedback gathered by Review.io is optimized for search results, which will further aid your SEO game. Plus, the platform has a well-designed UI, making it easy to navigate and use.

Similar to G2,   TrustRadius   focuses on software and service-based B2B companies.  Reviewers are also authenticated through LinkedIn, so setting up an account is nice and simple. Visitors can review a company alone, or in comparison with another by looking at a series of stats including 5-star rating, pricing, and in-product pictures.

TrustRadius is a particularly good tool for gathering feedback and understanding the customers’ issues and pain points. What’s more, as TrustRadius doesn’t offer a sponsored option, it’s definitely one of the most honest online review platforms out there.

If your business sells to the general public, you’ll likely do better with a review platform that is more suited to consumers. The following are great online review sites for both business-to-business and business-to-customer companies.

Another favorite with SaaS (Software As A Service) companies,   Capterra   features nearly a million reviews and an engaged and active community. Users can easily search for software based on industry, software type, or a particular product. That search is divided into almost 700 different categories – that’s a lot of data to help you find the perfect fit!

Visitors can directly compare up to four businesses side by side using the ‘compare to’ feature. Plus, another point for Capterra: the webpages for different categories consistently rank high on Google, so if you’re looking to better your SEO, then using this review platform will most certainly help. They are also backing their organic ranking with paid efforts so they basically take care of advertising for you.

Originally started as a review platform for small businesses,   Angie’s List   has developed into a high-end, reputable site. It is a paid platform, but it’s all the better for it as you don’t get the usual ramblings and nonsense that you sometimes do with free sites. Instead, reviews are a lot more thought out and, resultantly, more valuable.

The reviews are divided into categories, then they are given an A-F rating. They can’t be anonymous either, which further helps with preventing spam and fake responses. Angie’s list also acts as an intermediary between conflicts, which ultimately means that they could end up siding with you over an unfair customer. It’s free to set up a page for your company, but they also offer two paid plans for more options.

Better Business Bureau

An online review site built on trust, the   BBB   is a non-profit consumer advocacy group. They evaluate all types of businesses against a set of standards, providing the facts and letting the customer reviews speak for themselves.

Another premium review platform, the BBB charges companies to join it and, although they don’t actually force you, it’s recommended to follow the   BBB’s code of conduct . If you decide to get your business profile on the Better Business Bureau, then you’ll be able to display a badge on your site which shows customers how trustworthy you are.

When it comes to elevating your business, unless you’re a one-man-band, a lot of that hard work and effort will be undertaken by your staff. And as your business grows, so will your team. That’s where   GlassDoor , the workplace review platform, comes in.

With reviews of over 540,000 companies, you can bet that a lot of potential job candidates will want to check out other people’s experiences before they accept a job offer or even apply for a position.

Employees can rate a company on everything from the employment process itself, to everyday working life. If you get lots of positive reviews from lots of happy staff, GlassDoor has the power to radically improve your employment brand. This will help you scout out the best talent for future employment and gather feedback about what you could work on from within your business.

If the main reason you’re looking for customer reviews is to increase your credibility to search engines, we recommend using these….

The most obvious review platform to support your SEO,   Google My Business   is a free tool to help businesses manage their presence online. You simply need a verified business account on Google and your website, business name, contact information, opening hours, and location will all be neatly tied to your search listing.

Anyone searching for your business will automatically see all of these details as well. The best part? They will also see all of your reviews, giving them an instant reason to click on your site link or dial your phone number.

Bing Places   provides much the same service but, of course, for Bing users instead. But before you decide to label Bing as a lesser Google, whilst it may not be the big boy, Microsoft’s search engine still has the   second highest   search engine market share online. So, it’s more than likely, that you’ll end up with a few extra clicks and customers by adding your business to Bing.

TripAdvisor

Did you know that customer reviews for businesses   occur highest in the travel sector ?

TripAdvisor   has seriously evolved from where it started back in 2000. These days, not only are they covering hotels, holiday rentals, restaurants, and tour companies, they also feature customer reviews for spas, coffee shops, cafes, and other entertainment businesses.

Whilst a substantial portion of searches are still travel-related, people are also browsing TripAdvisor reviews before choosing a new restaurant to dine at or a new place to take the kids at the weekend. With Google searches like ‘restaurants near me’ bringing TripAdvisor a tonne of monthly traffic, it’d be well worth your time to add your business to their results.

It’s a wrap

There you have it: a nice, comprehensive list of the best review platforms broken into categories waiting for you to cherry-pick your favorites! But then what?

Then you can learn how to utilize the glowing feedback that you gathered on these platforms. Check out our article on   the power of reviews – and how to use them !

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Top Consumer Business Review Websites

• Rachel Solway
• January 28, 2024

Welcome! It’s time to tackle our practical guide on top-notch customer feedback. Let’s dig into some of the best business review websites. You might be curious: how big of a role do these platforms really play in today’s market scene?

Let’s imagine this for a second: you’re a customer, ready to acquire some services or buy a product. How awesome would it be to check out what people thought, specifically people who have already used these services or products? That’s what business review websites are all about. They provide a look into honest ratings by actual users and they either back up or question the brand’s promises.

At their heart, business review platforms work like online public squares, a place for customers to share their experiences. For buyers, it feels a bit like getting honest advice from a good friend. For companies, it’s a chance to understand what their customers think and how to get better. Can you see how such knowledge would be handy before you go ahead and buy?

Let’s talk about the top 20 sites and how they each work!

General Business and Service Reviews

Looking to understand what your customers really think of your company? Well, look no further; Google Business Profile (GBP) has you covered. This is a great place where customer reviews are shared directly on Google listings. So, when potential customers search for your company on Google, they will certainly see those reviews on your GBP.

Then there’s  Yelp , a much-loved platform for digging into local businesses. A lot of people trust Yelp because they love to read real customer opinions on various companies like eateries, repair shops, and hair salons. Yelp is famous for its broad user base and simple interface, making the discovery of public opinions a walk in the park.

Now, let’s talk about  Facebook . It’s not just for chatting with friends, but also a public arena where customers leave feedback on your business page. Given its enormous number of users, you certainly don’t want to overlook its potential reach.

Angi , which you might know as Angie’s List, is chiefly focused on local service providers and contractors. This is where customers spill the beans about local services, covering everything from plumbing to landscaping.

The Better Business Bureau (a close partner to trust in the business world, or BBB for short) is there to validate businesses following fair and ethical trade practices. This site shows doing business has many focuses beyond cutting deals; it’s about making open and honest ones.

Merchant Circle is a great blend of local business listings and customer reviews. Its easy access to local businesses and firsthand reviews from community people make it a must-visit resource.

In the mood for Q&A-style customer feedback? Keep Sitejabber in mind. More than just a review platform, Sitejabber facilitates consumers engaging in Q&As, bringing about more profound insights, not just complaints or praises.

CA Consumer Affairs serves as both a review platform and an official website of the California government. With its extensive collection of business listings and reviews spanning various industries, this website provides a comprehensive perspective. Whether you’re interested in electronics or insurance, it offers in-depth coverage across a broad spectrum of sectors within its expansive database.

Trustpilot  is yet another modern and efficient place for consumers to have real conversations about businesses–big and small.

It’s a welcoming platform where all types of customer experiences flourish.

Product and E-commerce Reviews

Amazon Customer Reviews  play a big part in shopping decisions in Amazon’s huge online marketplace. Have you ever thought about why this is the case? The power of positive feedback can strengthen a shopper’s desire to buy. It’s a clear sign of how good a product is, like getting advice from a good friend. We all know how important we take that, right?

With a ton of people visiting Amazon every day, the reviews section acts like a bright, honest corner influencing shoppers around the globe. You could see it as a truth-teller for online shopping, revealing the good, bad, and unexpected sides of each item.

Taking into account Amazon sells all sorts of products; imagine the depth of this feedback! From popular items to unique finds, the wide-ranging shopper input is really valuable when deciding whether to hit the tempting “add to cart” button. Now, in a time where customer opinion is shaping online shopping, this massive heap of feedback helps direct online visits.

Healthcare Reviews

Healthcare review sites are a go-to resource when you’re on the hunt for skilled providers. Let’s talk about which ones are topping the charts.

First off, let’s talk about  Healthgrades . What’s special about this site? Well, it covers everything from doctors to dentists with complete profiles and customer reviews. So whether you’re sleuthing for data on a doctor or a hospital – Healthgrades has you covered.

Then there’s  Essentials . Now, this site stands out because it’s loaded with rankings of physicians. Plus, it’s a unique spot where you can find highly praised doctors near you. But what makes Essentials really shine is how they share costs associated with medical procedures. That’s valuable transparency for healthcare expenses! And for those of you who don’t like to wait – Essentials has your back – they reveal wait times, too.

Next, there’s  Wellness.com . You’re not just finding doctors here; you’re also discovering wellness and fitness professionals. From nutritionists to yoga teachers, if it’s about your well-being, it’s on this site. Users here can even review wellness events and programs. How great is that?

And let’s not forget about lifestyle-specific healthcare areas. Mentions of medspas, salons, chiropractors, physiotherapists, and opticians come to the fore here. Websites like  RealSelf  are perfect for those in search of MedSpa reviews – but we’re not stopping the list there.  SalonSeeker  is a fantastic find for those searching for a top-notch beauty spot, while  Chirodirectory  is a great starting point for those seeking a skilled chiropractor.

Need some attention for your eyes? Check  Zocdoc  or  EyeExams.com ; they’re known for reliable reviews of leading optometrists. And if you’re scouting out a great physiotherapist, websites like  PhysicalTherapy.com  are ready to help.

Finally, if you’re looking for a new dentist,  Dentistry.com  also offers solid reviews, lending a helpful hand in your search.

But what’s the point of all this? Well, the key thing is that these review platforms help patients and customers like you and me. They guide our decisions about who can best provide for our healthcare and wellness needs. We’re the ones in the driver’s seat. And that’s the way it should be, right? For healthcare providers, these platforms are a godsend to up their reputation game and attract more clients.

Platforms like these are a win-win for doctors and their patients.

How to Display Product Reviews on Your Website

The process of setting up a system for product reviews on your site needs to be done just right.

Depending on your CMS, this process can vary a bit:

• First, decide which reviews you want to display on your website. There are quite a few of them out there, so try to narrow it down to the top directories where you are the most active. Might we suggest starting with Google, Facebook and/or Yelp, which are among the most popular and also happen to be part of the OneLocal LocalReviews offering .
• It’s best to get reviews straight from your customers, too. It sounds crazy, but people like to tell others about their experiences! This gives you more reviews and also lets your customers share their experiences with your product. So, if possible, choose a system which enables people to leave new reviews as well.
• Keep in mind that reviews don’t have to live only on product pages. You can show off your best reviews on landing pages, category pages, or even right on the homepage.
• Offering little benefits, like free shipping or discounts, to encourage customers to leave reviews is really helpful. Making the review process as easy as possible helps in getting more reviews, too.

A review system can bring customers closer to you by making them part of a community on your site. It also makes their browsing experience user-friendly, and that’s what we all want!

Are Larger Review Websites Always Better?

It’s true big review sites cover tons of businesses in different fields. This wide range could be a good thing, as it offers plenty of views. It’s hard not to be attracted by the prospect of having so many opinions ready for you. A large user base can mean more activity, which might lead to faster access to useful information on a business.

But let’s spin this around for a minute.

Bigger does mean  more  and more can also mean  louder . Crowds aren’t always wise – they can sometimes just echo baseless opinions and biases. For big platforms, managing the authenticity of these popular opinions can be a tough game. It’s a pretty tricky balance to keep, isn’t it?

Now, let’s bring into focus the smaller, niche review sites. These tiny players swimming with the big fishes could offer specific insights the big ones might miss. For instance, a dedicated wine fan wouldn’t want advice from a generic site reviewing everything from hair salons to hardware stores, right? They’d probably prefer a site all about vineyards and wines.

The smaller sites often create a sense of a close-knit community, fostering real chat among people sharing common interests. Plus, the businesses reviewed on these sites are typically very specialized, leading to more thorough and expert reviews. They might not draw massive crowds, but they do have a following that values quality over quantity.

There are also SEO benefits. The more relevant the review site, the more weight Google tends to put on those results .

If you’re focusing on your  SEO efforts , you’ll definitely want to mix in some hyper-relevant review sites.

Both big and small sites have their strengths. Users should really consider what they need in particular and decide if a wide range of focused expertise suits them better. And keep in mind, just because a site is crowded with reviews doesn’t mean it’s superior. Also, the specific knowledge of a niche community doesn’t certify their judgment is flawless. Because, at the end of the day, how we view quality is a personal thing.

Improve Your Presence on Review Sites

Looking for a reliable aid for your small business? Well, look no further. OneLocal is what you need, acting as your personal handy tool to boost your business.

Ever dream of giving a massive upgrade to your online visibility?  OneLocal’s LocalSite can make this a reality by creating an optimized, mobile-friendly site matching your specific needs. Reviews are critical and managing them can be a headache. But why let this worry you if you can use a tool like LocalReviews to ramp up your online reputation ?

Ever hoped to be number one on search engine rankings? With LocalSite, topping search engine result pages isn’t a pipe dream – it’s very doable. Outstanding services by themselves won’t draw in customers; you need to be seen frequently. And that’s what  LocalSEO  promises.

Think about your advertising needs to supplement your organic search visibility. LocalAds is designed to optimize your online advertising like a unique insider tip to supercharge your business growth.

These four services are just a taste of what OneLocal can offer. Picture having a whole toolkit of resources, each honed to keep your business front and center in the market.

Sound too good to be true? Don’t just take our word for it; give it a go.  Schedule a free demo  with us today. You’ll see firsthand how we’ve helped countless local businesses rule their local search markets, amp up customer satisfaction, and grow their business!

Rachel Solway is a seasoned marketing professional dedicated to empowering small businesses through innovative marketing strategies. With extensive experience at OneLocal, a leading marketing solutions provider, Rachel’s insights are helping thousands of local businesses navigate the digital landscape.

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Top 7 Review Websites to Collect More Customer & Product Reviews in 2023

In a perfect world, every customer interaction would result in a profitable transaction for the business and a delighted consumer ready to tell the world about their fantastic experience. But try as we might, it's still common for some previous customers to publish negative comments on one or several popular consumer review websites.

But not all reviews are negative. In fact, when a company stays on top of monitoring the top review websites to quickly respond to a critical comment or potentially negative situation, they have a chance to turn it into a positive experience.

Monitoring the best product review websites and engaging with all previous customers gives all businesses a fantastic opportunity to learn from their mistakes. They can also resolve a customer's negative experience, which does receive notice from your future customers.

So, what are the best business review sites? Are there specific consumer review websites that are business-to-consumer related? And finally, what tools can you use to help boost your positive online reputation and publish those great reviews on your sales platforms? These are all a few questions we'll answer below.

What are Business Review Sites?

It's estimated that more than 93 percent of consumers consider online direct customer testimonials and reviews published online to make buying decisions. A business review website is an online platform that is targeted at consumers. In several cases, they serve primarily as major online retailers – such as Amazon, primary search engines such as Google, or significant social media networks such as Facebook.

Several of the most visited websites give consumers the power to rate vendors or suppliers who provide services via their platforms. This helps to keep the playing field even and rewards companies that provide positive customer experiences.

Why Reviews on Consumer Review Websites are Important for Your Business

Contrary to popular belief, consumer reviews that don't highlight your business in a positive light are not always bad. In fact, even the worst product review can provide a business owner or manager with valuable insights that help you fine-tune and improve your operations.

There are several reasons why consumer reviews can help any business. Here are three important ways that you may have never considered.

Provides Important Feedback

While star rating reviews assign a scale of satisfaction, a written review extrapolates on that number ranking to provide a business justification for the rating. By reading all published reviews, a brand can identify trouble areas of their operations, product quality, customer service, shipping, or other scope-focused areas.

Suppose a company takes the time to fix its everyday struggles. In that case, it will likely have fewer negative reviews, improving its online reputation.

Turns Negative Reviews Around

It's estimated that more than 85 percent of customers are positively impacted by businesses that reply directly to their online customer reviews.

Even if the review is filled with negativity, the perception of a business manager taking time to thank the customer for their input and taking time to resolve the problem is positive. However, failing to reply to reviews can reverse impact public perception.

Helps Drive More Traffic

When customers are researching new products or service providers online and reading direct customer reviews, they are more likely to visit that company's website to learn more.

In fact, studies show that 65% of consumers reading direct feedback from previous customers online that are positive are more likely to visit that business's website and make a purchase.

Related Content: Using Customer Reviews in Marketing

7 Best Reviews Websites to Collect More Customer and Product Reviews in 2023

Now that we've explained what a review website is and why they are essential to a business's growth, let's introduce these seven best review platforms. We will explain what types of reviews are best suited for these websites and why increasing reviews on these picks is a good idea.

#1 - Google Customer Reviews

When it comes to full-service, all-inclusive company reviews by customers – it's hard to be the king of the SERPs Google. While this is a relatively new service for Google reviews, it's quickly become one of the most impactful for business growth.

The Google My Business service allows a company to establish a business profile account, verify the location of their business, and provide valuable insights about the goods, services, and solutions they offer consumers. Once the account is established, customers can rate or leave a written product review for others to see.

Related Content: How to Ask For a Google Review

Types of Business/Industries this Review Platform Serves

The top reason Google My Business ranks atop our list is that it's perfect for any business with a physical address that can be verified on Google maps. This allows eCommerce providers, from independently owned to franchise-level entities, to take advantage of this review platform.

Benefits of Collecting Reviews on this Platform

• It's free for businesses to sign up and accessible for customers to review
• It Helps improve SEO with the more positive reviews published
• Easy for customers to publish reviews and read reviews during their Google search

#2 - Amazon Customer Reviews

Our next pick for top customer review platforms is Amazon.com . Not only is this eCommerce giant one of the best at fulfillment, target marketing, and returns, but their customer review section is among the most trusted among consumers and business owners themselves. The review section permits verified customers to provide a rating out of 5 stars on the quality of their service and transaction. They can also write a written review about their shopping experience with that seller.

Amazon's review section is reserved for vendors and sellers who provide goods and services to customers through their fantastic platform. This type of direct targeting helps customers provide direct feedback on their purchases.

Amazon's review service provides customers with reassurance that the vendors and sellers doing business on their website will operate with ethical standards. Because of this, Amazon has quickly become one of the most trusted by consumers and brands alike.

• Helps improve brand reputation for companies selling on Amazon
• Can improve sales on other platforms
• Gives insights into possible operational problems

#3 - Angi.com

What used to be Angie's List is now Angi.com . It's a service-industry review website that sets a standard for allowing verified consumers to publish testimonials for contractors and businesses providing home-based services based on their interaction with them.

Since its inception 26 years ago, they have connected with more than 150 million property owners and rental tenants. They have reviewed the functionality and operations of hundreds of thousands of certified plumbers, electricians, carpenters, pool builders, and more.

This website was developed to help consumers find trustworthy and reliable service providers – mainly those in the home construction and maintenance industries. Today, Angi permits reviews of more than 200 service providers, from movers to furniture refinishing. For customers to leave a review, they need to sign up for an account. This helps improve the credibility of user reviews.

• A business must be a certified home service provider to sign up and engage with reviewers
• It's easy to request feedback and reviews directly from the platform
• Reviews are verified before being published

#4 - Consumer Reports

Consumer Reports was founded in 1936 when consumers were inundated with overhyped consumer products, services, and business offerings. It is a non-profit organization that helps to gauge the quality, value, and authenticity of services and goods sold in the United States.

In years past, the reviews were provided by a qualified pool of consumers to provide transparency to the review process. Today, their online platform is supported by 63 testing laboratories, 130+ independent researchers & scientists, and spends more than $30 million on reviewing consumer products.

This review website is intended for consumer goods manufacturers– automotive, electronics, medical devices, safety systems, and major appliances. It's an education-based platform that removes customer bias–making it a great review platform for businesses who want to have the quality of their goods tested and published to a vast audience.

• Great for manufacturers of consumer goods looking for independent and verifiable reviews
• Positive reviews on ConsumerReports.org significantly improve online reputation for companies
• Highly trusted by consumers due to its non-profit, independent status

One of the best online review sites for local businesses to embrace is Yelp. This consumer-focused app allows users to publish a star rating or written review for businesses they frequent. The first step is for the business to sign up to permit users to leave Yelp reviews. From the app, new customers can check-in, leave their star ratings, or publish written reviews for potential customers to review. 

It was mainly intended for restaurants and other service providers but has grown significantly in recent years to include multiple business types. The website app focuses mainly on restaurants, home services, auto services, and entertainment venues.

• It's free for companies to sign up for consumer reviews
• A great review platform for local businesses looking to target customers in local search situations
• Assists helping customers with their local purchase decisions from small businesses

#6 - Better Business Bureau (BBB)

If you're a business looking to ensure you maintain a positive online reputation, having a positive rating through BBB is a critical first step. The Better Business Bureau has been a trusted resource for consumers to report scrupulous or unethical business practices for more than 100 years. Like ConsumerReports, the BBB is a non-profit organization that supports businesses and customers.

The BBB is an independent source to rate the credibility and ethical business operations of all licensed entities in the United States. They even have an international division. As such, all businesses can benefit from having a positive BBB rating.

BBB.org is not necessarily a consumer review website. It's mainly intended to provide factual investigations of consumer claims of business misconduct.

An A+ Rating by the BBB significantly improves your online credibility and helps earn consumer trust.

#7 - TripAdvisor

Travel, hospitality, or entertainment industries can benefit from customer reviews on Tripadvisor.com . It's a free online platform for businesses to sign-up. It is considered the most prominent travel website that is visited by worldwide audiences.

Tripadvisor and its associated websites (more than 15 niche-specific) are targeted to travelers. Their business model allows businesses that meet their operational criteria to be listed on their website. Customers can then provide and review previous rankings and make reservations directly from their platform.

• It's a one-stop shop for hotels, rental car agencies, restaurants, and other travel-industry businesses to have reviews listed and court customers to book reservations.
• Permits customers to seek out previous traveler reviews before booking directly.

Some other review websites you might consider based on your needs include Foursquare, Manta (for local referral), your Facebook Page (for customer feedback), Glassdoor (for recruiting employees based on business listings), Yellow Pages online, and Opentable (for restaurants). 

The Best Review Sites and Platforms in 2023 Compared

Key Takeaways on Consumer Reviews Websites

While hundreds of consumer product and service review websites are available, these seven represent the top shelf for businesses in their specific industries. While having your customers publish reviews on these websites helps increase your online reputation, proper management of these reviews is more important.

Leverage feedback and reviews to improve your online reputation

Get more online reviews and turn your customers into raving fans with ReviewsOnMyWebsite review generation software.

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Businesses can now automate and streamline the gathering of customer feedback thanks to new technologies. ReviewsOnMyWebsite allows you to request reviews from your customers on several of these highly influential websites. Plus, once the customer leaves a review on Google or Amazon, you can easily showcase those testimonials directly on your website.

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40 Awesome Review Sites to Fuel Your Business Growth

By Vishal Teckchandani | Sep 8, 2023 | Marketing | 17 min read

With more entrepreneurs starting local businesses, online review websites like Google Business Profile, Angi, and Yelp have become crucial for visibility and success in the realm of commerce ( Economic Innovation Group ).

Consumers lean heavily on review sites, considering the opinions expressed from other buyers about businesses within them before making purchasing decisions. The evidence is clear, both from data analysis and observing people around us: nearly all of us rely on review websites in various ways to inform our choices on where to shop, and what to buy ( Search Engine Journal ).

Rebrand and resell AI-powered review management software to your clients

Table of contents.

• Why are customer review websites important in the buying journey?

3 advantages to adding business listings across multiple review sites

40 quality review sites for customer reviews, 7 must-know business review websites, top 3 review websites for ecommerce businesses, 3 industry-specific review websites, top 2 popular b2b customer review websites, frequently asked questions, why are customer review websites important.

No doubt agency owners understand the importance of local businesses having a strong online presence for success, but what’s changing is how reputation is increasingly influenced by various review sites on different platforms, not just Google. For instance, in 2022, Tripadvisor reached one billion reviews, and Yelp saw 26,830 new reviews generated per minute!

This lines up with our internal Vendasta data, showing that nearly two-thirds of local businesses guided by our agency partners have adopted our Listings Sync Pro tool to establish their presence across diverse review platforms – because relying on just one isn't enough anymore.

As a result, the new frontier in online reputation management is helping clients diversify their presence across review websites. This article delves into the top 40 platforms, offering guidance to your clients on amassing more reviews, refining their online presence in a targeted way, and enhancing their sales potential.

Where review sites fit in the modern customer journey

Review websites are instrumental and effectively underpin the ‘findability’ and ‘reputation’ phases of the modern customer journey, pictured below, for two key reasons:

• Increased visibility and search engine optimization (SEO) benefits: Online review websites often have high domain authority and appear in search engine results. When businesses have a strong presence on these platforms and receive positive reviews, it can improve their search engine rankings. This increased visibility can lead to more organic traffic and potential customers discovering or validating a local business.
• Social proof: Customer reviews provide social proof, which is a powerful psychological phenomenon that influences people's behavior. When potential customers see positive reviews from real people, it creates a sense of trust and credibility in the business. They are more likely to trust the opinions of other customers and feel confident in making a purchase.

Listing across multiple websites brings significant advantages for both local businesses and the agencies that support them.

• Competitive edge: Establishing a presence on various customer review websites provides local businesses with an SEO edge. Maintaining precise information across multiple listings offers a simple method to enhance discoverability. Additionally, it empowers them to connect with customers seeking highly specific or detailed insights, surpassing the usual scope of Google reviews. This is particularly relevant in sectors such as healthcare and home services, where select review platforms enable users to provide feedback for individual professionals.
• Benefit for agencies: By helping local businesses manage their online reputation across multiple review websites, agencies can demonstrate their ability to effectively monitor and respond to customer feedback. This positions them as trusted advisors and valuable partners in maintaining a positive brand image. It also leaves a strong impression on business owners, showcasing the agency's awareness of the latest review site trends and choices, and allows you to justify the cost of your services and sales of reputation management and SEO products.
• Enhanced online reputation: A consistent stream of positive reviews across various platforms bolsters a business's credibility and reliability in the eyes of potential customers. This dynamic influence directly shapes purchasing choices, driving heightened customer engagement. Moreover, local businesses actively engaged on review sites gain the power to safeguard their reputation, effectively addressing negative feedback instead of letting it fester in the public realm. This is discussed further in the video below.

• Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) [the most popular general review site]
• Yelp (a widely recognized platform for local businesses)
• Facebook Reviews (integrates social feedback with online presence)
• TripAdvisor (for travel-related businesses and attractions)
• Yellow Pages (directory for local businesses)
• Angie's List (trusted source for local service providers)
• Foursquare (combines reviews with location-based features)
• Better Business Bureau (BBB) (focuses on business ethics and trust)
• Citysearch (local guide and business directory )
• Manta (showcases small businesses and services)
• DexKnows (local business directory)
• Superpages (directory for businesses and services)
• Trustpilot (trustworthy platform for various industries)
• Thumbtack (matches customers with service professionals)
• HomeAdvisor (connects homeowners with service providers)
• Zillow (reviews for real estate and property services)
• Healthgrades (reviews for healthcare professionals)
• Avvo (reviews for legal professionals)
• Houzz (reviews for home improvement professionals)
• RateMDs (reviews for medical professionals)
• OpenTable (restaurant reviews and reservations)
• Zocdoc (appointments and reviews for healthcare)
• WeddingWire (reviews for wedding-related services)
• Care.com (reviews for care and service providers)
• Trustpilot (a reliable review platform)
• Vitals (reviews for healthcare professionals)
• G2 Crowd (reviews for software and tech products)
• TestFreaks (product reviews and ratings)
• Fyt (reviews for fitness and wellness professionals)
• Cars.com (reviews for automotive services)
• Groupon (deals and local business reviews)
• DealerRater (reviews for automotive dealerships)
• ConsumerAffairs (reviews for various services)
• Indeed (reviews for job-related services)
• Capterra (reviews for software and tech products)
• Apartments.com (reviews for real estate and rentals)
• HomeStars (reviews for home service professionals)
• Porch (reviews for home services)
• TrustRadius (B2B software reviews)
• WeddingVendors.com (reviews for wedding services)

Navigating the vast landscape of review sites can be daunting for both agencies and local businesses. Which platforms deserve a business owner's attention for establishing a presence and soliciting reviews? What sets these platforms apart? Who comprises their user base?

While a comprehensive presence on every site isn't required, gaining insight into the major players as well as some specialized and emerging players is valuable knowledge you can take to a business owner.

Download the white-label reputation management sales playbook today and get a rebrandable playbook to close more reputation deals.

1. google business profile (formerly google my business).

A widely recognized platform for customer feedback, Google holds immense value for businesses seeking to bolster their online reputation. Its seamless integration with Google Maps search results , and other technologies, lends it a pivotal role for every local business.

Use cases: Google Reviews provides a user-friendly channel for customers to contribute reviews directly to a business's Google listing. Positive reviews not only attract potential customers but also enhance local search visibility, resulting in increased online traffic.

Monthly U.S. traffic: Approximately 17 billion (source: Semrush)

Alt text/caption: The Google Reviews page of restaurant Aba in Chicago

• High visibility: Benefits from Google's search dominance and high user adoption, ensuring high visibility amongst customers.
• Business insights: The platform provides data and insights into how users are interacting with your listing
• Easy Google integration : Easily manageable through a Google business account and applications that integrate with Google.
• Anonymity: Reviewers can be anonymous and use fake names, leading to potential spam and lack of accountability, and removing a fake or malicious Google review can be challenging.
• Lack of customer support: Since reviews can't be turned off or deleted manually , profile owners must reach out to Google directly to dispute a review, which can take time to resolve.
• Nongranular information: Google Reviews often provide a broad 1-5 star rating. However, for specific establishments like restaurants , this simplicity may not facilitate the evaluation of intricate elements like food quality, service, ambiance, and location.

Businesses/industries: Well-suited for all local businesses, especially for those like restaurants competing for foot traffic. (Key tip: Ensure that your local business customers update their Google Business hours )

2. Facebook Recommendations

Facebook is one of the world’s pre-eminent platforms for interactive customer experiences. Like Google, Facebook houses a local business’s essential details including number, location, and website.

How it’s different from Google is that users are allowed to “Recommend” or “Not recommend” a business, and are then prompted to leave feedback and images about their experience, and are given the option to select tags such as “Slow service”, “No Wi-Fi” and “Fresh doughnuts.”

Use cases: Showcase customer service, engage customers on the business's Facebook page.

Global monthly active users: Approximately 3 billion (Source: Facebook).

Alt text/caption: Facebook prompts allow users to include tags such as “great for children” and “fresh doughnuts” that make it easy for consumers to easily see what others like about the business

• Social engagement: Facilitates direct interactions and personalized responses.
• Broad reach: Connects with a wide audience through social networking.
• Limited discoverability: Reviews may not be as prominently featured as on dedicated platforms.

Businesses/industries: Suitable for retail, restaurants, entertainment venues, and local services.

An established review site renowned for in-depth user-generated feedback, Yelp is essential for building credibility .

Use cases: Engage with customers, respond to feedback, demonstrate commitment to customer satisfaction.

Monthly U.S. traffic: Approximately 117 million (Source: Semrush)

Alt text/caption: Yelp reviews are structured similarly to Google, but the review site is tailored largely to restaurants

• Improved SEO: Yelp Check-In allows users to share details of their visit and experience at a business, which can positively impact visibility and search rankings.
• Detailed reviews: Extensive user-generated reviews provide valuable insights.
• Community impact: Active user base fosters community credibility.
• Review filter: Stringent filter can impact visibility based on criteria.

Businesses/industries: Ideal for restaurants, salons, professional services, and businesses aiming to establish a strong online reputation.

4. TripAdvisor

A travel-focused platform, TripAdvisor plays a pivotal role for businesses in the travel and hospitality industry.

Use cases: Businesses in the travel sector can benefit from showcasing customer experiences and attracting travelers.

Monthly global traffic: Approximately 150 million (Source: Semrush)

Alt text/caption: TripAdvisor differentiates itself from other review websites with its travel focus. In this example, a visitor planning a trip to Wyoming has searched for “Top things to do in Wyoming” and then found the top-rated travel experiences.

• Travel focus: Centrally focused on travel and hospitality, catering to a specific industry.
• Attracting travelers: Positive reviews can attract travelers to accommodations, restaurants, and attractions.
• Complements local search: In certain scenarios, Tripadvisor gains an advantage over Google by assisting international visitors to the U.S. (or other countries) in pre-planning their experiences. This approach proves beneficial as it allows travelers to strategize ahead, avoiding the intensified competition for local visibility upon arrival.
• Travel niche: Primarily suitable for travel and hospitality businesses.
• Businesses/industries: Especially beneficial for hotels, restaurants, attractions, and tour operators within the travel sector.

5. Better Business Bureau (BBB)

BBB focuses on business ethics and trust, providing consumers with information about a business's reputation.

Use Cases: BBB accreditation and positive reviews enhance business credibility and trustworthiness.

Monthly U.S. traffic: Approximately 12.5 million (source: Semrush)

Alt text/caption: A review for John The Plumber on BBB for a plumber

• Ethical reputation: Focus on business ethics and trust.
• Accreditation impact: BBB accreditation can boost business reputation.
• North America: Limited to businesses mainly in North America.
• Businesses/industries: Suitable for businesses aiming to establish an ethical reputation and trustworthy standing.

6. Trustpilot

Trustpilot is a widely recognized platform that emphasizes consumer reviews and building brand trust.

Use Cases: Trustpilot is ideal for businesses that prioritize consumer feedback and seek to establish a transparent reputation.

Global & monthly U.S. traffic: Approximately 83 million and 17 million, respectively (Source: Semrush)

Alt text/caption: Trustpilot let’s users easily filter the services they’re looking for in their local area, such as credit unions, and then find reviews of those institutions

• Consumer trust: Focuses on building consumer trust through verified reviews.
• Wide range of industries: Suitable for a variety of businesses and industries.
• Robust presence in Europe and the U.S.: Businesses seeking transatlantic growth opportunities can benefit from the platform's substantial foothold in both European and U.S. markets.
• Paid plans: Some features require subscription in paid plans.
• Businesses/industries: Suitable for e-commerce, service-based, and retail businesses looking to build consumer trust.

7. Yellow Pages

Yellow Pages offers an online directory of businesses, serving as a trusted resource for local businesses and services.

Use cases: Local businesses can gain visibility and credibility through positive reviews on Yellow Pages.

Monthly U.S. traffic: Approximately 12 million (Source: Semrush)

Alt text/caption: Screenshot of reviews for a dentist in Chicago

• Local directory: Provides a platform for local businesses to reach their target audience.
• Trustworthy source: A trusted resource for finding local services.
• Lead generation: Yellow Pages allows consumers searching for services to contact the business through functions like chat messages.
• Diverse reviews: Reviews can cover a wide range of industries.
• Businesses/industries: Suitable for local businesses across various sectors aiming to enhance their online presence.

1. Amazon Customer Reviews

Amazon Customer Reviews significantly impact purchase decisions on one of the world's largest e-commerce platforms.

Use cases: Businesses selling products on Amazon can benefit from positive customer reviews, enhancing product credibility and visibility.

Monthly active users: Over 300 million (Source: Amazon)

Alt text/caption: Amazon’s reviews, in this case of a Microsoft controller, capture keywords and encourage reviewers to provide photos

• E-commerce impact: Reviews influence buying decisions on a global e-commerce giant.
• Product visibility: Positive reviews increase product visibility and credibility, especially if they achieve the ‘Amazon’s Choice’ designation.
• Product-focused: Reviews tend to be product-centric.
• Businesses/industries: Perfect for e-commerce businesses selling products on Amazon's platform.

2. TestFreaks

TestFreaks provides comprehensive reviews of various products, aiding consumers in making informed purchase decisions.

Use Cases: Businesses selling products can benefit from positive reviews on TestFreaks to enhance product credibility and visibility. It’s especially popular in Europe.

Number of reviews published: Over 100 million (Source: TestFreaks)

Alt text/caption: A retail company’s integration of TestFreaks’ user-generated content system for its ecommerce store and products

• Product reviews: Offers in-depth reviews on a wide range of products.
• Consumer insight: Helps buyers make informed decisions based on real user experiences.
• Product-centric: Focuses mainly on product reviews.
• Businesses/industries: Suitable for businesses in the e-commerce sector seeking to improve their product reputation.

3. Influenster

Influenster is an emerging platform that sends curated boxes of products to its members for free in exchange for leaving a review.

Use Cases: Influenster presents a valuable option for local businesses aiming to establish their presence or enhance the reputation of new products. It serves as an effective platform to connect with customers and foster reviews.

Members (users who leave reviews): Over 7 million (Source: Influnster)

Alt text/caption: A review page of a dog toy received by members on Influenster

• Cut-through review generation: Influenster operates on a model where customers receive complimentary products in exchange for reviews. This is advantageous for businesses who may struggle to compete on websites like Amazon, where certain categories are saturated and difficult to establish visibility in.
• Leveraged by prominent brands: Influenster is used by major brands like Dove, Neutrogena, Hasbro, and Doritos, showcasing its industry recognition and trustworthiness.
• Expense: Providing items for free might pose a cost challenge for local businesses.

Vitals is a dedicated platform for healthcare professionals, enabling medical practitioners to showcase their expertise and services.

Use cases: Agencies who are established or seeking to grow in the medical field can leverage Vitals to display their customers’ qualifications and connect with patients seeking medical services.

Number of reviews published by patients: Over 10 million (Source: Vitals)

Alt text/caption: Patient reviews of a plastic surgeon based in New York. You can see granular details including wait times and components of the rating, such as bedside manner

• Expanding geographic reach: Traditionally, individuals sought local family doctors or specialists, confining choices to in-person visits. Vitals transforms this norm, empowering consumers to explore practitioners locally or afar, even fostering virtual consultations. This amplifies opportunities for highly-rated professionals to attract a broader patient base, diverging from those with lower ratings.
• Detailed insights: Vitals encourages practitioners to provide comprehensive details, encompassing years of experience, areas of specialization, and certifications. This fosters trust-building as consumers gain insights into practitioners' qualifications.
• Granular reviews: The website prompts patients to rate various facets of their healthcare journey from 1-5 stars, spanning staff friendliness, bedside manner, and timeliness. This prompts meaningful patient connections by aligning practitioners with the aspects most important to their needs.
• Video content: Agencies can leverage video content within their client’s Vitals listing to foster a personable connection to prospects browsing reviews. See example here .
• Specialized: Primarily beneficial for healthcare professionals.
• Businesses/industries: Suitable for doctors, dentists, therapists, and healthcare providers aiming to attract patients.

2. Fyt Personal Training

Fyt Personal Training is an emerging review site that focuses on connecting users with certified fitness trainers, making it a valuable resource for fitness and wellness professionals.

Use Cases: Generating new leads is often the biggest challenge for fitness trainers, particularly for those who focus on outdoor exercise or want to get into virtual consultations. Fyt allows consumers to fill in a quiz to determine their health goals, and then find a suitable trainer, with reviews being a central part of the process.

Number of reviews published by clients: Over 700 (Source: Fyt)

Caption/alt text: Reviews of personal trainers on the Fyt website

• Fitness network: Potentially helps fitness trainers generate high-quality leads while saving time from having to do extensive, free consultations to determine clients’ needs.
• Certified professionals: Highlights certified trainers for quality assurance.
• Fitness industry: Relevant primarily for fitness and wellness professionals.
• Businesses/industries: Beneficial for certified fitness trainers, wellness coaches, and professionals within the fitness industry.

Angi’s a platform that specializes in local service providers, offering a trustworthy resource for home and service-related needs.

Use cases: Businesses in the home improvement and service sectors can benefit from positive reviews on Angi’s.

Monthly U.S. traffic: Approximately 9.1 million (Source: Semrush)

Caption/Alt text: A potential customer looks for a quote for a carpeting job and is presented with options for local businesses including their ratings

• Service focus: Specializes in home and local service providers.
• Trusted source: Offers consumers a reliable resource for finding trustworthy service professionals.
• Membership fee: Requires consumers to pay for membership to access reviews.
• Businesses/industries: Ideal for home improvement, contractors, and service providers looking to connect with local customers.

1. G2 Crowd

G2 Crowd is a leading B2B software review platform that offers authentic user reviews and insights for various software products and services. It serves as a valuable resource for businesses seeking software solutions.

Use Cases: G2 Crowd is widely used by businesses to research and compare software options. It provides comprehensive reviews, ratings, and comparisons to help companies make informed decisions about their technology stack.

Alt text: A review of Vendasta by a customer on G2

• Authentic reviews: G2 Crowd's reviews come from verified users, ensuring credibility.
• Detailed comparisons: Allows users to compare software features, pricing, and user experiences.
• Market trends: Provides insights into software trends and user satisfaction.
• Focused on B2B Software: Limited to software and technology reviews.

Businesses/industries: Ideal for agencies, businesses, and organizations seeking software solutions for various functions, from marketing to project management.

2. Capterra

Capterra is another well-known B2B software review platform that assists businesses in finding the right software solutions. It offers a wide range of user-generated reviews and comparisons.

Use Cases: Capterra is a go-to platform for businesses looking to discover, compare, and select software solutions that align with their needs and objectives.

Alt text/caption: A review of an accounting firm on Capterra, which captures specific details about user experiences including cost and contributing factors to the rating

• Diverse software categories: Offers reviews for a wide array of software categories.
• User-generated content: Empowers users to share genuine feedback and experiences.
• Easy comparisons: Allows side-by-side comparisons of software features and pricing.
• Software-focused: Primarily suitable for software reviews and comparisons.

Businesses/industries: Valuable for agencies, businesses, and professionals seeking software solutions for specific operational needs, ranging from accounting to customer relationship management.

In today's digital era, online reviews wield an unprecedented level of influence when it comes to shaping the reputation of businesses. However, it's crucial to understand that the strategy for managing online reputation cannot begin and end at Google alone.

There's clear evidence indicating the proliferation of review websites and a growing preference among customers for platforms that provide specific information tailored to their interests and needs.

From well-known platforms like Google to specialized ones such as Vitals, there exists a diverse array of options to cater to various industries and objectives. By navigating these platforms strategically, agencies can help local businesses harness the potential to elevate their online presence, increase customer engagement, and fuel their growth.

In a world where online reviews can hold significant sway over consumer decisions, it's natural to wonder about their reliability and how businesses can navigate this landscape. Addressing common questions about review site trustworthiness and strategies for obtaining reviews sheds light on a topic often clouded by skepticism.

Are review sites trustworthy?

Review site trustworthiness can vary. While many sites have genuine reviews, there's also the potential for manipulated or fake feedback. It's essential to consider the site's credibility, the range of reviews, and consistency in assessing businesses. Review sites have also taken great steps around improving transparency of ratings calculations and introducing processes to take down suspected fake reviews.

How can businesses get more online reviews?

Businesses can encourage reviews by providing excellent service, asking satisfied customers to leave feedback, and making it easy for customers to share their experiences. The below video walks through strategies that you can leverage to help local business customers get more reviews.

About the Author

Vishal Teckchandani

Vishal Teckchandani is a Content Marketing Specialist at Vendasta. A newcomer to Canada, he spent the last 14 years of his career in Australia as a financial services reporter and TV host. He has written extensively about how technology companies are transforming business processes and lives, and interviewed the CEOs of global banking, payments, SAAS, and cloud storage providers including Afterpay, ELMO Software, Macquarie Group, National Australia Bank, NextDC, and Zip Co. When he’s not creating content, Vishal loves to cook, explore Saskatchewan with his family, and volunteer for his community.

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Home CX Customer Experience

Customer Review Sites: What they are & Top 9

Customer Review Sites are now an integral part of every customer journey. It is, therefore, essential for companies to deal extensively with rating portals. Here are some suggestions.

What are customer review sites?

Customer Review Sites are online platforms that enable consumers to make public opinions and ratings (ratings) on products, companies, or services. As a rule, individual review platforms serve specific industries, such as TripAdvisor for the tourism industry or Yelp for the catering and service industry. 

It is common for opinions to be given in standardized, quantitative ratings like stars or scores with rating portals. These quantitative assessments are usually justified by free text comments describing the brand or customer experience, i.e., the brand and customer experience . 

Rating portals have an opinion-forming function and significantly impact consumers’ purchasing decisions. Consumers use the opinions of other consumers to form an image of brands, products, services, and companies. The ratings, therefore, have a significant impact on consumer buying behavior .

Rating customer review sites as marketing tools

Review portals also have the aspect of a marketing tool. A good ranking on large review platforms can be a great help in customer acquisition because consumers tend to choose the first visible ads, i.e. those that are particularly highly ranked, as a possible purchase option, similar to Google, Amazon, Ebay. 

For this reason, more and more companies are setting themselves the goal within customer experience management of collecting as many positive reviews as possible to improve the ranking and thus be noticed by consumers as early as possible. 

In the third quarter of 2020, the rating portal Yelp.com was visited by around 55 million unique users via mobile devices and 43 million desktop users (source: Statista). These numbers illustrate the importance of review portals for companies and ensuring positive customer experiences to receive as many positive reviews as possible. 

The more positive this customer experience is, the more willing consumers are to reward this experience with a positive rating on a customer review site. The principle of the Net Promoter Score illustrates this clearly.

Importance of rating portals for companies

For companies, rating portals are essential for quality management, measuring customer satisfaction, and determining online reputation score . Anonymously on the Internet, one is often inclined to write one’s opinion with less inhibition than when one is asked for one’s opinion face-to-face in a shop. 

Evaluation portals thus help companies to control and monitor their own reputation management since the public image of a company is of enormous importance for long-term customer loyalty . 

Reviews on review sites allow businesses to identify potential improvement opportunities and work to provide better customer experiences. Evaluation portals thus ensure unembellished and unfiltered customer feedback.

Importance of rating portals for consumers

Rating portals are useful resources for consumers to find the best service, the best product and the most popular brands as quickly and easily as possible. In reality, it looks like this: you want to eat in a burger restaurant, for example, your cell phone is pulled out and you search the Yelp app for a burger restaurant near your location. 

Several corresponding restaurant offers are then displayed and consumers then decide which of these burger restaurants to visit based on the ratings given by other consumers. For consumers, this means finding a restaurant that offers them the best possible customer experience, and for the restaurant, it means finding new customers. An actual win-win situation.

Advantages of customer review sites

There are pros and cons of customer reviews for companies that must be kept in mind when deciding to display products and services in customer review sites.

Some of the advantages are:

• Real customer feedback from real customers on a third party website for free.
• Promotion of customer trust and better chances of gaining customer loyalty.
• Improvement in SEO results and online brand’s corporate reputation .
• Learning about the customer experience to improve company’s efforts. 

Top 9 Customer Review Sites at a glance

1. google my business.

The Google My Business rating portal provided by Google is one of the most essential platforms for the product, brand, service, or company ratings. It is easy to use, straightforward and very useful, especially for small to medium-sized companies, to optimize their ranking in Google search. According to SEO experts, the ratings influence the Google ranking. 

Not only is the higher ranking a clear plus point for the Google My Business rating portal, but positive ratings, as already mentioned above, have a significant influence on the consumer’s decision. 

Google is an important element in almost every customer journey , whether it is online shopping or a visit to a restaurant. There is now almost always at least one online touchpoint with the Google search engine, which is hardly surprising given a market share of more than 90% among all search engines. 

Most of the time, the first thing that catches the eye of Google users are the reviews of the listed companies. And that’s why Google My Business is so important because customers from the first opinion here, and as we all know, that’s one of the most important ones.

2. Trip Advisor

Founded in 2000, TripAdvisor is undoubtedly one of the most important and largest rating portals for the tourism industry. It is also important to note that TripAdvisor is, above all a comparison portal through which you can book hotels, experiences and restaurants. 

With almost 900 million reviews, more than 9 million establishments have been rated so far. In 2019, around 460 million unique users visited TripAdvisor every month. You can see from the key figures mentioned that this evaluation and comparison portal offers a huge marketing potential for companies. 

Due to the specialization of TripAdvisor, every company in the tourism industry is well advised to position itself as well as possible and to be rated positively. Not only in terms of ranking in search results, but also in terms of quality and reputation management. 

Businesses have an average of about 100 reviews on TripAdvisor. The large hotel and restaurant chains in particular have several hundred ratings per location, and of course, they are not all positive. It is important not to simply leave negative reviews uncommented or not to draw any conclusions from them at all because you do not consider it important. 

First, you could lose customers who have had negative experiences for other locations, and moreover, all reviews are important to optimize your offers, especially if you are pursuing a high-price strategy or the market is highly competitive. 

In addition, companies should always respond to negative criticism to signal to customers that you take their ratings first and want to keep them. Due to the high number of users and importance of the TripAdvisor rating platform and the arguments mentioned, companies in the tourism industry should promote good quality and reputation management here.

Yelp was founded in 2004 by former PayPal employees Russel Simmons and Jeremy Stoppelman. Around 200 million reviews and 16 years later, Yelp is one of the top rating platforms for reviews and ratings in the field of gastronomy. 

Unlike TripAdvisor, Yelp is less industry-specific. Yelp gives you the ability to rate almost any service. The structure of the rating portal is somewhat reminiscent of a social network. Yelp offers its users the opportunity to share and like, users can interact more with each other on Yelp than is the case with other rating portals. 

Reviews and ratings thus spread faster, this applies to both positive and negative ratings. Yelp’s business model is purely based on advertising revenue, companies pay money to advertise on Yelp. Reputation and quality management is extremely important here. 

Due to the faster distribution of reviews, the viewability of reviews is significantly higher than on other review platforms. That’s why you should focus even more on responding directly to negative comments in order to possibly improve the review.

Kununu is a rating platform on which employees can rate companies. This review is publicly available and provides a potential new employee with an opportunity to find out more about the company. According to their own information, almost 965,000 companies with 4.5 million reviews have been rated on the Kununu rating portal. 

Employees can rate the company based on 13 characteristics in 4 categories. Applicants can also rate the application process. Kununu has become a confidential source in the DACH region when it comes to publicly available employee feedback. 

The goal of von Kununu is that everyone finds the right company for themselves and, conversely, every company finds the right talents. 

The rating portal G2 is better known in specialist circles and in technology companies since G2 specializes exclusively in software. The market for software and web applications of all kinds is so huge and therefore confusing that G2 is a very useful platform to find out about customer experiences in this area before deciding to buy or license software.

That’s why G2 is also one of the best-known B2B marketplaces in the world. Review platforms have a significant impact on the marketing and sales of companies. That’s why companies should take their presence here very seriously and seize the opportunity to generate leads and increase sales through as many positive reviews as possible.

6. Facebook

Wondering why Facebook is listed here? Of course, Facebook is not really a review portal in the true sense, but primarily a social network. But Facebook also offers users on the so-called company pages to rate products, services and brands. When talking about Facebook, the number of users should not go unmentioned.

Facebook has 1.9 billion users, 342 million of them in Europe alone. This is one of the reasons why Facebook is an indispensable marketing tool for companies. A company that has a company page on Facebook can therefore be rated by Facebook members.

Depending on the presence and popularity of the company, the visibility of these company pages and thus also that of the ratings fluctuates, but nevertheless, due to the high number of users, it can be assumed that the visibility is similar to that on classic rating portals. And finally, as a company, you can also book advertisements via Facebook, which significantly increases visibility.

7. Trustpilot

Trustpilot is certainly one of the most important review portals in the world. Trustpilot is also one of the 1% most popular websites worldwide. No wonder, then, that Trustpilot has become an indispensable part of many a customer journey.

When you think of a customer journey, you probably think of the usual touchpoints such as Google search, social media, TV, radio, etc. On average, a customer often has more than 20 touch points before a product is bought. And each of these touchpoints has an impact on whether customers decide to make a purchase.

Trustpilot has over 4 million reviews per month, which means there’s a very good chance a potential customer will stumble across a review of your business through Trustpilot. Trustpilot also offers companies services such as getting more reviews and thus greater visibility on this important review portal. This should help to create greater trust among consumers.

8. Trusted shops

Trusted Shops probably has the most well-known seal in the world of e-commerce. With its Trusted Shops seal, the rating portal guarantees that a company that receives this award is a reliable provider. Trusted Shops attaches great importance to the fact that ratings are authentic and not fake.

Test analysis and artificial intelligence ensure that suspicious reviews are identified and deleted accordingly. This has the advantage that consumers have a high level of trust in the ratings and can be sure that they are not unfair entries. On the one hand, Trusted Shop fulfills the purpose of a rating portal, on the other hand, it is also a company that ensures the security of the consumers when shopping online.

As the name suggests, Golocal is a review platform that aims to make it as easy as possible for consumers to find local service providers. In addition, the rating portal, similar to Yelp, offers the opportunity to connect and exchange ideas with other users via a forum. For companies, Golocal provides a widget for integration into their website. Consumers can access the reviews on golocal to find out more about the company and write reviews about their experiences themselves.

LEARN ABOUT: Consumer Decision Journey

Always keep an eye on customer review sites

Rating portals are very important for companies because, with millions of users, they are real opinion-makers and are therefore integrated into the customer journey. The great marketing and sales potential that companies with a particularly large number of good ratings have is of course the main reason why companies should take rating portals very seriously. 

Rating portals are also extremely important for quality and reputation management, as this has a direct impact on sales. Good reputation management can ensure that consumers remain loyal to companies and recommend products, brands and services. Quality management should be one of the most important topics in the company, and rating portals are also a valuable feedback provider for this.

Companies should therefore take rating portals very seriously and provide human resources to monitor them and react immediately to negative ratings. QuestionPro is the perfect solution for this. With the web app for online reputation management , you always have an overview of all important rating portals on a single user interface and can react to ratings directly from the app without having to constantly log into each individual rating portal and navigate through the ratings .

→  Information about the reputation management app from QuestionPro.

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22 Niche Review Sites Your Business Can’t Afford to Ignore

Yelp isn't the only place where customers can find your local business. Here are more top niche review sites in healthcare, legal, home services, and real estate.

Fortunately, nowadays it’s rare that you have to explain to a business owner why they should care about online reviews. Most businesses “get it.”

However, with everything else they have going on, it’s not uncommon for a business owner to get short-sighted and think that as long as they’ve got Yelp or Google covered, they’re good.

That’s where it’s your responsibility as an SEO to remind them that those aren’t the only sites that matter.

I’m not just talking about Facebook, the Better Business Bureau, and Bing Places. Depending on the industry, there’s probably at least one or two other sites where customers are finding your client’s business and comparing them against the competition.

Search for “best your-business-type-goes-here in city” and you’ll see what I mean. Unless your client is exceptionally savvy, phenomenal at SEO, and has been sprinkled with pixie dust by the Google gods, the first page of results is likely to be all review or directory sites, preceded by the local pack.

Do Niche Review Sites Really Matter?

Yes! Otherwise I wouldn’t be writing this post.

If you need some help convincing your client, toss one of these stats their way:

• One-third of patients report using healthcare-focused review sites to find doctors.
• 63 percent of consumers  use a search engine to find online reviews. Only a third go straight to the review website.
• 81 percent of millennial-aged consumers prefer lawyers with online reviews.
• Review signals count for 7 percent of Moz ‘s localized organic ranking factors.
• A positive reputation and star rating can boost your rankings , drive more visitors, and build trust among prospective customers.

These are the top niche review sites in the healthcare, legal, home services, and real estate industries. If your client’s business serves customers in one of these categories, you’ll impress them with your knowledge of the space by recommending these sites.

ZocDoc made its mark in the healthcare review space in 2007 by offering instant online bookings with listed providers via the website and mobile app. Patients can search by city, specialty, or insurance. While it’s free to be listed , you have to pay a fee to offer appointment scheduling.

Wellness.com

Wellness.com may be an online resource first and a reviews directory second, but with 3 million visitors using its directory services each month, health providers can’t ignore this site.

Doctors and health practices can sign up here .

RateMDs lists more than 2 million doctor ratings and reviews and claims to have helped over 160 million consumers. Customers can search by specialty, city, and doctor gender.

The site also rates hospitals on cleanliness and features. It’s free to sign up.

Healthgrades

Healthgrades provides ratings for doctors and hospitals. Consumers can search by specialty or name.

Their annual Patient Safety and Experience Awards recognize the top 10 percent of hospitals in the U.S. Thirty percent of the 30+ million monthly visitors make an appointment through the site.

RealPatientRatings

RealPatientRatings.com focuses exclusively on plastic surgery. The site claims nearly 150,000 verified reviews of actual patients. Unlike many of the sites on this list, members do have to pay a hefty $329 monthly fee to get listed .

SeniorAdvisor.com

SeniorAdvisor.com carved a niche in the senior care space. The site lists over 100,000 reviews of senior living facilities and home health care providers in the U.S. and Canada, and also allows customers to report on pricing compared to facilities. Their Annual Best of Awards recognize the top 1 percent of care providers in the country.

Avvo is an online directory site of lawyers featuring ratings and reviews. They’ve been around since 2006. Avvo claims that 97 percent of U.S. attorneys are listed on the site, so you definitely don’t want to be one of the few left out.

The Avvo Rating uses a mathematical scale from 1 to 10 based on a combination of the attorney’s profile and other data that can be found online. (Fun fact: the word avvo comes from avvocato, the Italian word for lawyer.)

Lawyers.com

Lawyers.com differs from Avvo in that it collects ratings from both clients and peers of its listed attorneys, which represent 95 percent of attorneys in the U.S. and Canada. The site boasts 15 million monthly users. An added perk is that Lawyers.com is part of the LexisNexis and Martindale-Hubbel networks, which your client’s firm may already be using.

Home Services/Contractors

Angie’s list.

One of the oldest review sites in the book, Angie’s List turned the tables by making consumers pay to gain access to reviews. Today the site allows basic members to join for free to access over 10 million reviews.

Angie’s List’s primary focus is on home contractors and service companies, including auto repair, fitness, salon/spa, and childcare. Businesses can sign up here .

HomeAdvisor

While smaller than Angie’s List, HomeAdvisor also gathers online reviews of companies that provide services in your home and sends leads to listed businesses. The site has over 5 million reviews and claims a membership of 30 million homeowners. Businesses can sign up here .

Real Estate

Zillow (and trulia).

Zillow is the  online real estate marketplace, with reviews of realtors, brokers, lenders, builders, and property managers. Their database includes more than 110 million homes for sale, rent, and not yet on the market. An innovative map overlay offers school ratings and crime and traffic statistics.

Zillow bought Trulia in 2014 and consolidated listings across both sites. Agents can sign up here .

ApartmentRatings

The apartment dweller’s answer to Zillow and Trulia, Apartment Ratings hosts nearly 2.5 million resident reviews of apartment complexes, as well as an easy directory for renters looking for apartments by price, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, and customer rating. Property managers can learn more here .

Honorable Mentions

Food and hospitality businesses have been in the review game the longest, so you and your client both probably already know about these sites. However, I’d feel remiss not mentioning them, so here goes.

Restaurants, cafes, food trailers, bakeries, and anyone in the food business should also be sure to manage their listings on:

• Zomato (formerly UrbanSpoon)

Hotels, motels, and travel agents should monitor listings on:

• TripAdvisor

Auto industry businesses will want to optimize reviews on:

• Edmunds.com
• DealerRater

It’s also a good idea for all businesses to take a look at their Indeed and GlassDoor profiles. Bad reviews can keep good employees out.

Which Review Sites Matter Most for Your Business?

As I covered in How to Optimize for Google’s “Reviews Around the Web” , the best way to prioritize the most critical sites for your client’s business is by observing which sites are already showing up when you search for “best [your industry + location] reviews.”

The results are likely to include Google, Yelp, Facebook, and perhaps TripAdvisor, depending on your client’s industry. Besides the directory and review sites, there might also be one or two blog posts appearing on page 1. These blogs are excellent backlink opportunities  for your client.

Once you have a list of review sites, prioritize the ones where your client either has no rating or a negative star rating. Start a regular outreach program asking happy customers to review.

You’ll also want to help your client  respond to the reviews that are already out there.

Niche review sites are an excellent way for your client to show up on hard-to-rank queries like “best [industry] in [city]” or “[business type] near me.” Get your client’s business listed on the relevant sites for their niche, boost their profile with a positive 4+ star rating, and help customers find them.

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Featured Image: Pixabay Screenshots by Amelia Willson. Taken June 2017.

Amelia Willson is a freelance writer, content marketer and SEO strategist who helps businesses succeed online. A graduate of Wellesley ...

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Top 10 Consumer & Business Review Websites

• April 25, 2023

Consumers and businesses rely heavily on reviews to make purchasing decisions correctly. No doubt, with the plethora of business review sites available, it can be challenging to identify the best websites to use. In this blog post, we will discuss the top ten consumer and business review websites to help you make an informed decision.

💡 Reviews Matter: Reasons Why You Should Not Ignore It

In the age of the internet, online reviews have become an essential part of the decision-making process for consumers. These reviews can significantly impact a business’s reputation and influence whether or not potential customers choose to buy from them. Here, we will discuss the reasons why you should not ignore reviews and their impact on businesses.

🤝🏻 Builds Trust With Customers

Reviews provide an essential element of social proof that can help build trust with potential customers . Positive reviews demonstrate that other people have had a good experience with the product or service, which can help convince a potential customer to buy from the business. However, business review websites can help to build trust with customers easily.

🛒 Influences Buying Decisions

Reviews have a significant impact on buying decisions. A survey shows 93% of consumers read reviews before making a purchase decision. Positive reviews can help influence a customer’s decision to buy from a particular business, while negative reviews can drive them away. And having bookmarked one of the business review websites help to take decision accurately.

📈 Improves Website SEO

Online reviews can improve a business’s search engine optimization ( SEO ) by providing fresh and relevant content for search engines to crawl. Reviews can also improve a business’s local SEO by including location-specific keywords in the review.

🌟 Helps Identify Areas For Improvement

Negative reviews can provide businesses with insights into areas they need to improve. By addressing the issues raised in negative reviews, businesses can make improvements to their products or services and provide a better customer experience.

🔎 Demonstrates Business Transparency

By responding to reviews, businesses can demonstrate transparency and a commitment to customer satisfaction. Responding to negative reviews in a constructive and professional manner can show potential customers that the business takes feedback seriously and is committed to improving.

Reviews matter , and ignoring them can have a significant impact on a business’s reputation and bottom line. So, the next time you come across a review, take it seriously and use it as an opportunity to improve your business. Let’s get you familiar with the business review websites that you can count on!

🎯 Top 10 Consumer & Business Review Websites You Need To Bookmark Now!

Now that you know the importance of customer reviews for your business, let’s move on to the top 10 business review websites that you need to bookmark right now. These sites cover a wide range of industries and provide valuable information and insights into the products and services that you might be interested in.

Whether you’re looking for the best restaurants in your area, the top-rated hotels for your next vacation, or the most reliable software for your business, these review websites have got you covered.

So, if you’re ready to take the guesswork out of your purchasing decisions and get the most bang for your buck, let’s dive in and explore the top 10 business review websites right away.

#1 Yelp: Connects People With Local Businesses

With over 90% of online consumers purchasing after visiting Yelp , it is one of the most popular small business review websites.

Yelp has become synonymous with business reviews with over 90 million visitors. There is a vast repository of business information available on Yelp in almost every category. Furthermore, it is a popular forum for local businesses to advertise. 

Yelp pays commissions based on the number of purchases customers make through its platform when it designs discounted promotional deals.

✔️ Provides users with a comprehensive view of businesses

✔️ Trusted reviews that help users make informed decisions

✔️ Build a local community of people who share their experiences and opinions

✔️ Offers a mobile app that users can use to search for businesses on the go

✔️ Enhance business engagement by responding to customer reviews

❌ As a business, you have no control over the listed reviews

#2 Google My Business: Boost Brands Visibility

Google My Business holds the second position in our expert’s top 10 business review websites list. With Google My Business, you are able to customize the way your business appears on Google Search and Maps. A Knowledge Graph window appears in your search results when customers search for your company on Google.

Among these details are the name of your business, the address, the hours of operation, and any feedback from customers. Having a Google My Business listing will improve your online presence and make potential clients aware of where in the world your business is located.

✔️ Helps business marketing with rich Media

✔️ Direct connection between customers and businesses

✔️ Understanding competition is super easy with insightful data

✔️ Get a business presence on Google map listing

❌ Not able to add critical information, such as a phone number

💡 Recommended Reading: How To Get More Google Business Reviews For Your Store?

#3 ReviewX: Multi-criteria Rating & Reviews For WooCommerce

ReviewX is a product review plugin for WordPress that allows users to create and manage product review pages, ratings, and comments on their websites. It includes features such as custom review forms, email notifications, and integration with popular eCommerce platforms. 

The plugin is designed to help WooCommerce website owners improve their SEO and user engagement by providing a platform for customers to leave reviews and ratings for products.

Using ReviewX you can add authentic customer reviews for your WooCommerce products that result in gaining credibility and speed up WooCommerce performance . This WordPress plugin is easy to set up and has an interactive dashboard that works seamlessly with any WooCommerce store and WordPress custom post type.

✔️ Improve SEO and increase conversions

✔️ Gain customer insights and increase sales

✔️ Enhance user engagement and product development

✔️ Increase customers’ trust and site credibility

❌ Completely free to use but need to get the PRO package to get all the exclusive features

#4 Better Business Bureau: Review Website For Small Businesses

Founded in 1912, the Better Business Bureau has been indexing businesses and giving them a rating based on various factors. Nearly 100 of the BBB’s offices are independently operated, many of them in the United States.

It is considered one of the old and most renowned business review websites. In addition, BBB offers dispute resolution services, directory listings, and workshops on how to grow your business with Google.

✔️ Offers top-quality business marketing services

✔️ An effective dispute resolution process for consumers

✔️ Provides awards to recognize small businesses

❌ Generates not much traffic: Medium

#5 Foursquare: Best For Customer Analytics

The Foursquare app allows you to search for and explore local places. Users can discover new places and businesses through the application by utilizing other apps. Reviews on Foursquare are mainly from restaurants, but anyone can submit one. As a result, it is rated as one of the world’s top business review websites.

In addition, users can offer suggestions to others visiting the businesses. In addition, companies can offer customer incentives and post tips. It is common for websites and maps to use Foursquare data.

✔️ Target customers with real-time location service.

✔️ Must-work tips for small businesses around the globe

✔️ Get insights for campaigns like Black Friday

❌ Reviews are not as numerous as competitors

#6 ConsumerAffairs: Free Resources At Its Best

CustomerAffairs , a platform customer news and resource center founded in 1998, features unbiased, reputable information about customers, recalls, and user evaluations about a variety of brands. For these reasons, it is considered one of the trusted business review websites.

It provides customer support, marketing, sales, and product development capabilities for your local business. Use ConsumerAffairs to engage your local consumers.

✔️ Top-notch sell-buyer communication

✔️ Get new and potential customers lead easily

✔️ Using the website is easier than ever

❌ Inadequate options for a free trial

#7 Yellow Pages: Best For Advertising & Listing

Here’s another business review website, Yellow Pages ! Its main selling point is low advertising cost which makes the site very important for small businesses.

Yellow Pages’ selling point is its low advertising cost, making it an inexpensive option for small businesses. Businesses use this capability to target specific neighborhoods, suburbs, and cities within a short driving distance.

However, getting in touch with residents of nearby regions, or even from outside the area, is one-way local businesses can increase their consumer base.

✔️ Advertising cost is almost free: very low or no charges

✔️ Outstanding tools facility for adverts

✔️ No hard labor, easy-to-do

❌ Losing popularity recently

#8 Trustpilot: The Global Review Platform

Trustpilot is a website that hosts user-generated reviews of businesses. It was founded in Denmark in 2007 and has since grown to become one of the largest review platforms in the world. Trustpilot allows consumers to share their experiences with a business by writing a review and rating the company on a scale of one to five stars.

One of the main advantages of Trustpilot is that it provides transparency and accountability for businesses. Consumers can read reviews from other customers before deciding whether to do business with a company, and businesses can respond to reviews to address any concerns or issues raised by customers.

✔️ Boost sales with reliable feedback

✔️ Get consumer insights in real-time

✔️ Globally acknowledged review platform

❌ Pricing is considerably high for small businesses

#9 Business Consumer Alliance: Promote Local Business Products

The Business Consumer Alliance (BCA) is a non-profit organization that provides consumers with information and ratings on businesses. It was founded in 1928 and is based in California, USA.

The BCA collects information on businesses from various sources, including consumer complaints, government agencies, and industry associations. They use this information to create a report on each business, which includes the company’s rating, accreditation status, and any complaints or legal actions against them.

✔️ Get business-related conflicts solutions easily

✔️ Promoting products with ease

✔️ Boost customer feedback and build credibility

❌ User complaints about its claim to be part of BBB

#10 TrustRadius: Trustworthy & Transparent Than Ever

TrustRadius is a worldwide acknowledged business review website that serves reviews for both buyers and sellers. They support businesses in leveraging their consumers’ genuine voices across sales and marketing platforms.

They collect feedback from their consumers on a large scale, then distribute the content where it may have the most influence.

✔️ Transparency at its best

✔️ Buch of resources for tech marketers or vendors

✔️ Authentic and reliable information that helps to take a perfect decision

❌ Lack of free packages

❌ Many things to learn in times of onboarding

🔓 Unlock The Power Of Reviews With The Best Business Review Websites

Business review websites are undoubtedly an essential tool for businesses and consumers alike. Whether you’re a small business owner or a consumer searching for the best products and services, utilizing these top review websites can help you make decisions that align with your needs and preferences. And, if you own a WooCommerce business and want to boost sales, you may consider purchasing ReviewX .

What do you think about these business review websites? Share your thoughts in the comment section and let us know your opinion. If you like this article, subscribe to our blog for more content or join our Facebook community .

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MZ Wallace Metro Backpack Deluxe Review: A Stylish And Well-Organized Bag For Daily Use

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The last backpack I owned was a light purple Jansport that I used throughout grammar school and middle school—it was perfect for toting books and notebooks to and from class. In college, I transitioned to a large tote bag that was a bit more stylish, and I honestly haven’t owned another backpack since then. I wrote off backpacks as a functional carrier rather than something stylish that could complement an outfit. However, this changed when I discovered MZ Wallace , a female-founded brand specializing in high-quality bags and accessories.

The MZ Wallace Metro Backpack Deluxe is durable and spacious, with an impressive number of pockets.

Throughout the summer, I took this backpack on countless trips and used it as a work bag to see how it performed in real-world conditions. In particular, I wanted to evaluate the versatility and durability, as many aesthetically pleasing backpacks are less sturdy than they appear. After extensive testing, I was incredibly impressed with this bag and only noted one significant downside. Keep reading for my full review of the MZ Wallace Metro Backpack Deluxe .

MZ Wallace Metro Deluxe Backpack

I am a commerce editor for Forbes Vetted covering beauty, fashion, travel and home. Prior to joining Forbes, I held positions at BuzzFeed and Dotdash Meredith where I was responsible for curating lifestyle content and testing products for real-world insights. My work has appeared in Women’s Health, Men’s Health, BuzzFeed, Brit + Co, Everyday Health and more. I hold a Bachelor’s Degree in English/Creative Writing from Marist College and currently reside in Brooklyn, New York.

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Material: Rec oxford, leather trim |  Dimensions:  12.2 x 6.9 x 16.5 inches |  Colors: 4 colors

• Those looking for a stylish yet functional bag
• Superior interior organization

Skip if: 

• You’re looking for something more affordable
• You prefer a patterned or light-colored backpack

The Best Travel Totes To Store Items On Flights, Beach Trips And More

The best camping blankets to stay warm and comfortable outdoors.

MZ Wallace bags are crafted from Rec Oxford fabric with a padded, almost quilted appearance. The material has a smooth hand feel, and the bag doesn’t look overly bulky, even when filled to the brim. As far as backpacks go, I found this design sleek and attractive, and it functioned well as both a work and travel backpack. I wouldn’t be embarrassed to wear this into a corporate office, and it elevated my normal travel ensemble.

The main compartment has a zip-around closure and a top handle that’s easy to grab. There’s a total of three exterior pockets, six interior pockets and a luggage sleeve that makes this excellent for travel. What’s more, the two padded straps are easily adjustable, so I was able to find the ideal length for my body.

The fabrication has a bit of give, so if you need to squeeze in a few extra items for travel, it’s easy enough to do so. I also appreciated that the material is waterproof, so I didn’t worry about getting caught in the rain, which happened several times throughout the last month. This style comes in four colors (Black, Dawn, Magnet and Cornflower Blue), which are all darker shades and will prevent the bag from showing stains and other signs of wear.

The Organization

As mentioned earlier, there are three exterior and six interior pockets. On the outside, there’s one large zippered pocket and two smaller side pockets for an umbrella and water bottle. The front pocket is deceptively spacious, and I could stash essentials like my wallet, phone charger, lip balm, gum and much more. The interior was equally spacious, with enough room to pack my MacBook Air, toiletry bag, everyday makeup bag, mini hair straightener, sunglasses, full-size hair brush, backup charger and several days' worth of clothing. Despite how much I could pack, the abundance of smaller pockets kept smaller items well-organized and easy to grab. The interior laptop sleeve also kept my laptop secure (and scuff-free), and there’s a key ring strap, so you never have to worry about them dropping to the bottom of the bag.

The Durability

The brand’s signature material, Rec Oxford, uses pre-consumer materials to lower the brand’s environmental impact. The trim and zipper pulls are crafted from Italian leather, which adds a luxurious touch to the bag. During testing, I filled this bag to the brim, and it effortlessly toted my belongings from one location to the next. I frequently packed and unpacked it, noting how the zippers felt, if the pockets sagged, and if the fabric showed signs of wear, and to my surprise, the backpack held up beautifully. The zippers slide smoothly in both directions without catching or snagging, and the backpack retains its shape and color—no fading, stretching, rips or tears.

Final Thoughts

After using this backpack for several months, I was impressed with its interior and exterior organization, attractive design, and durability. From a wedding in the Adirondacks to crowded cáfes in Brooklyn, the MZ Wallace Metro Backpack Deluxe securely transported my belongings and looked great while doing so. I wore this backpack with both workout clothes and dressier outfits, and it didn’t look out of place. Additionally, the Rec Oxford is waterproof and highly durable, and I expect it to hold up well over time.

However, this backpack is admittedly a splurge at $275, so if you’re looking for an affordable pick that you won’t mind getting dirty or beat up, this may not be the best option. Everlane’s The ReNew Transit Backpack ($98) and Away’s The Everywhere Zip Backpack ($195), which our fashion team highlighted in our review of the best laptop backpacks , have a modern, uncluttered design but are more affordable. Quince also has a strikingly similar style—The Transit Quilted Commuter Backpack ($89.90)—with a quilted exterior, but it only has three interior pockets and a few color options. I also wish the MZ Wallace Metro Backpack Deluxe came in a wider range of colors, as the selection is a bit limited, but I tend to gravitate towards dark, neutral hues, so this wasn’t a problem for me.

My Expertise

I’m a commerce editor for Forbes Vetted, covering a wide variety of topics in beauty, fashion, travel and home. I have over a decade of firsthand experience testing bags, shoes and other accessories. I’m constantly on the go, scrutinizing bags and accessories to see how they hold up to the rigors of city life and frequent traveling. I’ve tried top products from various brands throughout my career, including favorites like Paravel, Away, Madewell, Everlane, L.L.Bean, Lands’ End, Rains and more.

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Prose Sells Custom Skin Care and Hair Care Crafted Uniquely for You—But Is It Worth It?

All products are independently selected by our editors. If you buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission.

I spend more time thinking about hair than the average man, I suspect. Partly, that’s because I’m a men’s grooming writer, and I have boxes full of shampoos, beard oils , pomades , conditioners, and co-washes and partly it's because I give a lot of thought to the best shampoos . I would go to war for Baxter of California’s Deep Clean apple cider vinegar shampoo, and I use Harry’s for dandruff, and Geologie Co-Wash for moisture, but I've been curious about Prose shampoo, as well.

You may know the start-up custom hair care, turned skin care line from its Instagram ads that tout different combinations of its hair oil, pre-shampoo scalp masks, dry shampoo, curl creams, and leave-in conditioners as ways to solve key hair needs. The system of products are meant to work with your hair texture to give you good hair days on repeat—minus a lot of the ingredients that folks want to side-step these days including sulfates, parabens, GMOs, phthalates, mineral oils, and silicone (plus its also dye-free and cruelty-free).

If it’s your first time hearing about Prose, getting a set of custom skin care and hair care isn’t really all that daunting. You simply start by taking a questionnaire about how your hair feels (the oiliness, the hydration, whether it’s frizzy, etc.). Then, you answer a few other questions like your fragrance preferences and your hair goals to develop your curation of Prose products. The products show up at your door step. You lather up. And repeat.

To help give you an honest review about whether the skin care and hair care products are worth it, I tried them for a month. Here's my take on what you should get now and what you can skip.

Prose Custom Hair Care Review

Personalized Haircare Set

• Excellent personalization and product packaging
• Wide selection of fresh-smelling fragrances
• Fragrance-free options also available
• Almost immediate effects from some of the hair products
• More expensive than other haircare lines

If you’re worried that Prose’s personalization is a gimmick—don’t. It’s the real deal. With both the skin care and hair care product lines, I was impressed with the degree of personalization. Prose has no off-the-shelf products; you have to order a custom formula. The initial “consultation” hits a sweet spot: It feels in-depth without feeling like homework. It asks all the questions you’d expect—hair type, age, length, dry/oily roots, split ends, etc.—as well as some questions you wouldn't. Prose uses your ZIP Code to take into account the weather and pollution in your area, as well as how often you need to use shampoo and your overall hair goals. (If you don’t have hair goals, Prose probably isn’t for you, babe.)

As a former hipster, current Brooklyn resident, and elder millennial, I’m a sucker for vibey aesthetics and cool product packaging. Beauty is a virtue unto itself, and this is another area where Prose excels. The product packaging doesn’t contain any unnecessary plastic, and it’s very satisfying to see the name “Timothy” on the product labels. My biggest gripe is that the hair care products don’t include directions. That’s fine for the shampoo and conditioner, but I had to look up directions for the hair care mask online.

Custom Shampoo

Custom Conditioner

Custom Hair Mask

Let’s just get this out of the way: Prose makes a damn fine shampoo and conditioner. The effects were immediate. Based on the online hair consultation, Prose said that my products were made to enhance shine and extend color. My hair felt different after two or three washes, and after weeks of using it, I experienced less frizz and more shine, as promised. My hair also felt luxuriously soft. Too soft, to be honest. If I had longer hair, or if I were a woman, I think I’d genuinely love these products but given that I need my hair to mold itself as needed, I found this to be tough.

Of the three products that I tried, the conditioner was my favorite, but the shampoo also impressed me. I was able to use it less than most other shampoos, and my hair always felt cleaner and less greasy the day after. Of the three, I found the mask to be slightly confusing to use and time-consuming to properly apply, so it would be my option to skip if you were choosing.

Prose Custom Skin Care Review

Prose Custom Skin Care Subscription

• Almost immediate effects from some of the skin products
• Skin care set doesn’t include a retinol

I genuinely loved the Prose facial cleanser, and it’s the product I most strongly recommend ordering a la carte if you don’t want to commit to a subscription. I also had a good experience with the moisturizer and serum, and overall. I’ve tested a lot of skin care lines in my career, including the customized skin care offering from Geologie, and Prose definitely has a more pared-back approach with a very edited selection of three products: a moisturizer, serum, and face wash.

While the face wash was the clear standout, I had a good experience with the entire regimen. I would've liked the chance to spring for an undereye serum, but I think three products is the right amount for a subscription service. This was my main problem with Geologie, Prose’s biggest competition for custom men’s skin care; Geologie’s set included way too much product for me.

Custom Cleanser

This gel cleanser helped whisk away all of the acne-causing stuff that usually lurks on my skin without overly drying it out. It feels refreshing, and I chose a nice citrusy scent, though I normally avoid skin care products with fragrances, but I’m hooked on the lime-forward Pacifica scent, which also has notes of lavender, lemongrass, and cypress. The fragrance is definitely an area where Prose excels. Plus, folks with sensitive skin and noses can choose fragrance-free options, another win for personalization.

Custom Moisturizer

Custom Serum

The Prose moisturizer was another standout for me. If you appreciate “a little goes a long way” type products, then I think you’ll like it, too. Just a dab or two was enough, and I learned quickly not to overapply this one. Based on my skin care profile, “Timothy’s Moisturizer” includes niacinamide, squalene, fermented rice, lime extract, and red algae extract. My serum was hyaluronic acid-based, with added botanicals.

The serum was my least favorite of the trio, but I enjoyed it as well. I didn’t love the consistency, which was a little too milky for me, but I did like the effects. I do wish one of these products contained retinol, although the serum does have bakuchiol, which Prose describes as a “natural, gentle alternative to retinol.” Personally, I say, give me the retinol!

So, would I pay for Prose? Those who are ready to upgrade from drugstore shampoo and conditioner should definitely try Prose, which has earned its reputation in the hair care space. You can also try it for a month before signing up for a subscription, which makes it a low-risk investment.

I think the custom skin care set would be a smart investment for anyone who takes their skin care routine seriously (but not too seriously). Add in face sunscreen with at least SPF 30 , and you’ve got everything you need to keep your skin looking its best.

Prose is on the pricier side compared to drugstore offerings. Seasonal promotions and subscription discounts can bring the price of the haircare subscription to $58; you can get the skin care set for $73 if you catch all the available discounts. I’d recommend starting with a more expensive one-time order and then signing up for a subscription if you see changes to your skin. Plus, you could probably skip every third month or so, as Prose sends subscribers products every four weeks that we'd be able to make last longer.

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• CORRESPONDENCE
• 10 September 2024

The pharmaceutical industry must embrace synthetic alternatives to horseshoe-crab blood

• Tim Cernak 0 &
• Lawrence Niles 1

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.

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Wildlife Restoration Partnerships, Greenwich, New Jersey, USA.

The inclusion in the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) of a chapter on endotoxin testing (chapter 86), is a pivotal moment in the biomedical industry’s relationship with nature. Chapter 86 in this summary of drug information allows pharmaceutical companies to fully adopt the recombinant Factor C (rFC) assay, a synthetic alternative to the Limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL) test, which is derived from horseshoe-crab blood.

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Nature 633 , 286 (2024)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-02893-6

Competing Interests

T.C.’s lab has been supported by MilliporeSigma, Johnson & Johnson, Relay Therapeutics, Merck Sharp & Dohme, SPT Labtech, National Defense Medical Center, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ministry of Education Taiwan, and Entos, Inc.. T.C. has consulted for the University of Dundee Drug Discovery Unit, Scorpion Therapeutics, Relay Therapeutics, Amgen, Genentech, Janssen, Pfizer, Vertex, MilliporeSigma, the US Food & Drug Administration, Gilead, AbbVie, Corteva, Syngenta, Firmenich, Biogen, Bayer, UCB Biopharma, National Taiwan University, AstraZeneca, Grunenthal, and Iambic Therapeutics (previously known as Entos, Inc.). He holds equity in Scorpion Therapeutics and is a co-founder of and equity holder in Iambic Therapeutics.

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The Ohio State University (OSU)

Professor/Associate Professor/Assistant Professor/Senior Lecturer/Lecturer

The School of Science and Engineering (SSE) at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen (CUHK-Shenzhen) sincerely invites applications for mul...

Shenzhen, China

The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen (CUHK Shenzhen)

LEO Lecturer III in Pharmaceutical Sciences

The College of Pharmacy at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, invites applications for a full-time (100%) LEO Lecturer III position in the Depa...

Ann Arbor, Michigan

University of MI- College of Pharmacy

Chair, Pharmaceutical Sciences (Professor, Tenured)

The University of Maryland School of Pharmacy invites applications for the position of Chair of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Baltimore, Maryland

University of Maryland, Baltimore School of Pharmacy

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Harris Had a Theory of Trump, and It Was Right

The vice president successfully baited trump’s angry, conspiratorial, free-associating side. but what wasn’t said was just as telling..

Produced by ‘The Ezra Klein Show’

Tuesday night was the first — perhaps the only — debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. And it proved one of Harris’s stump speech lines right: Turns out she really does know Trump’s type. She had a theory of who Trump was and how he worked, and she used it to take control of the collision. But this was a substantive debate, too. The candidates clashed on abortion, health care, the economy, energy, immigration and more. And so we delve into the policy arguments to untangle what was really being said — and what wasn’t.

You can listen to our whole conversation by following “The Ezra Klein Show” on the NYT Audio App , Apple , Spotify , Amazon Music , YouTube , iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts . View a list of book recommendations from our guests here .

(A full transcript of this episode is available here .)

This episode of “The Ezra Klein Show” was produced by Claire Gordon. Fact-checking by Michelle Harris, with Kate Sinclair and Jack McCordick. Our senior engineer is Jeff Geld. Our senior editor is Claire Gordon. The show’s production team also includes Annie Galvin, Rollin Hu, Elias Isquith, Kristin Lin and Aman Sahota. Original music by Isaac Jones. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The executive producer of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser.

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