customer review websites

• By Industry
• Financial Services
• HR & Recruitment
• Remote Teams
• See all sectors
• Integrations
• ROI Calculator
• Resource Center
• Support Center
• Success Stories

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 !

Blog comments

Start taking bookings online.

Create a custom online booking page, benefit from automated SMS, Email & Voice reminders, and reduce appointment no-shows by up to 90%.

Related posts

How to Utilize Technology to Increase Student Engagement

Technology is everywhere. We use it at home, in the office, and even to keep up with friends or...

How Capacity Management with 10to8 can Boost your Business

Have you ever had to turn away a client because you’re already booked for a particular slot only to...

Running for a Good Cause: 10to8 at Chariots of Fire

Smells like team spirit!

Subscribe now

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.

US and International: +1-306-955-5512​  | UK and EU: 0121 512 0304

Community Support

Local Impact Awards

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 ).

Download the white-label reputation management sales playbook today and get a rebrandable playbook to close more reputation deals.

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 ).

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.

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.

Don't forget to share!

Discover more articles

Exploring the Benefits (and Tools) of AI-Powered Sales Funnels

Your complete guide to dominate local seo with the google 3-pack, how to start a digital marketing company in just 10 steps, categories that may interest you, subscribe to the newsletter.

Get the latest news and insights from our blog, Conquer Local, and podcasts delivered straight to your inbox.

• Print Friendly

• Best of 2022
• How to Spot a Trustworthy Website
• Dating Apps
• Shopping Discount Fashion
• Discount Clothing
• Discount Designer Clothing
• Affordable Wedding Dresses
• Affordable Activewear for Women
• Plus-Size Swimwear
• COVID-19 Resources
• Beauty Home
• Consumer Advocates
• Consumer Tips
• Write a Review
• For Business
• Request a Review
• Discussions
• Backed by the National Science Foundation

Research Business Reviews Before Buying

Freelancing

Electronics, office supplies, real estate, browse reviews from over 5 million users.

Cameron W. reviewed Rvinyl

Great website and large selection but i just wish you...

“Great website and large selection but i just wish you guys had a sample kit of your top sellers nothing big like 1inby 1in or 2inby2in”

“Great website and large selection but i just wish you guys had a sample kit of your top sellers...”

Stephen H. reviewed Eyebuydirect

Have been using sight for many years and I've been...

“Have been using sight for many years and i've been very satisfied.”

Mm M. reviewed FASHIONPHILE

Good except...

“It is hard to tell how big jewelry is unless you see it against the human. Now i have...”

“It is hard to tell how big jewelry is unless you see it against the human. Now i have earrings...”

Ward W. reviewed FASHIONPHILE

Purchase Experience

“Wonderful customer service and the quality of the product was better than expected....”

“Wonderful customer service and the quality of the product was better than expected. This was the...”

Archie W. reviewed FASHIONPHILE

Balenciaga wallet

“I purchased several things on fashionphile as well as sold several things. They do a great job.”

July D. reviewed EventTicketsCenter

Texas Rangers

“I hope everything works out and i will be happy about this purchase”

August M. reviewed EventTicketsCenter

“It was easy to order! The directions were easy to follow!”

Tony T. reviewed EssayPro

Finished way before the due date and provided everything...

“Finished way before the due date and provided everything as stated. Thank you!”

Peter D. reviewed J&P Cycles

Guaranteed fitment appears subjective.

“The equipment i ordered was to be guaranteed fitment for my motorcycle. I believe that to be a subjective statement as it required field modification to appropriately fit...”

“The equipment i ordered was to be guaranteed fitment for my motorcycle. I believe that to be a...”

Curtis W. reviewed J&P Cycles

First purchase

“Smooth, quick delivery and product was exactly what i expected”

A, F. reviewed etrailer

Trailer for Jeep

“Quick easy order experience! Ease of use of website as well!”

Got T. reviewed etrailer

Equalizer WD Hitch Head and Spring Bars

“Amazing could get oem parts at reduced price and two day delivery. Ezpz.”

Michael reviewed etrailer

“Calling and talking to a technician and website very helpful and easy.”

Keith reviewed etrailer

“I'm an otr truck driver. Haven't got back home to install it yet…sorry.”

Bob T. reviewed etrailer

Perfect fit and arrived quickly

“Replaced the fan blades (bathroom vent) on my 2016 airstream interstate and was super...”

“Replaced the fan blades (bathroom vent) on my 2016 airstream interstate and was super easy and...”

Would R. reviewed etrailer

Quick easy and to the point

“Bought from here multiple times, no issues. They give helpful video instructions if...”

“Bought from here multiple times, no issues. They give helpful video instructions if needed....”

Doug R. reviewed Blinds.com

Exact Match

“Our blinds were a perfect match to our wall color! The samples were great. The blinds took awhile to arrive but we're very happy with them. Thank you!”

“Our blinds were a perfect match to our wall color! The samples were great. The blinds took awhile...”

Benedict A. reviewed Octa

“Octafx is just super amazing. Fast deposit and withdrawal. Customer service is top notch. I love this broker. No single issue since i have been trading with them.”

“Octafx is just super amazing. Fast deposit and withdrawal. Customer service is top notch. I love...”

Todd G. reviewed Alibris

“Ordering used books is easy, inexpensive and time effective. The items are as described...”

“Ordering used books is easy, inexpensive and time effective. The items are as described and...”

BARBARA d. reviewed SKYLUX Travel

Chlor R made the process easy

“I was having trouble on the tap airlines website. The tickets i was trying to book went...”

“I was having trouble on the tap airlines website. The tickets i was trying to book went up in...”

Trending businesses

Sitejabber extension: Review as you browse

See ratings of sites as you browse the web right in your search results and browser bar.

• See what users say about individual business
• See reviews for specific services
• Write reviews in the extension
• Ask questions

“Wish I found this site before... would have saved me a lot of hassle and money.”

– Lily A.

“Probably the most important site on the internet for consumers.”

– Dan G.

“I sure wish I had found this sooner. Glad I found you now!”

– Patience S.

Committed to over 15 years of trust

Google-approved reviews platform

Consumer press and awards

Consumer protection blog

Browse businesses by category

• Industry Specific , Reputation Management , Review Management

Top 23 Review Sites To Get Customer Reviews

Andrew mcdermott.

• August 11, 2020

What’s the simplest way to boost top-line growth in your business? 

With customer reviews, of course! A study showed that brands with 82 total reviews (or more) earn  54 percent more in annual revenue than average. The unsurprising downside is — review sites aren’t created equal. You’ll need to invest your time with the right review platforms to achieve consistent growth in your business. 

Which online review sites are most important for reputation management, driving visibility, and social proof? 

We’re going to get an answer to that question today. I’ll provide you with a detailed look at a variety of review platforms, outlining what works and why. 

Table of Contents

Get the reputation you deserve with grade.us, why your business needs the top review sites.

Top review websites produce disproportionate returns for your business. Reviews have a significant impact on your brand, conversion rates, and revenue. It’s important then, to prioritize the review platforms that will produce the greatest results for your business.

With the right data, you can identify these platforms.

This isn’t just about accumulating a large number of reviews (though that’s still essential). It’s about all of the other benefits that come from a strong review portfolio. These are the incentives you want to optimize your efforts around.

• Strong rankings in organic and local search results
• A steady and reliable showing in Google's search features (e.g., the knowledge graph, local pack, featured and rich snippets, etc.)
• Excellent conversion rates with consistent revenue growth
• Decreased advertising costs
• Powerful branding and improved brand perception and recall

You’ll want to optimize your efforts around the primary, secondary, and tertiary review platforms that produce these benefits consistently. Today, we’re going to take a look at the top review platforms.

Let’s get started.

Top review website #1: Google Reviews

Customers can write reviews for businesses via Google Maps. According to Google , “more than a billion people using Google Maps every month and more than 5 million active apps and websites using Google Maps Platform core products every week .”

That’s 13 percent of the population on Earth.

Why Google reviews are important

Google accounts for 57.5 percent of all reviews worldwide , across all review platforms . If your customers are going to leave a review, there is a very good chance it’s going to be on Google. If you’re like me, you’re probably wondering how is that possible ? 

Google receives 92 percent of all search visits in the United States (as of 2020), and 96 percent of mobile organic visits. Google is the number one review platform, with 63.6 percent of consumers searching for reviews on Google first. Fifty-three percent of customers visit a business within 48 hours of performing a local search on Google. It sounds like they have a monopoly. 😏

Features: Google Reviews

• With your Google My Business (GMB) account you can track reviews, set alerts, respond to reviews and upload photos, videos, and posts to your profile.
• You’re encouraged to request reviews from customers directly via a short URL that’s specific to your business.
• Business reviews appear next to your listing in Maps and Search. and are displayed for organic and location-specific search queries.
• Google doesn’t provide an official widget or embed code you can use to share your reviews. They do provide that information via their API, and you can use plugins to add that functionality to your site.

Caveats and warnings for Google Reviews

• Review gating is prohibited on Google.
• Offering reviewers an incentive to share their feedback is strictly prohibited.
• Google penalizes fake reviews by decreasing rank or banning offenders.
• Short names and URLs must adhere to Google’s terms of service , additional terms , content policy , and policies for representing a business on Google .

Bonus: Check out our compr ehensive guides on Google Reviews and optimizing your Google My Business account!

Top review website #2: Facebook Recommendations

Facebook is the most popular social network on the planet. Over time, Facebook has grown to provide users with a variety of essential services, including reviews, which they call recommendations. Users have grown accustomed to these new features over time, as Facebook has worked to act as a facilitator between users and brands.

Why Facebook Recommendations are important

Facebook states that one in three people (on Earth) use their platform to look for recommendations and reviews. According to Statista, Facebook has 2.41 billion monthly active users (more if you include Instagram and Whatsapp). More than 795 million people rely on Facebook for recommendations and reviews each year. 1.6 billion people use Facebook for local search.

Features: Facebook Recommendations

• Brands are encouraged to request reviews and recommendations from customers, provided that they follow Facebook’s policies and standards (see below).
• Facebook will show the recommendations provided by the closest friends to your customer first, this will increase your reach and make you discoverable across Facebook.
• Rich Endorsements allow customers to indicate whether they recommend your business by using tags, texts, and photos or videos. This makes it easier for customers to get an immediate sense of what your business is about.
• Recommendations can be embedded and shared on and off Facebook. They’re treated like status updates and have similar functionality.

Caveats and warnings for Facebook Recommendations

• Comply with Facebook’s terms of service , policies , and community standards when responding to customer recommendations.
• Facebook Recommendations are binary; customers are either for or against your business. There’s not much in the way of nuance.
• Facebook uses your reviews and recommendations to calculate your page’s ratings. They use a variety of factors to calculate your score, including reviews and recommendations, and the performance of other similar pages.

Bonus: Here’s our comprehensive guide on attracting more visitors via Facebook Recommendations and optimizing your Facebook business page .

Top review website #3: Yelp Reviews

Yelp is a controversial yet impactful review platform. Their site has attracted a significant amount of attention from critics, business owners, and, most importantly, customers. 

Why Yelp reviews are important

The majority of traffic to their domain arrives via Google search. While Yelp and Google have been locked in a dispute for the past six years, Yelp reviews are still highly visible in Google’s search results. Additionally, Yelp has 35 million mobile app unique users per month.

This means Yelp would still be a valuable review platform for businesses to target.

Features: Yelp

• A verified Yelp account is required to leave reviews, respond to reviews, bookmark a business, add photos and videos.
• Businesses can respond to customer reviews publicly under their customer’s review, or privately via a direct message.
• Individual reviews can be shared on Facebook, Twitter, via a direct link, or embedded on your website directly.
• Yelp allows businesses to remove competitor ads (as long as they’re willing to spend a little more for the privilege).
• Yelp provides a comprehensive dashboard for businesses that includes recent activity, Yelp ads, page upgrades, reviews, photos and videos, nearby jobs, check-in offers, and more.

Caveats and warnings for Yelp

• Yelp states that review gating is strictly prohibited on their platform.
• Businesses are not allowed to request reviews.
• Businesses are instructed to use neutral phrasing (e.g., Find us on Yelp).
• Incentives and solicitation are also prohibited on their platform.

Bonus: Take a look at this step-by-step walkthrough showing you how to maximize Yelp reviews (without asking) and optimize your Yelp business account .

Top review website #4: TripAdvisor Reviews

TripAdvisor is the world’s most popular travel app. Billions of people worldwide rely on TripAdvisor each year to find accommodations, restaurants, airlines, cruises, and more. 

Why TripAdvisor reviews are important

TripAdvisor generated 860 million user reviews and opinions across 8 million listings covering a variety of industries, including restaurants, hotels, vacation rentals, and attractions. Their website is a travel behemoth, and it’s a must-have for businesses in their core industries. Beginner and experienced travelers alike make TripAdvisor their first stop for research and reviews.

Despite the major toll the pandemic has taken on the world, travel will come back and you’re going to want to make sure that your business is ready with a beautiful impactful selection of reviews (even if they’re not as fresh as normal times.) In fact, outside of the United States, travel is already returning across the world. 

Features: TripAdvisor

The TripAdvisor management center allows business owners to manage the essential portions of their review profile, and business owners can :

• Use Review Express to invite recent visitors to share their reviews on TripAdvisor.
• Respond to reviews, answer traveler questions, and manage photos and listing details.
• Access the Analytics Suite , where you can see key metrics and performance indicators for your TripAdvisor listing.

Caveats and warnings for TripAdvisor

• TripAdvisor penalizes businesses that incentivize customers to leave a positive review. It’s a good idea to take a more cautious approach and avoid promising gifts or incentives.
• Businesses with a history of fraudulent behavior can expect a drop in rankings in TripAdvisor’s popularity index and even a red penalty notice on your profile page (to warn customers about fraud).
• An unattended page will drop in TripAdvisor’s popularity index. If you’d like a steady stream of customers, your page needs a constant stream of attention from you.

Bonus: Take a look at our detailed breakdown showing you how to get more reviews on TripAdvisor.

Top review website #5: G2 Reviews

G2 is the world’s largest tech marketplace and peer-to-peer review site. G2’s focus is aggregating user reviews for business software. G2 helps businesses and individuals discover, review, and manage the technology they need to reach their potential.

Why G2 reviews are important

G2 asked themselves this question. “Why is it easier to get unbiased information about a $100 hotel room than a $100,000 piece of software?” G2 solves a high-value problem for businesses, namely which websites are a good fit for my business. So far, G2 has answered this question for more than 4 million people in thousands of organizations.

Features: G2

• Businesses can invite existing customers to write a review on G2, they can respond publicly, share or mark a review as “helpful.”
• Automate review collection via a dedicated G2 landing page.
• Collect video reviews, add testimonial widgets, or build customer reference pages.
• Track and manage SaaS spend, including usage, contracts, and compliance with G2 Track .
• Get email notifications when prospects visit your profile and export leads to your CRM.

Caveats and warnings for G2

• G2 relies on its algorithm to monitor its platform for fraudulent reviews, including fake reviews from company employees.
• Reviews are manually screened and voted on by the community to discourage spam and unhelpful comments.
• G2 also requests screenshots of the reviewer using the product for verification purposes.
• G2 aggregates review data, using it to score business software products on The Grid, which competes with Gartner’s magic quadrant review model.

Top review website #6: Zillow

Zillow is an American online real estate database company  and the leading real estate marketplace. Users can search for real estate, apartments, mortgages, and property values on their platform.

Why Zillow reviews are important

Eighty-five percent of the homes in the U.S. are listed in Zillow’s U.S. database. They have a significant amount of public and proprietary information on home sales, properties, values, etc. Zillow receives 194 million monthly unique users (as of Q2 2019). One hundred eighty-six homes are viewed every second on their platform. 

Zillow also has more than 2 million consumer-submitted real estate agent and mortgage lender reviews on its platform.

Features: Zillow

• Real estate agents can list recent sales, listings, professional bio, service areas, photos, and videos on your profile.
• With an agent account, real estate pros can request and respond to reviews from clients.
• Manage your leads with features such as lead segmentation, lead routing, lead reporting, and lead forwarding.
• Email templates: Create, save, and send email templates to respond to common questions, comments, or concerns.

Caveats and warnings for Zillow

• Only agents and real estate pros with a Zillow profile can be rated and reviewed.
• Removing your profile removes all reviews associated with your business profile.
• Only clients who have communicated or worked with a real estate pro can write a review and submit a rating on that pro.
• A dedicated team of specially trained moderators evaluates all reviews before they are published.
• Pros can respond publicly on the site to any review they receive. Additionally, reviews can be flagged for Zillow to re-moderate.

Bonus: Our detailed guide shows you how to build a profitable real estate business using Zillow reviews in 60 days or less!

Top review website #7: Avvo Reviews

Avvo is an online legal marketplace that connects qualified attorneys with clients who are in the market for their services. An attorney’s profile includes client reviews, disciplinary actions, peer endorsements, legal guides, and more.

Why Avvo reviews are important

In a  recent interview  with BizJournals.com, Avvo stated that it generates more than $8 billion in revenue each year for lawyers and law firms. A survey  from SoftwareAdvice.com found 83 percent of prospective clients use review platforms as an initial first step to evaluate a pool of attorneys. 

Seventy percent of clients stated that they would be willing to drive further and spend more if their attorney had better online reviews than a competitor that was closer to home. Lastly, 97 percent of attorneys in America are rated by Avvo, meaning your competitors are on Avvo.

Features: Avvo

• Attorneys and law firm representatives can respond to client reviews. Attorney comments are displayed immediately.
• Reviews can be removed through Avvo’s dispute process if the review is fraudulent or inaccurate.
• Legal Q&A forum where attorneys can answer publicly posted questions on a variety of legal issues.
• Avvo uses a 1-10 rating system, with ten being superb. Your reviews do not affect your Avvo rating.
• Attorneys are encouraged to request reviews from clients.
• Attorneys should be vigilant, ensuring that they comply with the ABA’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct, specifically Rules 7.1 through 7.5 .
• There should be no quid pro quo for reviews.
• Attorneys may not solicit, encourage, or assist in the posting of fake, false, or misleading reviews.
• Attorneys may not threaten, bully, or harass the client to provide a positive 4- or 5-star review.

Bonus: How to win 4.5x more clients using Avvo Reviews .

Top review website #8: BBB Reviews

Does the BBB still have value as a review platform? Some perceive the BBB as an ancient relic for old-timers, a review platform that offers very little value. As a result, there seems to be some confusion about the BBB and the value they provide to local businesses.

Why BBB reviews are important

In 2018, the BBB received 160,175,192 inquiries (170,350,626 in the US and Canada), 835,846 complaints and settled 654,890 complaints. Statista confirms the BBB as one of the top nine sources customers used to read online reviews and ratings.  Customers are still using the BBB as a review and rating platform. If they’re using it, you should be using it too.

Features: BBB

• Any consumer who has a marketplace interaction with a business can post a customer review, anonymous reviews are not allowed.
• A BBB complaint is not the same as a customer review. They’re treated differently.
• For a consumer to file a complaint with BBB, they must be seeking a resolution from the business. BBB staff works with both the company and the consumer to resolve the issues, and BBB reports the details of that process.
• A customer review is simply feedback about their experience with a business and doesn’t require a resolution.

Advertising

• Online Directory: Accredited businesses are listed first as part of the BBB’s Accredited Business Directory. Like sponsored listings, accredited businesses are rewarded for their memberships.
• Sponsored Listings: “To help further increase your company’s visibility, the BBB offers you the opportunity to showcase your business as a Sponsored Business above the Accredited Business listings in your business categories.”

Caveats and warnings for BBB

• Businesses are expected to follow the BBB’s accreditation standards .
• Businesses also need to follow the BBB partner code of conduct .
• Your profile must adhere to its content guidelines .
• The BBB validates each of the reviews that come in.

Bonus: How to generate leads and attract new customers with reviews on the Better Business Bureau (BBB).

Top review website #9: Healthgrades Reviews

Healthgrades is the leading online resource and review platform for comprehensive information about physicians and hospitals. They provide consumers with information about physicians, hospitals and health care providers, collecting data on more than 3 million U.S. health care providers.

Why Healthgrades reviews are important

Half of all Americans who see a doctor this year will visit Healthgrades. They’re the number one platform for patient-doctor connections. This is significant when you realize they have a large number of competitors — many with deep pockets.

Features: Healthgrades

• Professionals and clinics can register their facility with physical address, phone, fax and directions on Healthgrades by signing up at Partners.Healthgrades.com .
• Add a list of patient reviews that can be filtered by recent (the default), highest, lowest, and most helpful.
• List your biography, specialties (e.g., family medicine, pediatrics, surgery), board certifications, education, and awards.
• Add specific variations of keywords so patients can find you using local search.
• Healthgrades encourages healthcare professionals to request reviews from their patients.

Caveats and warnings for Healthgrades

• Reviews from both patients and professionals are expected to follow their review guidelines .
• Professionals should not mention or endorse specific products, including pharmaceuticals.
• Professionals should not post content that mentions legal matters or proceedings.
• Reviews with personal website links are prohibited.

Bonus: Take a look at our detailed guide – How to boost patient referrals with Healthgrades reviews .

Top review website #10: HomeAdvisor Reviews

HomeAdvisor got their start as Service Magic in 1998. Then, In October 2017, HomeAdvisor merged with Angie’s List to form ANGI Homeservices, trading on the NASDAQ as ANGI. This merger created the largest digital marketplace for home services.

Why HomeAdvisor reviews are important

HomeAdvisor connects 4.2 million homeowners to 60,000 pros, facilitating over $10 Billion in home improvement spending. Their site receives more than 4 million unique visitors to its website each month.

Features: HomeAdvisor

• Homeowners can post anonymous or public reviews to share feedback on a specific service provider.
• Home improvement pros can provide detailed information on their services, service areas, facts, credentials, website, expertise, business overview, and more.
• A dedicated team follows up on reviews to determine authenticity and all honest, objective feedback is posted – good or bad.
• Professionals have the opportunity to respond to the reviews they receive and there is a resolution process for customer complaints.

Caveats and warnings for HomeAdvisor

• HomeAdvisor verifies reviews to ensure they’re honest.
• Honest reviews are posted, whether they’re good or bad.

Bonus: How to double your lead flow, using HomeAdvisor Reviews , in 45 days!

Top review website #11: RepairPal Reviews

As the name implies, RepairPal helps you find trustworthy auto repair shops in your area. They’re a niche review platform and referral service so the consumers who rely on their service tend to be more sophisticated than generalists who frequent mainstream sites like Google Reviews.

Why RepairPal reviews are important

RepairPal doesn’t accept everyone. Instead, they maintain a carefully curated list of providers. Jill Trotta, VP/GM at RepairPal, explains. “We don’t just list anybody in our network. We’re not a pay-to-play network. You have to apply and be accepted, and once you are, we send customers to you.” Shops that are part of RepairPal’s member network meet their stringent quality standards.

Features: RepairPal

• Only customers who have been independently verified by RepairPal can leave reviews.
• RepairPal shops must offer a 12-month or 12,000-mile warranty on its repairs (at a minimum).
• Shops are evaluated by a team of ASE certified technicians to verify competency.
• Shops can respond to customer reviews.

Caveats and warnings for RepairPal

• Reviews are moderated by RepairPal staff.
• The RepairPal community can flag or notify staff of an inappropriate review.
• Reviews that are not first-hand accounts, or that violate RepairPal’s terms of service will be removed.

Top review website #12: Caring.com Reviews

Caring.com is a senior living review site. Caring.com receives visits from two groups; families of seniors and seniors themselves.

Why Caring.com reviews are important

Adults age 65 and older are expected to outnumber children by 2030. In fact, approximately seven baby boomers are turning 65 every minute. All baby boomers and 1 in 5 U.S. residents will have reached “retirement age.” Caring.com is a helpful way for seniors to identify the facility that best meets their needs.

Features: Caring.com

• Caring.com requires that reviewers have firsthand experience with the listed service provider (without being an employee or paid representative).
• Offers senior living communities the option of collecting reviews via phone call.
• Offers senior living communities self-addressed, postage-paid postcards that can be sent to seniors to request reviews.
• Almost 80 percent of Caring.com registered users are female between the ages of 40 and 69.

Caveats and warnings for Caring.com

• Caring.com is a pro-facility platform, meaning that they’re looking to protect facilities so they’re not destroyed by malicious reviewers who are looking to punish your business.
• Reviews and responses (from facilities) are heavily moderated

Bonus: Here’s a detailed guide , showing you how to attract more seniors with 5-star Caring.com reviews .

Top review website #13: Glassdoor Reviews

Glassdoor is an employment review platform; they allow former and current employees to anonymously review companies, view salaries, and apply for jobs.

Why Glassdoor reviews are important

Glassdoor amplifies employee advocacy. Employee advocacy is employee-led, company promotion that includes: employee-led recruiting, promotion, and development. It makes it easier for your organization to attract employees and customers, retain employees, and outperform competitors in the marketplace.

Features: Glassdoor

• Glassdoor reviews from employees are largely anonymous.
• Employers can respond to employee feedback.
• Employer reviews are averaged for each company. Ratings are based on user-generated reviews.
• Employees reviews are screened and verified to ensure they come from real employees at the organization.

Caveats and warnings for Glassdoor

• Attempts to game the review process are policed heavily by Glassdoor staff, employees at the target company, and the Glassdoor community.
• Review manipulation or dishonesty is publicly outed, often leading to an avalanche of negative reviews.

Bonus: Learn how you can boost your reputation on Glassdoor with our deep dive guide.

Top review website #14: The Knot

The Knot describes itself as an “all-in-one wedding planner” with “the #1 wedding app.” Their platform provides couples with the A-to-Z information, tools, and support they need to plan the wedding of their dreams. 

Why The Knot reviews are important

According to Wedding Wire’s 2019 newlywed report , reviews and photos, aside from price, are the most important features couples look for when determining which vendor they’d like to contact. The Knot reviews provide couples with the important information they need to evaluate vendors.

Features: The Knot

• Vendors can’t be added to the platform without permission. Reviewers can refer a vendor to The Knot who will reach out to the vendor.
• Couples share reviews which usually consist of first name, last initial. Users are allowed to edit their review.
• Vendors are allowed to respond to reviews, to provide shoppers with a complete picture of the events.
• Reviews can be added to The Knot message boards and forums, vendors will have the opportunity to respond to their reviews provided that they meet the following criteria .

Caveats and warnings for The Knot

• The Knot is pro couples. Their platform is oriented around taking care of and pleasing their users/customers so vendors should act accordingly on their platform.
• While no official reporting mechanism exists yet, The Knot encourages reviewers to report inappropriate reviews at [email protected] .
• Reviews can be shared in a variety of places including The Knot forums.

Top review website #15: YP

The Yellow Pages originally got their start as a business directory listed in alphabetical order. In 2013, they decided to rebrand their business to YP, adding a variety of new products and services to help businesses.

Why YP reviews are important

YP receives more than 23 million visitors to their site monthly. More importantly, YP has partnered with the Better Business Bureau, displaying ratings for listings of businesses that have earned an A or A+ rating or BBB accreditation. This shared partnership provides a significant lift to both the BBB and YP, improving the results brands achieve across both platforms. 

Features: YP

• YP users are loyal and well acquainted with the platform and seek it out directly (vs. searching in Google).
• Reviews from BBB are syndicated in YP along with YP reviews.
• Users can flag reviews they feel are inappropriate.
• Users can share reviews via Facebook, Twitter and direct link.

Caveats and warnings for YP

• Reviews can disappear without warning.
• YP is a niche platform so it would be best to build your review portfolio using YP and a variety of other mainstream platforms.

8 more review sites to get reviews

Zocdoc has expanded its service dramatically covering 40 percent of the U.S. population across 2,000+ cities. They’re used by more than 6,000,000 people each month. Oliver Kharraz, MD, The founder, and chief executive of Zocdoc, states that he comes from a family with a 300 year tradition of being doctors.  Check out our detailed Zocdoc reviews guide for more information.

Thumbtack and Angi

Thumbtack and Angi (rebranded from Angie’s List) are lead generation and review platforms for home service providers. They focus on “Mom-and-pop shops helping next door neighbors. Busy families hiring family businesses.”  We’ve got plenty of insights on Angi reviews.

Indeed is a job search engine that also provides employee prospects with reviews on the company they’re applying for a position with. Indeed receives more than 376 million visitors each month.

Lawyers.com

Lawyers.com is owned by Martindale-Hubbell, the very same people behind Avvo and Nolo. This website, along with Avvo, gives law firms access to their extensive network.

Capterra and TrustRadius

Capterra and TrustRadius , like G2, are software ratings platforms that focus primarily on SaaS companies. These review platforms help managers and decision makers choose the right software for their business using reviews from other like minded customers.

WeddingWire

WeddingWire lists more than 250,000 wedding professionals on their platform. They’re not as well known as The Knot, but they place special emphasis on making things as easy for their users/customers as possible.

A good rule of thumb with these review sites would be to focus your attention on the mainstream review platforms to start, then add industry-specific, and niche sites as you gain traction with your review management campaigns.

Use these top rated review websites to generate reviews

Your customers decide which review sites are viable for your business. Invest your time wisely, focus on the right review sites and you’ll have the tools you need to boost top-line growth on demand. 

These top rated review sites attract a disproportionate amount of customer attention you can use to grow your business.  Start with these review websites, then branch out and niche down to build a strong review portfolio that protects you from competitors, attracts customers, and establishes you as the market leader.

You might also like

How Longhouse Media Achieved Rapid Growth by Streamlining Review Management

Selling Review Management: How to Increase Agency Revenue on Demand

How to end agency feast/famine cycles with reputation management

How to 2x Revenue with Local Search + Review Management

6 Steps to Automate Review Management for Your Clients

4 Major Benefits of Automated Review Management — For Agencies

Latest posts.

How often should you request a review from customers? 

What are the best types of local search content?

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.

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.

Embed Google Reviews in seconds.

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

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!

Table of contents: Toggle Table of Content Toggle

CEO of EmbedSocial 

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.

•   shares
• Pinterest 2

Related Articles

Related tutorials

Learn how to embed social media feeds from different platforms.

• Instagram feed for WordPress
• WordPress Facebook reviews
• Instagram stories for Webflow
• Instagram feed for Shopify
• Instagram feed for Webflow
• Squarespace Google reviews
• Social media feed for Webflow
• How to add Google reviews to website?
• Embed Google Reviews with photos
• Embed a Google reviews badge
• How to embed Facebook reviews?
• How to embed Airbnb reviews?
• How to embed Wall of love?
• How to embed Instagram feed?
• How to embed YouTube Shorts?
• How to embed TikTok feed?
• How to embed LinkedIn feed?
• How to embed Pinterest board?
• How to embed Instagram Reels?
• How to embed Facebook feed?
• How to Embed YouTube channel?
• How to embed Youtube playlist?
• How to embed Vimeo feed?
• Embed social media mentions
• Embed Instagram hashtag feed
• How to embed Instagram stories?
• How to embed Facebook albums?

Join 250,000+ websites that embed reviews & UGC widgets to sell more

Privacy Overview

Our Recommendations

• Best Small Business Loans for 2024
• Businessloans.com Review
• Biz2Credit Review
• SBG Funding Review
• Rapid Finance Review
• 26 Great Business Ideas for Entrepreneurs
• Startup Costs: How Much Cash Will You Need?
• How to Get a Bank Loan for Your Small Business
• Articles of Incorporation: What New Business Owners Should Know
• How to Choose the Best Legal Structure for Your Business

Small Business Resources

• Business Ideas
• Business Plans
• Startup Basics
• Startup Funding
• Franchising
• Success Stories
• Entrepreneurs
• The Best Credit Card Processors of 2024
• Clover Credit Card Processing Review
• Merchant One Review
• Stax Review
• How to Conduct a Market Analysis for Your Business
• Local Marketing Strategies for Success
• Tips for Hiring a Marketing Company
• Benefits of CRM Systems
• 10 Employee Recruitment Strategies for Success
• Sales & Marketing
• Social Media
• Best Business Phone Systems of 2024
• The Best PEOs of 2024
• RingCentral Review
• Nextiva Review
• Ooma Review
• Guide to Developing a Training Program for New Employees
• How Does 401(k) Matching Work for Employers?
• Why You Need to Create a Fantastic Workplace Culture
• 16 Cool Job Perks That Keep Employees Happy
• 7 Project Management Styles
• Women in Business
• Personal Growth
• Best Accounting Software and Invoice Generators of 2024
• Best Payroll Services for 2024
• Best POS Systems for 2024
• Best CRM Software of 2024
• Best Call Centers and Answering Services for Busineses for 2024
• Salesforce vs. HubSpot: Which CRM Is Right for Your Business?
• Rippling vs Gusto: An In-Depth Comparison
• RingCentral vs. Ooma Comparison
• Choosing a Business Phone System: A Buyer’s Guide
• Equipment Leasing: A Guide for Business Owners
• HR Solutions
• Financial Solutions
• Marketing Solutions
• Security Solutions
• Retail Solutions
• SMB Solutions

Online only.

Tired of Yelp? 14 Alternative Business Review Websites

Table of Contents

The modern consumer thrives on information. Before making a buying decision, customers have long sought out the opinions and experiences of others to find out whether or not a company is credible.

Today, this process is quick, easy, and accessible to anyone with a computer or smartphone and an internet connection. There are few better sources of information for consumers than business review websites.

Yelp is considered the top review site for marketing local businesses . However, it is far from the only reputable business review site. Others may even prove more beneficial for niche products or services.

These 14 review websites are worth looking into if you need honest feedback or ways to improve your business.

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 are from actual customers sharing their honest feedback.

For instance, 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 experience, you help other potential customers decide whether or not to use that company in the future.

Another way for businesses to solicit honest consumer feedback is by conducting business surveys .

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:

• They 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.
• They 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.
• They 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.

Responding to online reviews , both positive and negative, boosts engagement and helps you steer the narrative surrounding 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 show up in local search results. It’s free to list your business and information like your business location , hours, and phone number.

You can also invite your customers to leave you a review on Google.` Collecting Google reviews and responding to them shows that 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 setting in your Facebook Page settings. From there, invite customers to leave reviews sharing their experiences with your company.

Other unexpected ways Facebook benefits businesses include helping you build an online brand, create professional bonds with competitors, and find top job candidates.

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 that its reviews are legitimate.

Users pay a membership fee to access the site and write reviews, which come in the form of a letter grade. Businesses that sign up for Angi can interact with members, establish a profile, and respond to reviews about their company. The highest-rated businesses can also earn advertising for deals and discounts.

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.

As the BBB is a trusted organization, 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. With accreditation (and its fee), a business can receive increased exposure online, access to workshops and webinars, and much more.

5. ConsumerAffairs

Collecting reviews for a business is just one service ConsumerAffairs for Brands offers. When a business signs up, it receives access to all kinds of resources.

This includes 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.

If you’re concerned about your brand’s online reputation, the guide to choosing a reputation management service can manage your social media, perform online monitoring and reporting, and more.

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 provides a way for current and past employees to rate the companies they work for. It is a vital tool for job searching, letting job seekers learn as much about a company as possible.

With Glassdoor for Employers, you can read reviews of your company as a workplace and find quality candidates for a position.

8. HomeAdvisor

This site is similar to Angi, helping 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, HomeAdvisor Pro allows you to connect with other HomeAdviser users in your area in search of 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.

With a membership, business owners also get a free mobile listing, competitor tracking, a higher search engine ranking and much more.

Expand your social media marketing efforts beyond reviews by using social media marketing solutions to streamline your campaigns and manage your posts and accounts.

Manta is a small business directory that helps local American businesses connect with consumers and each other. While customer reviews are not the site’s primary function, they are one of the site’s features.

11. MerchantCircle

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. PlanetRate

Unlike most other review sites, PlanetRate isn’t tied to a specific category or service. So, whether your business is a restaurant, hotel, boutique 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.

VendOp’s goal is to connect people with vendors that best match their needs. A potential customer 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 gain a better understanding of who they’re working with while helping other vendors improve their services.

Jamie Johnson and Jennifer Post contributed to the writing and research in this article.

Building Better Businesses

Insights on business strategy and culture, right to your inbox. Part of the business.com network.

• Skip to main content
• Skip to primary sidebar
• Skip to footer
• QuestionPro

• Solutions Industries Gaming Automotive Sports and events Education Government Travel & Hospitality Financial Services Healthcare Cannabis Technology Use Case NPS+ Communities Audience Contactless surveys Mobile LivePolls Member Experience GDPR Positive People Science 360 Feedback Surveys
• Resources Blog eBooks Survey Templates Case Studies Training Help center

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.

MORE LIKE THIS

21 Best Customer Advocacy Software for Customers in 2024

Apr 19, 2024

10 Quantitative Data Analysis Software for Every Data Scientist

Apr 18, 2024

11 Best Enterprise Feedback Management Software in 2024

17 Best Online Reputation Management Software in 2024

Apr 17, 2024

Other categories

• Academic Research
• Artificial Intelligence
• Assessments
• Brand Awareness
• Case Studies
• Communities
• Consumer Insights
• Customer effort score
• Customer Engagement
• Customer Experience
• Customer Loyalty
• Customer Research
• Customer Satisfaction
• Employee Benefits
• Employee Engagement
• Employee Retention
• Friday Five
• General Data Protection Regulation
• Insights Hub
• Life@QuestionPro
• Market Research
• Mobile diaries
• Mobile Surveys
• New Features
• Online Communities
• Question Types
• Questionnaire
• QuestionPro Products
• Release Notes
• Research Tools and Apps
• Revenue at Risk
• Survey Templates
• Training Tips
• Uncategorized
• Video Learning Series
• What’s Coming Up
• Workforce Intelligence

The Ultimate Guide to Customer Reviews and Testimonials

Learn why customer reviews and testimonials are important and how to generate more positive reviews that prove value to prospects.

20 FREE REVIEW RESPONSE TEMPLATES

20 Prompts to Respond to Your Customer Reviews

Updated: 05/18/22

Published: 04/14/22

When thinking about purchasing a new product, what would you trust more: A sales pitch or a customer review?

I pick the latter — and I'm not alone. Did you know that 81% of consumers rely on google reviews to evaluate local businesses ?

People consult reviews and testimonials to determine whether or not they trust a product, service, and even a seller. Let’s take a look at why and how customer reviews and testimonials impact consumers and businesses of all sizes.

What's a Customer Review?

Customer Review Sites

Asking For a Review

What's a Testimonial?

Why Reviews & Testimonials are Important

Reviews & Testimonials in the Sales Process

What is a customer review?

A customer review is a reflection of a customer's experience with your company’s products or services. Reviews can be found on sites such as Google Reviews, Amazon, Yelp, and Facebook.

Consumers use customer reviews during the buyer's journey to understand how your product works and whether it’s worth the investment.

Most everyone can publish a review online, and these reviews can contain good information, negative experiences, and sometimes even untrue claims about your business.

Since they’re posted on third-party sites and from real users of your products, consumers view these reviews as a reliable source of information. In fact, customers find online reviews to be so helpful that 49% of consumers trust them as much as personal recommendations.

There are many sites where consumers can leave their reviews. These include broad customer review sites, such as Google Reviews, Facebook, and Yelp (where any business can be reviewed), as well as industry-specific customer review sites, such as TripAdvisor , a travel-related review site, Zomato , a restaurant and food-related review site, and G2 Crowd , a site dedicated to software reviews.

Let’s dive into two of the more broad customer review sites that people use: Google Reviews (which is part of Google My Business ) and Yelp .

Google My Business Reviews (a.k.a. Google Reviews)

Google Reviews is currently the most commonly used platform for customer reviews . This is because … well … it’s Google. All types of businesses can be reviewed and rated on a 5-star scale.

How to Set Up Your Google My Business Profile

With the help of a Google My Business profile, anyone can create a presence for their company so it can be found via Google search.

Step 1: To receive Google Reviews, businesses have to complete a Google My Business profile . Not only is it simple to set up your business profile on Google, but it’s also exceptionally easy for customers to review your product or service.

Step 2: Once you set up your profile, you need to create a review link so customers can write about their experiences or give you a rating based on a five-star scale.

Step 3: Make sure you have both a link to your reviews that consumers can find through a Google search as well as a link using the Place ID Lookup tool. With this, customers can write a review by simply looking up your company or searching for your location on Google Maps.

How to Leave a Review on Google

If you are the reviewer and are hoping to leave information about your experience on Google, all you need to do is provide your first and last name. Google does not allow any reviewer to remain anonymous. Anyone can see your name along with your review, as well as any other reviews you've left and photos you've added to Google Maps.

If you have a Google account already, you have an “ About Me ” page that Google My Business will link to your reviews. Here's mine:

Google requires you to give this information for three reasons:

• It makes your review more legitimate to those reading it.
• People are typically less likely to make false statements when their personal information is attached to something.
• It gives credibility to your review.
• It allows the owner of the company to follow up with you about your review.

How to Respond to Google Reviews

You may be asking yourself, “What if someone still decides to leave a fake review about my company?” Or, “What if I want to respond to a positive or negative review?” Google helps you out with all of this.

Responding to reviews is very straightforward. After you've signed into your business account, find the original review you want to respond to and click Reply.

Image Source

Although you can’t remove negative reviews, Google will remove reviews that do not meet the requirements of their User Contributed Content Policy . Some of the reasons that a review may be removed include hate speech, fake comments, spam, illegal information, a conflict of interest, and more . If you notice something Google doesn’t, you can flag the review , and they will check the content and remove it if necessary.

How to Optimize your Google My Business Profile

Now that you see how popular and important Google Reviews are for all businesses, you may be wondering how you can optimize your Google My Business profile. After all, reviews are just as necessary for your business to improve as they are for customers to make informed decisions.

Here are some ideas for optimizing your Google My Business profile to get more customer reviews and (hopefully) positive interactions:

• Complete all information on your Google My Business Profile. Otherwise, consumers can go in and “suggest” their own edits. These can go live without you receiving a notification or update. Log in to your account regularly to review updates and make sure nothing is changed without your permission.
• Create a Google My Business Post . These are like mini advertisements within your Google profile that give people an idea of what you sell or the service you provide.
• If you provide services, add a booking button so they can schedule an appointment or meeting with you efficiently.
• Ethically ask for reviews from customers. Don’t ask a friend to write you a super positive review just so you can have it on your site. If a legitimate customer finds out, why would they want to trust you in the future?
• Engage with customers and reviewers under the “Questions and Answer” section. Express gratitude for compliments, and thoughtfully respond to those who had a poor experience. Make your customers feel like you care about them no matter what they have to say about you.
• Allow reviewers to add photos and videos of your office, store, or restaurant. This adds a personal touch to their reviews. It also makes their reviews even more credible .
• Add your services or menus to your profile. You don’t want to lose a potential customer because they can’t locate your services and prices fast enough.

Due to the popularity of Google Reviews for consumers and the importance of actually ranking on Google businesses, this is an exceptionally powerful and important tool for every company.

Yelp Reviews

Another popular customer review site is Yelp . Yelp can be used for reviewing any kind of business or service. Consumers can write reviews and rate their experience on a 5-star scale, similar to Google My Business Reviews.

One unique feature of Yelp Reviews is that the website instructs companies on how to use both positive and negative reviews to their advantage and how to respond to these reviews. The way you react to a review or rating can make or break your business, which is why the training Yelp provides is a great bonus.

How to Set Up Your Yelp Business Profile

To create a profile for your company on Yelp, you’ll have to start by claiming your business . This is a free process that puts you in charge of any information that customers and reviewers can read on Yelp.

Visit the Yelp Business Page to start your claim. During the process, Yelp may contact you to make sure you are the rightful owner of the business. You definitely don’t want just anyone running the content on your profile, do you?

Once you've created your profile and Yelp has given you the green light, you’re able to update important profile information, add photos, respond to reviews privately or publicly, and track views and leads.

How to Leave a Review on Yelp

If you want to be a reviewer on Yelp, you’ll have to create a free account. To write a review, click on the business you want to review through the search bar and begin writing. You cannot post anonymously on this site either.

Have you ever been in a situation where you had a really bad experience with a business or product and went online to write them a poor review ... then customer service impressed you by immediately contacting you and rectifying the situation?

You might then have felt obligated to write another review and retract what you said? Not a problem with Yelp! You can find your original review, click Update below it, and tell everyone on Yelp how the company listened to you and helped solve your initial issue.

A Word of Advice About Responding to Yelp Reviews

Yelp makes it easy to respond to customer reviews — just go to the original comment and click Write Response.

Keep in mind, however, that putting your profile on a customer review site means not everything is going to be a happy tale of a customer loving your company. If you get a positive review, then that’s fantastic!

But whether or not you agree with what someone wrote, the way you react to criticism says a lot about your company’s values and character. Remain positive towards all reviewers – and ask for more detailed feedback if you need it – no matter how frustrated you might be that this review is viewable to potential customers.

Like all review sites, Yelp gets its fair share of fake reviews too. The site has an automated review filter, which is part of their Recommendation Software , that is used to weed out false information and spam. They also investigate all tips given to them by other reviewers and Yelp visitors to ensure only legitimate information is on the site.

For more information on other popular customer review sites and their features, check out this blog post .

How to Ask for a Customer Review

Businesses of all sizes need reviews to gain new customers and build trust. But how do you get reviews? Sometimes, you just need to ask. Here are a few ways you can do that ethically and professionally.

1. Bring it up naturally in conversation.

If you’re talking about your business with someone, or if they tell you how they feel about one of your products or services, ask them if they would be willing to write you a customer review.

Of course, don’t force your mom to write a raving review of the product you sell (unless she actually uses and loves it … and says she’s your mom) since that would be a conflict of interest. All of your reviews should come from legitimate sources.

2. Ask in response to praise.

When someone tells you how much they love their purchase or experience, whether it’s in-store, over the phone, or online, ask them to share that information in a review. Make it easy for them by providing a link to your business review page.

3. Send an email blast.

If your company has an email list, send a message that asks for honest feedback. Provide email recipients with easy-to-follow directions on how they can complete a review. And since the reviews aren’t anonymous, you can always provide reviewers with a reward of some kind to say thank you!

4. Request a post-purchase review.

After a customer makes a purchase, ask them for feedback. Stores do this all the time — you often see a prompt to write a review or provide feedback at the bottom of your receipt.

For information on strategies to promote positive customer reviews, read this blog post .

What is a testimonial?

Customer testimonials are honest endorsements of your product or service. Testimonials are posted on a company's website and used in marketing materials.

They include information about someone’s overall experience, how your products provide value, and highlight specific cases that help prospects feel confident about doing business with your brand.

All testimonials are unique, but they should always be relatable, sincere, and specific. This is how your company builds credibility.

Wouldn’t you feel more at ease spending your money on something that multiple people claim to love, versus a product that you can’t find any relatable information on from another customer’s point of view?

Customers trust other customers. That’s why it is so important to have powerful testimonials that include buyers who can honestly promote your brand.

Your testimonials can include impactful and positive quotes from consumers, a photo of the person who provided the testimonial , or a video of the person relating their experience. These techniques make your potential customers feel as though they can trust you and your company.

It’s important to remember that each buyer is unique, and your testimonials should speak to each of your buyer personas. Every testimonial should highlight different types of people using your products or services in ways specific to their needs. This is because buyers want to know how people similar to themselves are using your product.

You can also create a case study highlighting your customer’s story and obtain a testimonial during this process.

How to Ask for Testimonials

Now that you see the positive impact a great customer testimonial can have on your business, you may be wondering how you can get a few on your site. There are techniques that can help your business receive strong testimonials from relatable and personable customers.

1. Ask immediately.

Ask for testimonials from customers who have recently gotten value from their purchase. You want the information they give in their testimonial to be fresh, accurate, and as specific as possible.

2. Showcase the complete experience.

It’s always great having a customer testimonial on your site that has information about their end-to-end experience. This shows customers how your product or service has resolved a challenge that another individual was experiencing.

3. Ask again.

If you ask for a review and don’t get one, wait a couple of weeks and try again. There is no harm in sending a friendly follow-up email asking if they would like to share their experience. Who knows, maybe their purchase made a positive impact on their life in the last couple of weeks that they are now excited to tell others about.

4. Make it easy.

Tell your customers exactly how they can leave you a testimonial, whether it’s written or in video format (we will discuss more about video testimonials shortly). Give customers guidelines on what they should include in their testimonial.

Looking for specific questions to ask customers who are completing testimonials for you? Check out this post .

Video Testimonials

Video testimonials are a highly personal way of promoting your brand. When customers can actually see and hear other customers talk about their positive experience, it’s significantly more compelling than just reading words on a page. It allows your potential customer to engage with a real customer who is similar to themselves – and it makes the testimonial more relatable.

89% of marketers say video testimonials are the most effective content marketing tactic . So, why not give it a try?

Creating Video Testimonials

You can ask a customer to create a video testimonial the same way you would ask them to create any other testimonial. However, since you are putting them on screen, you’ll need to consider a few additional aspects.

Will you travel or hire a production company to film the testimonial? Do you have the resources in-house to produce the video?

You want to make it as easy as possible for your customers to say good things about your business. By controlling the production, you’ll be able to ensure the quality of the video and prompt them to get the footage you’ll need to help build trust with your prospects, alleviate any doubts, and convince them that your services or products will solve their need. However, this can be a large resource commitment, and you may not have the budget.

There are tools available to help you create professional video testimonials on a budget. Apps (that require a subscription), like Bravo and Nimbb , allow users to record testimonials with the webcam on their computers or smartphones and send them your way, so you can get them up on your site efficiently, without a hitch.

Why Reviews and Testimonials Are Important

The importance of online reviews is high for both businesses and customers.

From a customer's perspective, reviews and testimonials heavily influence how much a customer can trust a new brand or product. Even one negative review can dissuade a potential customer. Additionally, a business with no reviews raises a red flag; both positive or negative, reviews are beneficial in a customer's eyes.

Another important part of customer reviews is a business's response to them. BrightLocal found that 55% of consumers felt positively after seeing a business owner responding to a review. This means engaging with customer reviews can give your business a competitive advantage.

From a business's perspective, reviews and testimonials help businesses understand why they are retaining or losing their customers. With reviews and testimonials, companies can make educated decisions about what needs to remain the same and what needs to change to be as successful as possible. Lastly, positive reviews help convert interested consumers and leads into buyers and loyal customers.

Customer Reviews and Testimonials in the Sales Process

A positive review or a powerful testimonial has the potential to convert a lead into a customer. With both reviews and testimonials, you can answer a customer’s questions and show them how other people like them have used your product or service.

By using reviews, you are putting your customers first and selling by showing how others have gotten value from your products — it’s no longer a pitch, but a conversation. Testimonials give consumers important information without being “salesy” and give potential customers the opportunity to do their own research and due diligence.

Adding Testimonials to Your Sales Deck

Adding customer testimonials to your sales deck can provide readers and potential buyers with the additional support they need to make a decision. In a sales deck, businesses typically include information that relates to prospective buyers’ needs, possible solutions to the challenges they may be facing, and proof that your claims are accurate. Customer testimonials will help you do all of this.

Using Landing Pages for Your Testimonials

To make the biggest impact on potential customers, showcase all of your testimonials in one easy-to-find location , such as on a single landing page.

Check out HubSpot’s testimonial landing page for reference. This highlights the variety of companies using our products and how they’ve each benefited differently. Also, notice how each testimonial is paired with a picture. Potential customers can put a face to the name and have a more personal experience.

If you’re looking for specific testimonial examples and landing page examples, read this post .

Start Collecting Customer Reviews

Remember: Customer reviews and testimonials are key to understanding why people are using your products — or maybe even why they found the experience less than stellar. This is just one more way to use feedback to improve your overall offerings and how you interact with prospects and customers.

To get as much accurate feedback as possible, businesses should encourage customers to write them honest and specific reviews. Companies should reinforce the positive feedback and respond to negative reviews with the goal of understanding how they could have done better and if there’s a way to repair the relationship.

By encouraging customers to provide you with reviews and testimonials, you can better understand your audience’s pain points, prove your value to prospects, and build the best possible experience for all your customers.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in June 2018 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Don't forget to share this post!

Related articles.

How to Respond to Customer Complaints [+Complaint Response Examples]

Tool Sprawl in CX: 7 Signs It's Hurting Your Work & 6 Ways to Fix It

14 Testimonial Page Examples You'll Want to Copy

5 Expert Tips for Responding to Customer Reviews [+ Examples]

The 12-Step Guide to Creating High-Converting Customer Testimonial Videos

How to Delete Google Reviews (& What to Do If You Can't)

32 Customer Review Sites for Collecting Business & Product Reviews

Why Paying for Google Reviews Is a No-Go (+ What To Do Instead)

Google Review Link: How to Generate One and Share

How to Turn Off Reviews on Facebook

Use these free prompts to respond to reviews faster and easier.

Service Hub provides everything you need to delight and retain customers while supporting the success of your whole front office

May We Suggest?

Is this it, how about this, search results.

Our reviewers evaluate products and services based on unbiased research. Top Consumer Reviews may earn money when you click on a link. Learn more about our process.

Top Consumer Reviews

Top Products. Top Reviews. Top Consumer Reviews.

Tips for Buying a Diamond Online

Engagement Rings

What Should I Look for When Buying an Engagement Ring?

Chocolate Stores

Why Do People Love Chocolate So Much?

Stair Climbers

The Pros and Cons of Stair Climbers

Coffee Clubs

Where Does Coffee Come From?

Fruit Basket Companies

What Are Some Tips for Choosing the Right Fruit Basket?

Steak Companies

What Should I Look for When Buying Steak Online?

LLC Formation Services

What's the Difference Between an LLC and Incorporation?

Years in Business

Professional Reviews

Subscribers

Newest Reviews

Beauty Box Subscriptions

What's the best Beauty Box Subscription online today? Looking for the best beauty box subscription to elevate your self-care routine?

Bridesmaid Dress Stores

Where is the best place to buy bridesmaid dresses online? There's no doubt that planning a wedding is exciting.

Canadian Credit Monitoring Companies

Who Provides the Best Credit Monitoring Service for Canadians? Credit monitoring services have become very popular in recent years.

Chinese Lessons

Where Can You Get the Best Chinese Lessons Online? The motivations for learning Chinese are as diverse and compelling as the language itself.

Personal Loans

Where Can You Find the Best Personal Loans? Personal loans are a type of borrowing where you can get money from a bank, credit union, or online lender and pay it back over time with interest.

Weight Loss Meal Delivery

What weight loss meal delivery service is the best? Weight loss meal delivery services are revolutionizing the way people approach dieting.

Plans and Pricing

Artificial intelligence (AI)

Business leadership

Communication & collaboration

CX / Customer experience

EX / Employee experience

Hybrid work

Productivity

Small business

Virtual events

Life @ RingCentral

RingCentral newsdesk

RingCentral products

Customer stories

Industry insights

Reports & research

Strategic partnerships

Already a partner?

Interested in partnering with us? Tell us a little about your business here .

Sales: (877) 768-4369

9 customer review examples + template for getting more reviews

When it comes to making decisions, we humans aren’t always independent thinkers. From buying our morning coffee to big-ticket items like a new car, we depend on our network’s opinions, advice, or perspectives for making the right decision. 

With the internet, those networks get way, way bigger. We’re no longer confined to just friends, family, and coworkers—we can see what people all around the world think with just a quick Google search. 

And these customer reviews hold serious weight with shoppers. Online reviews—either positive or negative—can impact over 93% of consumers’ decisions . 1  

While reviews can accumulate on their own, they shouldn’t exist in a vacuum. Knowing how to ask for reviews, leverage them to get more business, and respond to less-than-favorable customer testimonials can improve your business image and land you more long-lasting customers. 

Keep reading to learn about:

• Why customer reviews are so important 
• 9 types of reviews and how to get more of them  
• How to respond to positive and negative customer reviews

🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 Want to get more customer reviews for your business? Use these outreach templates (and DIY customer review builder!) to help your customers give you the best review possible.

Get free review templates

Why are customer reviews so important?

Customer reviews build something known as social proof, a phenomenon that states people are influenced by those around them. This might include friends and family, industry experts and influencers, or even internet strangers. 

Social proof can push customers who are on the fence about buying a product to make a purchase (or consider other alternatives). While there are many different forms of social proof (like influencer campaigns and company partnerships), customer reviews have a special place in shoppers’ hearts. 

Think about the last time you tried a new restaurant. Or bought a vacuum. You probably looked for reviews online first, right? When considering a purchase, people want first-hand perspectives from other people just like them. While a famous influencer might catch their attention, experiences from peers are also important if you want to convince them to buy . 

Depending on the industry your business is in, customer reviews might be especially important because they help offset a generally negative view of certain industries. For example, if you work in advertising, you’ve got a bit of an uphill battle— only 23% of respondents surveyed in the Customer Communications Review said that ad agencies provided “very good” or “pretty good” service, and ad agencies rank dead last in comparison to other major industries:

Thank you for your interest in RingCentral.

9 customer review examples (and how to get more reviews)

Customer reviews come in many different forms. Including a few good ones on your website can improve your chances of winning more customers—who doesn’t want that?

And anything you can do to make it as easy for your happy customers to write those reviews for you will help. For example, here’s a handy Mad-Libs-style customer review builder that you can attach to your message or email to the customer when you’re asking if they can write a review or testimonial for you:

You can download this customer review template, along with examples of outreach communications, to help you save a ton of time as you’re gathering customer reviews 👇

Let’s walk through the different kinds of customer reviews, starting with the easiest ones to collect. ​

Testimonials or quotes from your customers are one of the most common forms of customer reviews. You’re most likely to find them on a company website, typically on the homepage, or in their marketing materials. 

Here’s an example of a quote testimonial from WordPress : 

These short (typically only one to two sentence) overviews of how your product or service impacted a company helps give your brand credibility. With quote testimonials, those impressive claims you’re making actually sound believable because they’re backed up by someone who’s, well, not you. 

We list customer quotes as the easiest type of review to get because they involve very little effort for you and your customer. Because you’re in control of adding them to your website, all you need to do is ask your customers to share their experience in an email, in person, or over the phone. 

Quotes also allow you to choose the great customer service stories , perspectives, or opinions that you think are most valuable. You can highlight your high-profile clients—and who says you have to use the less-than-favorable reviews?

How to get a quote review:

Ask for it. Call up your long-term customers and ask if they’d be willing to share a testimonial or a bit about their experience working with you to display on your website.

Or look for positive words of encouragement in email and social media responses or everyday conversations. If a customer gives you a great quote, ask if you can showcase it on your website.

You might be on multiple social media platforms, so how can you keep track of all these messages? If you’re providing omnichannel customer service , you might already be using a tool that can consolidate all your customer conversations and communication channels into one handy dashboard. Like this:

To get awesome customer reviews, you need to provide awesome customer service, whether that’s by focusing on proactive or agile customer service.

2. Peer review sites

Peer review sites are probably what you think of when you think of customer reviews. These include Google reviews, Facebook reviews, Yelp, Amazon, or G2 Crowd (if you’re a software company). 

You’ve probably encountered these kinds of reviews while you were deciding whether or not to try a local business for the first time: 

Reviews on peer-to-peer sites can happen organically, often removing the company from the review process entirely. (This can be a nightmare if you’re managing a small business , since one bad review can have a huge impact, but this also makes the reviews seem more authentic.) Customers don’t need to worry about if companies have edited them to be more favorable (or deleted reviews they didn’t agree with). 

However, this also means you’re not as in control of these kinds of reviews. 

But that doesn’t mean you can’t do anything at all. These peer-to-peer review sites are often one of the first places a potential customer looks when considering a purchase, so ensuring you have some positive reviews on each is important. 

How to get a review on a peer review site:

Again, the best way to do this is to ask. Send an email, ask in person, or add links to your website that make it easy for customers to leave their opinion.  

3. Social media

Social media is becoming just as much a resource for businesses that want to build brand awareness as it is for people who are interested in connecting with brands. But don’t just your social media campaigns to get prospects. Not only are customers turning to social media to ask brands questions or learn about their services, they’re also using their accounts to share opinions and reviews. 

Here’s an example from American Eagle’s spin-off clothing line Aerie: 

Like peer-to-peer review sites, the company usually isn’t involved in the review process—making them feel more transparent and honest. But one of the biggest benefits of having reviews on social networks is that prospective customers can get a feel for who the customer is in ways they can’t with testimonials or peer-to-peer review sites. 

How to get social media reviews:

Encourage customer reviews on social media by creating communities where customers are empowered to share their experiences or purchases. For example, Aerie uses the hashtag #AerieReal to make it easy to see how customers are styling their items in real life: 

Create a unique hashtag to compile your customer reviews in one place.

4. Case studies 

Case studies dive deep into customer results and are particularly useful for businesses selling to businesses (aka the B2B space). 

Here’s an example of a case study from RingCentral and our client Box : 

Case studies—unlike traditional customer reviews—are written from the perspective of the company doing the work or providing the product. Rather than the customer explaining how they helped, the company walks through what they did to help their customer reach their goals. 

This perspective gives potential customers an idea of how your team works. It gives you a chance to show off your problem-solving skills and attention to detail, and it allows your potential customer to envision how you might help them. 

How to get case study reviews:

Write your own! Be sure to mix in quotes, results, and info from your customer to back up your claims. Each case study should read like a partnership—not just a one-sided perspective. 

5. Customer stories and interviews 

We all love a good story—and that’s probably clear in the review types that we’ve listed so far. Customers want to see themselves in the people your company has already helped; they want to know what your customer experience is like. One way to do this is through customer stories and interviews. 

Squarespace is one company that does this well:

Through stories and interviews, Squarespace shares who their customers are, what the vision or mission of their website is, and how Squarespace provides them with the platform to reach those goals. 

For Squarespace, they get an opportunity to showcase how diverse their client pool is. But it gives customers an opportunity to connect with each other too. Similar to case studies, stories and interviews paint a larger picture of what the customer is hoping to accomplish—only you have to be less self-centered here and make sure your customer is the star of the story. 

How to get customer story-style reviews:

Stories and interviews give a more personal perspective. Instead of hearing from your company, they’re hearing stories straight from the customer. So, to get those stories, send customers a questionnaire or old in-person interviews.

Give your customers an opportunity to share their stories, then focus on filling in the rest of the narrative with images, videos, and other content. 

💡 Get more positive customer reviews with these free outreach templates (and DIY customer review builder).

Get free templates

6. Blog posts 

Blog post reviews give your potential customer an opportunity to really dig in deep into your product or service, and even your brand and culture as a company. Rather than just a sentence or two like a customer might find on your website or a few hundred words displayed on a peer-to-peer review page, blog posts can be thousands of words, complete with step-by-step instructions with images that thoroughly explain a process or perspective. 

This is a great example of a blog post review on Warby Parker : 

These kinds of reviews can typically answer more complicated questions that require more space and time—something that isn’t really possible with traditional reviews. 

But one of the biggest benefits of blog post reviews is the SEO value, meaning you can get these pages to show up on Google when people are searching for reviews of your business. If you’ve ever searched for “[product] review,” you’ve probably encountered a post like this before. Because these posts tend to be descriptive, long-form, and useful, they can rank pretty highly. 

How to get blog post reviews:

Getting reviews like this one can be a little difficult. After all, not everyone has a blog to write on. You can increase your chances by offering a free sample or trial of your products or other goodies to industry influencers and experts who run popular blogs. 

Consumers like videos. This isn’t anything new. In fact, 85% of internet users in the United States say they watch video content—making it a strong contender as an outlet for your customer reviews 2 . 

Shopify is one example of a company using video testimonials: 

Video reviews can give potential buyers something most written reviews can’t: emotion. 

Viewers can see the difference your products or services have made. They can build a stronger connection with your customers, making it easier to put themselves in their shoes. These deeper connections can spark more sales . 

Creating videos doesn’t need to be complicated. Customers sharing selfie-style videos talking about what your product has done, or just stationed in front of a camera, can get the same message across. 

While you want the image and audio to be clear in the videos you share, the quality of the message is more important. If you have a customer willing to discuss on camera how you’ve helped them, this can go a long way. 

Here’s another video review of Shopify, this time from YouTube : 

This one doesn’t involve a lot of money or production—just a user sitting in front of his computer camera giving his opinion of the tool. And it still has over 15,000 views.

How to get more video reviews: 

If you have the budget for larger production projects you want to feature on your website (like our first example), reach out to the customers you think have the best story or video presence. If you’re spending the money, you’re in control of the story. 

However, to get more reviews like the second, treat it the same as blog post reviews. Reach out to industry experts who have large YouTube followings and offer free trials or discounted products in exchange for an honest review. 

8. User-generated content 

User-generated content includes social media posts, videos, images, audio, or other kinds of content created by—you guessed it—a user of your products or services. Some of the review types we’ve already covered would fall into this category (like social media posts or customer videos). 

But user-generated content isn’t just an online review or a customer sharing an image with your hashtag. That’s just the start. You then need to take that content and use it in a bigger, coordinated way. 

Here’s an example of how direct-to-consumer mattress brand Casper does it:

Like the Aerie example, Casper encourages users to share pictures using their products (in this case, sleeping on their mattresses) on social media. When someone tags Casper in their post, the image is added to a reel on their website. 

They also share customer posts on their own Instagram feed:

Dogs and babies do well on Instagram, haven’t you heard?

User-generated content puts your customers’ experiences front and center. Although they’re not exactly traditional reviews, prospective customers can see how happy others are with your products. It helps build authenticity— something millennials love . 

How to get more user-generated content: 

This one follows the same tips as social media reviews. Encourage your audience to share their experiences by creating a unique hashtag or tell them to tag you in their posts. 

Then start commenting, sharing, and engaging with your own audience. When your audience sees you showcasing other users’ experiences or getting into conversations, they’ll jump to get involved. 

9. Brand ambassadors 

Think of brand ambassadors as an external sales team. They’re loyal customers who love your brand or product so much they’re willing to recommend your products or services to their own networks. The bonus with having brand ambassadors is that they’re usually seriously obsessed fans—and are probably more familiar with your product than even your own team.

Brand ambassadors don’t need to have large followings. In fact, anyone can be a brand ambassador. You probably have brand ambassadors without even knowing it. 

One of the best examples of brand ambassadors online is for the budgeting software, You Need a Budget (YNAB). Users are active on platforms like Reddit , sharing advice on how the platform has changed their life for the better:

How to get more brand ambassadors:

While you could pay for brand ambassadors, you’re better off creating them organically. In YNAB’s case, they did so by providing a unique spin to traditional budgeting software. By helping customers who otherwise would have slipped through the cracks, they’ve created a loyal fan base. 

It takes more time to build brand ambassadors naturally, but this is a high-reward review since their advocacy will be much, much stronger, directed, and in-depth than your average Yelp review. 

👀  How can you get more customer reviews? Start with these free outreach templates (and DIY customer review builder).

How to respond to customer reviews 

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again—your customer reviews shouldn’t exist in a vacuum. 

If you’re just allowing customers to leave reviews on peer-to-peer pages, social media, or their own blogs without acknowledging them or responding to them, you’re not making use of powerful content that has been known to convert leads.

But your response process should look different depending on if the review is positive or not. 

How to respond to a positive review  

Congrats! A customer left you a positive review. Time to pop the champagne—and write a response. 

Responding to a positive review is a lot less stressful than responding to something negative but just as important. Letting your happy customers know you’ve seen their kind words and you appreciate their feedback can encourage them to continue singing your praises. 

Here’s how to respond to positive reviews: 

• Make your message personalized. Customers will quickly realize if you’re just copying and pasting messages to all your reviews. Instead of giving a generic “Thanks!” take the time to write a thought-out, personalized message.
• Respond in a day or two. Fast responses show you’re paying attention. While you’re not expected to drop everything to respond to reviews, a quick response—especially on social media—can keep customers engaged with your brand. Reduce your response time by integrating your social media apps with your cloud-based communications system. RingCentral connects with top social platforms, like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, so you can easily respond without needing to switch platforms.
• Show your personality. This is your chance to engage directly with a happy customer, so make the most of it. Respond with some personality—humor, kindness, wit, you get the idea—to really connect with your customer. Regardless of your brand’s personality, be authentic. Your audience will be able to tell if you’re not.
• Give a recommendation. Now is a great time to point your customer in the direction of another product, a piece of content, or something related to their review. (This is a great way to personalize your response!) For example, if they say they enjoyed a product, recommend they look into a supplementary project, or suggest they check out a blog post that tells them how to make the most of their purchase. Your main goal is to keep them engaged! 
• Ask if you can showcase their review. If someone leaves you a particularly stellar or unique testimonial, ask for permission to share it! Display it on your website, show it off on social media, or create user-generated content out of it. Showing off the kind words of your happy customers is more powerful than just telling people how awesome you are.

How to respond to a negative review

Negative reviews are much less exciting than positive reviews. They can be stressful, and responding can feel like a lost cause. But even the most unhappy customer can change their opinion with the right encouragement. 

Responding to a negative review is a little less “just be yourself” and a little more strategic: 

• Respond promptly. Again, you may not need to drop everything you’re doing to respond, but it’s more important to get to negative reviews quickly than positive reviews. If a negative review is posted for too long without a response, not only is it frustrating for the unhappy customer, but it can also leave a bad taste in prospective customers’ mouths. Do your best to get to negative responses in just a few hours.
• Put the customer first. You may not agree with what the customer is saying, but that doesn’t mean you should be on the defensive. Instead, listen and see where the customer is coming from—you have to identify where their frustration lies. Think about the response you would want in their shoes and try and find a solution.
• Respond publicly, but push the conversation to a private channel. You don’t want to get into a debate with an unhappy customer on Yelp, but you also don’t want it to seem like you’re not acknowledging negative reviews. Reply to unhappy customers on the platform they’ve left the review on, but encourage them to continue the conversation through a private message on social media, email, or phone call. 

If you have a phone or communications tool, it can make this part easier. For example, RingCentral integrates with other popular social media apps to let you switch between platforms while keeping the integrity of your conversations:

(When frustrated customers don’t have to repeat their issues over and over, it might help soothe them a bit and give you a better shot at turning the interaction around.)

• Follow through. Don’t just apologize and call it settled. In order to change your customer’s opinion, you need to find a solution to their problem and follow through on it. Work with the customer to discover what will change their opinion—and follow up after to see if you’ve been successful.
• Don’t get it taken down. It can be tempting to get a negative review removed, but it can hurt the trust you’ve built with other customers—especially if that unhappy customer realizes they’ve been silenced. If you respond the right way, leaving the review up also proves to prospective customers that you care about your customers’ opinions. Sometimes, an unhappy customer will even write a positive follow-up review to show people that you actually turned things around for them:

Replying to reviews (both positive and negative) appropriately means having open communication with your customers. Bringing reviews in as part of your customer feedback cycle can help you identify communication gaps or other areas where you’re not meeting expectations. 

What can you learn from these customer review examples?

Asking your audience to buy from you without any reinforcement from other customers is an uphill battle. Without any reviews or social proof, you’re expecting them to invest solely on blind trust—and it doesn’t work well. 

Rather than making your job more difficult, make the most of the happy experiences your customers choose to share. From peer-to-peer pages to your own website and social media accounts, showcasing positive reviews—and responding to negative reviews the right way—can help you land more customers.

1 thedrum.com/news/2017/03/27/online-reviews-impact-purchasing-decisions-over-93-consumers-report-suggests

2 statista.com/statistics/272835/share-of-internet-users-who-watch-online-videos

Originally published Feb 19, 2020, updated Jan 29, 2023

Customer stories, Small business

Junk hauling business discovers a treasure: RingCentral

Have you ever had a room, garage, closet, or side yard piled so high with junk that you said to yourself, “I’d pay someone just to come and take this stuff away”? Entrepreneur Al Noufaro realized that type of scenario might actually be pretty common (and present a lucrative market), especially considering the current trend ...

Related content

The best CRM for small businesses—at every price range

8 first call resolution best practices: Benefits, challenges, and more

Manage your customer lifecycle better with these 4 tips 

Ad-free. Influence-free. Powered by consumers.

The payment for your account couldn't be processed or you've canceled your account with us.

We don’t recognize that sign in. Your username maybe be your email address. Passwords are 6-20 characters with at least one number and letter.

We still don’t recognize that sign in. Retrieve your username. Reset your password.

Forgot your username or password ?

Don’t have an account?

• Account Settings
• My Benefits
• My Products
• Donate Donate

Save products you love, products you own and much more!

Other Membership Benefits:

Suggested Searches

• Become a Member

Car Ratings & Reviews

2024 Top Picks

Car Buying & Pricing

Which Car Brands Make the Best Vehicles?

Car Maintenance & Repair

Car Reliability Guide

Key Topics & News

Listen to the Talking Cars Podcast

Home & Garden

Bed & Bath

Top Picks From CR

Best Mattresses

Lawn & Garden

TOP PICKS FROM CR

Best Lawn Mowers and Tractors

Home Improvement

Home Improvement Essential

Best Wood Stains

Home Safety & Security

HOME SAFETY

Best DIY Home Security Systems

REPAIR OR REPLACE?

What to Do With a Broken Appliance

Small Appliances

Best Small Kitchen Appliances

Laundry & Cleaning

Best Washing Machines

Heating, Cooling & Air

Most Reliable Central Air-Conditioning Systems

Electronics

Home Entertainment

FIND YOUR NEW TV

Home Office

Cheapest Printers for Ink Costs

Smartphones & Wearables

BEST SMARTPHONES

Find the Right Phone for You

Digital Security & Privacy

MEMBER BENEFIT

• CR Security Planner
• Take Action

How to Avoid Pesticides When Eating Produce

A CR investigation found that some fruits and vegetables carry unhealthy levels of chemicals. Our exclusive ratings reveal how to get the benefits from produce while minimizing your risk.

What to Know About the Food You Eat

Find ratings & reviews.

Central Air Conditioners

Dishwashers

Hearing Aids

Lawn Mowers & Tractors

Plug-In Hybrids

Refrigerators

Vacuums & Robovacs

Washing Machines

NEWSLETTERS: Get expert tips and advice Sign Up  

Founding Consumers Reports

Striking workers formed Consumers Union, now known as Consumer Reports. CR was created as an independent, nonprofit organization, using testing, reporting, and advocacy to counter marketplace misinformation and advance consumer protections

Guiding Consumers in Wartime

When the U.S. went to war in 1941, manufacturers focused on war production. Many consumers had to ration to make ends meet. To help people make smart decisions with limited funds, CR published a weekly newsletter, “Bread & Butter.”

Exposing Nuclear Fallout in Food

CR launched the first large-scale investigation of consumer exposure to fallout from nuclear weapons testing in food, analyzing the amount of Strontium-90 in milk. As a result, the federal government expanded its monitoring of nuclear fallout.

Surgeon General’s Landmark Report on Smoking

For a decade, CR conducted independent testing and research to highlight the dangers of cigarettes. The Surgeon General’s Advisory Committee on Smoking and Health used CR’s work to draft its landmark report.

U.S. Government Mandates Seat Belts

CR’s tests showed two-thirds of seat belts failed basic safety and durability tests, leading CR to call for better belts and for federal standards that incorporated crash testing. The government later mandated them.

Fighting for Safer Drinking Water

CR published a landmark three-part series on the safety of the United States water supply, which played a key role in encouraging Congress to pass the Safe Drinking Water Act.

Setting New Standards for Child Safety Seats

When CR first crash-tested car seats, 12 out of 15 were rated Not Acceptable. After CR published its findings, the government required manufacturers to certify that their seats would pass a similar test.

Exposing the Dangers of Pesticides

In a study of U.S. Department of Agriculture data, CR found pesticide levels in some fruits and vegetables were too high. Shortly after, one of the pesticides was banned for use on food crops commonly consumed by children.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Created

CR helped to mobilize support in Congress to create the CFPB, an independent agency responsible for overseeing the financial industry with powers to police abusive practices and to enact new consumer protections.

Bisphenol-A Banned in Baby Products

CR was one of the first groups to test food packaging for BPA. After working to pass bans in several states, the FDA finally announced a federal ban on BPA in baby bottles and sippy cups (2012) and infant formula packaging (2013).

A Win on Backup Cameras

After years of CR’s advocating for standards to address the problem of blind zones behind cars and trucks, the Department of Transportation finally required backup cameras in all vehicles less than 10,000 pounds by 2018.

Advancing Laws to Protect Consumer Privacy

The California Consumer Privacy Act provided key individual privacy rights, such as the right to stop the sale of personal info. CR fought efforts to weaken the legislation, mobilizing CR members to call on legislators to enact privacy protections.

Advancing and Protecting Digital Consumer Rights

CR launched the Digital Lab—a bold initiative to advance and protect consumer rights in the digital era by focusing on testing connected products and platforms for hackability, digital privacy, and how responsibly our data is handled.

Fighting Hidden Cable Fees

CR testified before Congress about cable TV fees, following years of advocacy and research. Thousands of CR members contacted lawmakers, and Congress passed a law requiring providers to disclose the total price of service before a consumer signs up.

Protecting Kids & Infants From Dangerous Products

CR’s investigation into the safety of infant inclined sleepers linked to dozens of deaths led to the recall of over 5 million sleepers. Following CR’s outreach, several retailers and online marketplaces said they would stop selling the sleepers.

Navigating the Pandemic

Millions turned to CR for free articles about staying safe and avoiding misinformation as COVID-19 spread. CR advocated for relief measures in Congress to help people stay in their homes, stay online, and avoid surprise medical bills.

Helping Student Borrowers, Stopping Scams

California approved a landmark law championed by CR to provide student loan borrowers the nation’s strongest protections against loan-servicing abuses. The state also created a watchdog to crack down on financial fraud and predatory lending.

Raising Standards for Infant Safety

CR helped pass a landmark national rule to establish strong minimum safety standards for infant sleep products for the very first time.

Making the Green Choice

CR launched the Green Choice rating to help people identify the most environmentally friendly cars, washers, and other products. CR also helped get new greenhouse gas rules for vehicles to reduce emissions and help consumers save money on fuel.

STURDY Act Takes Effect

A landmark law championed by CR requires dressers to meet stability standards to prevent deadly furniture tip-overs.

More From CR

Site tools & features.

• Build & Buy Car Buying Service
• A-Z Product Guide

Join Our Community

• Join the Fight for Fair Internet
• 2023 Impact Report

Connect With Us

• CR on Facebook
• CR on TikTok
• 'Talking Cars' Video Podcast

The Best Drinking Glasses

by Michael Sullivan

We’ve tested over 50 drinking glasses in a wide range of designs and prices. We found 16 favorites to suit any lifestyle and budget.

• The Best Wine Glasses
• The Best Outdoor Dinnerware
• The Elegant, Affordable Teku Glass Makes Most Beer Taste Better

Daily deals

Price drops on products we already love

Bialetti Moka Express Moka Pot (6-Cups)

$34 $40 from Amazon

Netgear PLP2000 Powerline Networking Adapter

$90 $120 from Amazon

Utopia Bedding Quilted Comforter (Queen)

$19 $27 from Amazon

(queen, limited colors)

Victrola Eastwood Signature Turntable

$126 $150 from Amazon

Nagaoka MP-110 Phono Cartridge

$118 $135 from Amazon

Dr. Teal’s Relax & Relief Foaming Bath with Pure Epsom Salt (Add 3)

$12 $18 from Ulta (Relax & Relief, 3-pack)

Add 3 to cart, use promo code 621225, with store pickup

Thermos Funtainer Food Jar (10 Ounce, 2-Pack)

$15 $22 from Amazon (pack of 2)

Bellroy Lite Duffel

$85 $125 from Amazon

With delayed shipping (limited colors)

PlanetBox Rover Stainless Steel Lunch Box

$55 $65 from PlanetBox

Price reflects in cart, includes shipping

Bonobos Soft Everyday Tee

$18 $35 from Bonobos

Use promo code ROYALTY

See all 120 deals

Move in these

Some essentials to work out in.

The Best Sports Bras

The Best Leggings

How to Choose the Best Running Shoes for You

The Best Running Gear

The Best Tape Measure

by Doug Mahoney

After 45 hours of research and durability tests on 17 tape measures, we think that the  Stanley 25-foot PowerLock Tape Measure is the best option for most people.

The Best Water Quality Test Kit for Your Home

by Tim Heffernan

SimpleLab’s Tap Score Advanced City Water Test offers comprehensive analysis of your drinking water with easy-to-read results.

The Best Non-Contact Voltage Tester

After interviewing electricians and testing seven non-contact voltage testers, we think the Klein NCVT-3 is the safest tool for checking electrical currents.

Ask Wirecutter: What Are the Best Buy-It-for-Life (and Beyond) Products?

by Annemarie Conte

These heirloom-worthy products are worth the investment.

Electronics

How One Small Startup Is Tackling Apple’s Big AirPods Problem

by Jon Chase

AirPods are a sustainability nightmare, but a small startup called The Swap Club is doing its part to help AirPods owners and the environment.

Which MacBook Should I Buy?

by Dave Gershgorn

Can’t decide which of Apple’s laptops is the best for your needs? For most people, the M2 MacBook Air is the one to buy.

The Best Smartwatch for Android Phones

by Ryan Whitwam

Smartwatches offer a good way to wrangle notifications and track activity. Samsung’s Galaxy Watch6 is the best option for Android users.

The Best Essential Oil Diffusers

by Dorie Chevlen and Shannon Palus

The Urpower 300ml Aroma Essential Oil Diffuser has been our favorite diffuser since 2017.

The Best White Noise Machine

by Joanne Chen and Annie Chou

A white noise machine can mask irritating noises that make it hard to sleep or difficult to focus. The LectroFan EVO is the most effective option for the price.

How to Choose a Mattress

by Joanne Chen

We’ve collected all our big-picture mattress-buying advice to help you find a bed you’ll happily sleep on for years.

The Best Mattresses for Back Pain

There is no actual “best” mattress for back-pain sufferers, though one that feels medium-firm to you is likely to be the best choice. We have six to recommend.

Hop Water Isn’t Trying to Be Beer. That’s Why We Like It.

by Ben Keough

Haven’t heard of hop water? Here’s why your seltzer needs a kiss of herbal, piney, citrusy goodness—and which brands to look out for.

The Secret to Making Your Kitchen Great for Cooking and Entertaining: Smart Lighting

by Megan Wollerton

There’s more to a kitchen than just cooking. Smart lighting lets you adjust and optimize the lights for cooking, entertaining, cleanup, and breakfast the next day.

How to Clean Baking Sheets

by Marguerite Preston

You can restore your baking sheets’ shine with a fair amount of hard scrubbing. But there’s good news: Your dingy baking sheets are actually fine––maybe even better––just the way they are.

The Best Upright and Canister Vacuums

by Sabine Heinlein

Only a powerful plug-in upright or canister vacuum can truly deep-clean your carpets and floors. We recommend four.

What’s the Best Vacuum for Hardwood Floors?

Any vacuum can clean bare floors, but some models make it a little easier. We think the Miele Classic C1 Pure Suction does an excellent job.

What’s the Best Vacuum for Pet Hair?

We recommend six vacuums that have the tools, power, and maneuverability to tackle pet fur in your carpets, on your couch, or in your car.

The Best Personal Blender

by Anna Perling and Lesley Stockton

We’ve spent years making smoothies, pesto, and date shakes to find the best personal blender, the NutriBullet Pro 900 .

The 38 Best Gifts for Grandparents

by Samantha Schoech

From life-upgrade gadgets to creative ways to display family photos, the best gifts for grandparents are here.

The 34 Best Gifts for College Graduates

by Samantha Schoech and Mari Uyehara

Whether your college grad is headed to their first real job or a new adventure, these useful gifts will help them on the road to adulthood.

The Best Strategy Board Games

by James Austin

The best strategy games pit you against your friends in an intense battle of wits. These are six of our favorites.

I Hate Sleeping in a Tent. So I Turned My Car Into a Cozy Camping Haven.

by Elissa Sanci

In the last two years, I’ve fine-tuned my overlanding setup, which hinges on a car air mattress. Here’s what I use to feel close (but not too close) to nature.

The Best Camping Chairs

by Kyle Fitzgerald and Kalee Thompson

The Coleman Cooler Quad Chair is a classic camping chair to keep you comfortable in most situations. But we recommend other seating options too.

The Best Sandals

by Dorie Chevlen and Zoe Vanderweide

Whether you’re hitting the beach or heading out for a night on the town, we found 9 pairs of comfy, well-made sandals to suit a range of styles and budgets.

The Best Swim Goggles for Adults and Kids

by Seth Berkman

A great pair of swim goggles can make your time in the water safer and more enjoyable. Our picks include effective, highly adjustable pairs for adults and kids.

Yes, Everyone’s Socks Are Showing. Here’s How to Rock the Trend—and the Pairs We Love.

The days of hiding your socks—or treating them as an afterthought—are over. In this new era, what’s on your ankles can be the star of your outfit.

The Best Men’s and Women’s Rain Jackets and Raincoats

by Zoe Vanderweide and Jackie Reeve

Want to stay dry? Our four favorite raincoats and rain jackets—in different styles, materials, and lengths—have you covered.

The Best Robes

by Jackie Reeve and Zoe Vanderweide

We found seven ultra-comfy women’s, men’s, and unisex robes in a wide variety of fabrics and styles.

The Best Travel Power Strips and Surge Protectors With USB Charging

by Sarah Witman

The best power strip for travel in North America is the easily packable Tripp Lite Protect It 3-Outlet Surge Protector —our top pick for eight years running.

The Best Laptop Backpacks

by Zoe Vanderweide

A great laptop backpack protects your tech, is comfortable to carry, and looks good, too. These five bags are our favorites for wrangling your workday gear.

The Best Carry-On Travel Backpacks

by Kit Dillon

The Cotopaxi Allpa 35L is our backpack pick for most travelers. We also have picks for other travelers, including those who want to carry a bit more.

Traveling in a Wheelchair Is Hard. But This Wheelchair Let Me Do a Fulbright in the Philippines.

by Olivia Mae M. Asuncion

Traveling in a wheelchair can pose countless challenges. The EZ Lite Cruiser power wheelchair helped this writer get past the obstacles and see the world.

Health and fitness

I’m Particular About My Toothpaste. This One Is Nearly Perfect.

by Katie Okamoto

Davids toothpaste doesn’t irritate my gums, comes in a neat recyclable tube, and fights cavities with a promising fluoride alternative, nano-hydroxyapatite.

The Best Electric Razor

by Ben Popken and Dan Koeppel

Across 10 years of testing, we’ve found that Braun foil shavers are the best for most faces. The Series 8 models shave closely and are easy to maintain.

The Best Pickleball Paddles

We tested eight pickleball paddles for players looking to buy their first serious paddle. The Paddletek Bantam EX-L is our top pick.

Baby and kid

The Best Tricycles

by Jenni Gritters and Katharine Gammon

Over the past six years, we’ve enlisted dozens of kids to try out 21 three-wheelers, and we have four top trikes to recommend.

The Best Baby Wraps and Slings

by Kerry Davis McGuinness

A stretchy wrap or ring sling allows babies to securely snuggle up to their caregivers. We have the best options for you and your little one.

Now Is a Great Time to Buy a New Car Seat

by Rose Maura Lorre

Target’s semi-annual car seat trade-in event is happening through April 27, 2024.

What to Pack for Camping Trips With Kids

by Kalee Thompson

Investing in some high-quality basics can get kids excited about camping out—and help you avoid a mid-trip detour to the nearest big-box store.

How to Buy the Best Dog Food

by Kaitlyn Wells and Mel Plaut

Is the food you’re feeding your pup up to snuff? We’re here to help you find out.

The Best Water Fountain for Cats and Dogs

by Mel Plaut

These fountains might make a pet more excited to stay hydrated.

Adopting a New Cat Checklist

by Kaitlyn Wells

Before you bring home a cat for the first time, make sure you have everything to keep your new pet happy and healthy.

Games and hobbies

The Best Record Player Setup for Beginners

by Adrienne Maxwell

Start your vinyl music journey here with our picks for turntable, receiver, speakers, and more.

How to Connect Your New Turntable to Any Audio System

by Brent Butterworth

No matter what kind of turntable and audio gear you have, it is possible to get them working together. Here’s how.

Ready to Get Serious About Vinyl? Start With These Affordable Accessories.

by Ian D. White

If you’ve discovered a passion for vinyl, a few affordable accessories can make a positive difference in your turntable setup.

The Best Drones for Photos and Video

by James Austin and Signe Brewster

After testing 33 drones, we found the DJI Air 3 to be the best for most photographers and videographers.

Software and apps

So You’re Locked Out of Your Two-Factor Authentication App. Don’t Panic.

by Max Eddy

If you lose your phone or switch devices, you might get locked out of your online accounts. Here’s how to prevent that from happening.

The Best Two-Factor Authentication App

by Max Eddy and Thorin Klosowski

Two-factor authentication is critical to securing your online accounts, and Duo Mobile offers the best combination of security, accessibility, and ease of use.

I Visited 14 National Parks In One Year. Here Are the Apps I Used to Plan and Pull Off Those Trips.

To explore national parks across the country successfully, I relied on these trusted apps to plan out every last detail.

The Best Standing Desk Converters

by Kevin Purdy and Melanie Pinola

We built and worked on 17 standing desk converters, and we found that the Ergo Desktop Kangaroo Pro Junior remains the best way to stand at a stationary desk.

The Best All-in-One Computer

If you need a family computer or want to cut down on cords in a home office, an all-in-one computer like Apple’s iMac is worth buying.

How Do You Get Rid of Shredded Paper? Think Twice Before Recycling.

by Melanie Pinola

PSA: Putting shredded paper in the recycling bin could do more harm than good.

The Best Monitor Arms

We researched and tested more than a dozen monitor arms and stands to find the best options to raise your screen and free up space on your desk.

The Best Car Phone Mount

by Roderick Scott and Nick Guy

No matter where you want to mount it, we’ve got plenty of options to keep your phone safely in view while you’re driving.

The Best Wireless Charging Phone Mounts for Cars

A wireless charging mount lets you safely use a phone while driving and keep it juiced up along the way. iOttie’s Easy One Touch Wireless 2 remains the best.

The Best Dash Cam

If you’d like the peace of mind of having a dash cam record as you drive, we think the Vantrue N4 is the best overall choice for most people.

Earth Day Is Coming. Here are 7 Deals on Refurbished Wirecutter Picks

by Kaitlin Mahar

Shopping sustainably is no walk in the park, but these deals on refurbished Wirecutter picks can help you save some green while you go green.

5 Great 4/20 Deals on Our Favorite Vapes and Accessories

Break free from the haze of mediocre vaporizer deals. We’ve found 5 great discounts on Wirecutter picks to help you observe this high holiday for less.

The Best Target Circle Week 2024 Deals to Shop Now

Here are the very best Target Circle Week deals we’ve spotted, including deep discounts on Wirecutter picks from Apple, Lego, and Casaluna.

Is Target Circle 360 Right for You? Here’s Everything You Need to Know.

Target offers three different membership programs. We dissected the pros and cons of each one so you don’t have to.

Product Reviews

For more than 120 years, the Good Housekeeping Institute has been independently researching and testing products. Our state-of-the-art testing methods are at the core of everything we do here at GH, and the reason why the Good Housekeeping Seal has been the most recognized consumer emblem in the U.S. for over a century.

@media(max-width: 64rem){.css-o9j0dn:before{margin-bottom:0.5rem;margin-right:0.625rem;color:#ffffff;width:1.25rem;bottom:-0.2rem;height:1.25rem;content:'_';display:inline-block;position:relative;line-height:1;background-repeat:no-repeat;}.loaded .css-o9j0dn:before{background-image:url(/_assets/design-tokens/goodhousekeeping/static/images/Clover.5c7a1a0.svg);}}@media(min-width: 48rem){.loaded .css-o9j0dn:before{background-image:url(/_assets/design-tokens/goodhousekeeping/static/images/Clover.5c7a1a0.svg);}} Reviews You Can Trust

.css-1dmjnw1{position:relative;}.css-1dmjnw1:before{content:"";position:absolute;} .css-4qtnbn{display:block;font-family:MajestiBanner,MajestiBanner-weightbold-roboto,MajestiBanner-weightbold-local,Georgia,Times,Serif;font-weight:bold;letter-spacing:-0.0075rem;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:0;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-4qtnbn:hover{color:link-hover;}}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-4qtnbn{font-size:1.875rem;line-height:1.1;}}@media(min-width: 40.625rem){.css-4qtnbn{font-size:1.875rem;line-height:1.1;}}@media(min-width: 48rem){.css-4qtnbn{font-size:2.625rem;line-height:1;}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-4qtnbn{font-size:3.25rem;line-height:1;}} See How We Test Products in the Good Housekeeping Institute .css-ha23m7{position:relative;}.css-ha23m7:after{content:"";position:absolute;}

Home Appliances

.css-1xsmomj{display:block;font-family:Neutra,Neutra-weightbold-roboto,Neutra-weightbold-local,Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;font-weight:bold;letter-spacing:-0.0075rem;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:0;text-align:center;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-1xsmomj:hover{color:link-hover;}}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-1xsmomj{font-size:1.375rem;line-height:1.1;}}@media(min-width: 40.625rem){.css-1xsmomj{font-size:1.375rem;line-height:1.1;}}@media(min-width: 48rem){.css-1xsmomj{font-size:1.375rem;line-height:1.1;}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-1xsmomj{font-size:1.375rem;line-height:1.1;}} The Best Pool Vacuum Cleaners

The Best Handheld Vacuums

The Best Dehumidifiers for Basements

The Best Electric Composters

More home products.

.css-w9dhmb{display:block;font-family:Archer,Archer-roboto,Archer-local,Georgia,Times,Serif;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:-0.0075rem;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:0;padding-top:0.9375rem;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-w9dhmb:hover{color:link-hover;}}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-w9dhmb{font-size:1rem;line-height:1.3;}}@media(min-width: 40.625rem){.css-w9dhmb{font-size:1rem;line-height:1.3;}}@media(min-width: 48rem){.css-w9dhmb{font-size:1rem;line-height:1.3;}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-w9dhmb{font-size:1rem;line-height:1.3;}} The Best Shower Filters

The Best Bathroom Cleaners

The Best Grill Cleaners

The Best Vacuum Storage Bags

The Best Room Sprays

The Best Eco-Friendly Products

The Best Outdoor Projectors

The Best Water Filters

Make Your Home More Energy-Efficient

The Best Innerspring Mattresses

25 Best Furniture Pieces From Walmart

The Best Walmart Patio Furniture for Less

Cooking Tools

The 11 Best Baking Pan Sets of 2024

The Best Pasta Pots

The Best Food Dehydrators

3 Kitchen Gear Trends We Can't Stop Talking About

Food & drink reviews.

We’re Cracking The Latest Research On Eggs

The Best Produce Delivery Boxes

The Best Matcha Powders

Simple Ways to Shop Sustainably at the Supermarket

Beauty products.

.css-a3j4v4{display:block;font-family:MajestiBanner,MajestiBanner-weightbold-roboto,MajestiBanner-weightbold-local,Georgia,Times,Serif;font-weight:bold;letter-spacing:-0.0075rem;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:0;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-a3j4v4:hover{color:link-hover;}}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-a3j4v4{font-size:1.875rem;line-height:1.1;}}@media(min-width: 40.625rem){.css-a3j4v4{font-size:1.875rem;line-height:1.1;}}@media(min-width: 48rem){.css-a3j4v4{font-size:2.625rem;line-height:1;padding:0 0.3125rem;}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-a3j4v4{font-size:3.25rem;line-height:1;}} The Best At-Home Red Light Therapy Devices

.css-uenjdw{display:block;font-family:Archer,Archer-roboto,Archer-local,Georgia,Times,Serif;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:-0.0075rem;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:0;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-uenjdw:hover{color:link-hover;}}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-uenjdw{font-size:1rem;line-height:1.3;}}@media(min-width: 40.625rem){.css-uenjdw{font-size:1rem;line-height:1.3;}}@media(min-width: 48rem){.css-uenjdw{font-size:1rem;line-height:1.3;}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-uenjdw{font-size:1rem;line-height:1.3;}} The Best Anti-Aging Creams

The Best Head Shavers

Shark Flexstyle vs. Dyson Airwrap Review

The Best Cellulite Creams

Health & wellness products.

The Best Scar Creams

The Best Glucose Monitors

The 5 Best Treadmills for Your Home Gym

The Best Workout Apps

Toys & children's products.

The Best Humidifiers for Babies

The Best Gifts for 7-Year-Old Boys

The Best Toys and Gifts for 7-Year-Olds

Best Toys and Gifts for 6-Year-Old Girls

Best Gifts for 5-Year-Old Girls

Clothing reviews.

The Best Dresses on Amazon

The Best Nipple Covers

The Best Maternity Dresses

The Best Period Swimsuits

Tech & electronics.

The 5 Best Outdoor Security Cameras

The Best Smart Notebooks

The 8 Best Headphones for Working Out

We Tested Two of Bose's Most Popular Headphones

Cars & travel products.

The Best Checked Luggage

The Best Carry-On Luggage

The Best New Family Cars of 2024

The Best Luggage Sets

Explore companies by category

Animals & pets, beauty & well-being, business services, construction & manufacturing, education & training, electronics & technology, events & entertainment, food, beverages & tobacco, health & medical, hobbies & crafts, home & garden, home services, legal services & government, media & publishing, money & insurance, public & local services, restaurants & bars, shopping & fashion, travel & vacation, vehicles & transportation.

• Animal Health
• Animal Parks & Zoo
• Cats & Dogs
• Horses & Riding
• Pet Services
• Cosmetics & Makeup
• Hair Care & Styling
• Personal Care
• Salons & Clinics
• Tattoos & Piercings
• Wellness & Spa
• Yoga & Meditation
• Administration & Services
• Associations & Centers
• HR & Recruiting
• Import & Export
• IT & Communication
• Office Space & Supplies
• Print & Graphic Design
• Research & Development
• Sales & Marketing
• Shipping & Logistics
• Architects & Engineers
• Building Materials
• Chemicals & Plastic
• Construction Services
• Contractors & Consultants
• Factory Equipment
• Garden & Landscaping
• Industrial Supplies
• Manufacturing
• Production Services
• Tools & Equipment
• Colleges & Universities
• Courses & Classes
• Education Services
• Language Learning
• Music & Theater Classes
• School & High School
• Specials Schools
• Vocational Training
• Appliances & Electronics
• Audio & Visual
• Computers & Phones
• Internet & Software
• Repair & Services
• Adult Entertainment
• Children's Entertainment
• Clubbing & Nightlife
• Events & Venues
• Museums & Exhibits
• Music & Movies
• Theater & Opera
• Wedding & Party
• Agriculture & Produce
• Asian Grocery Stores
• Bakery & Pastry
• Beer & Wine
• Beverages & Liquor
• Candy & Chocolate
• Coffee & Tea
• Food Production
• Fruits & Vegetables
• Grocery Stores & Markets
• Lunch & Catering
• Meat, Seafood & Eggs
• Smoking & Tobacco
• Dental Services
• Diagnostics & Testing
• Doctors & Surgeons
• Health Equipment
• Hospital & Emergency
• Medical Specialists
• Mental Health
• Pharmacy & Medicine
• Physical Aids
• Pregnancy & Children
• Therapy & Senior Health
• Vision & Hearing
• Art & Handicraft
• Astrology & Numerology
• Fishing & Hunting
• Metal, Stone & Glass Work
• Music & Instruments
• Needlework & Knitting
• Outdoor Activities
• Painting & Paper
• Bathroom & Kitchen
• Cultural Goods
• Decoration & Interior
• Energy & Heating
• Fabric & Stationery
• Furniture Stores
• Garden & Pond
• Home & Garden Services
• Home Goods Stores
• Home Improvements
• Cleaning Service Providers
• House Services
• House Sitting & Security
• Moving & Storage
• Plumbing & Sanitation
• Repair Service Providers
• Customs & Toll
• Government Department
• Law Enforcement
• Lawyers & Attorneys
• Legal Service Providers
• Libraries & Archives
• Municipal Department
• Registration Services
• Books & Magazines
• Media & Information
• Photography
• Video & Sound
• Accounting & Tax
• Banking & Money
• Credit & Debt Services
• Investments & Wealth
• Real Estate
• Employment & Career
• Funeral & Memorial
• Housing Associations
• Kids & Family
• Military & Veteran
• Nature & Environment
• Professional Organizations
• Public Services & Welfare
• Religious Institutions
• Shelters & Homes
• Waste Management
• African & Pacific Cuisine
• Bars & Cafes
• Chinese & Korean Cuisine
• European Cuisine
• General Restaurants
• Japanese Cuisine
• Mediterranean Cuisine
• Middle Eastern Cuisine
• North & South American Cuisine
• Southeast Asian Cuisine
• Vegetarian & Diet
• Accessories
• Clothing & Underwear
• Clothing Rental & Repair
• Costume & Wedding
• Jewelry & Watches
• Malls & Marketplaces
• Bat-and-ball Games
• Bowls & Lawn Sports
• Dancing & Gymnastics
• Equipment & Associations
• Extreme Sports
• Fitness & Weight Lifting
• Golf & Ultimate
• Hockey & Ice Skating
• Martial arts & Wrestling
• Outdoor & Winter Sports
• Shooting & Target Sports
• Swimming & Water Sports
• Tennis & Racquet Sports
• Accommodation & Lodging
• Activities & Tours
• Airlines & Air Travel
• Travel Agencies
• Energy & Power
• Oil & Fuel
• Water Utilities
• Air & Water Transport
• Airports & Parking
• Auto Parts & Wheels
• Cars & Trucks
• Motorcycle & Powersports
• Other Vehicles & Trailers
• Taxis & Public Transport
• Vehicle Rental
• Vehicle Repair & Fuel

• Reviews TV REVIEWS   v1.11 HEADPHONES REVIEWS   v1.7 MONITOR REVIEWS   v2.0 SOUNDBAR REVIEWS   v1.3 MOUSE REVIEWS   v1.5 KEYBOARD REVIEWS   v1.3.1 PRINTER REVIEWS   v1.2 VACUUM REVIEWS   v1.3 PROJECTOR REVIEWS   v0.8 TOASTER REVIEWS   v1.0 BLENDER REVIEWS   v1.0 KEYBOARD SWITCH REVIEWS   v1.0 SPEAKER REVIEWS   v0.8 CAMERA REVIEWS   v0.12.1 LAPTOP REVIEWS   v0.8.2
• In Progress
• Newsletters

FIND THE BEST PRODUCT FOR YOUR NEEDS

We purchase our own products and put them under the same test bench so you can easily compare the results. No cherry-picked units sent by brands. No ads. Only real tests.

Get full access to our test results with extra website features and support our consumer-focused mission.

Select a product category

Home Entertainment

• Televisions
• In Development Air Purifiers
• In Development Microwaves
• Keyboard Switches
• In Development Routers

Electronics

R&D In The Lab

R&D In The Lab

A better approach to product reviews

We Buy Our Own Products

Unlike most websites, we do not get our review units directly from the manufacturers. Instead, we buy everything ourselves, like a normal customer. It means our units aren't cherry-picked by the manufacturers, but actually represent what you would buy.

Comparable Results

We put all the products we review under the same test bench, so they are easily comparable. Even our pictures are taken in a systematic way. We spend a lot of time comparing the products side-by-side to validate our results. Our test methodology is also on our website so you can confirm the results yourself.

Continuous, Perceptual Testing

We keep the products that we review until they are discontinued, so we can go back and compare them to ensure our reviews are still accurate. All our ratings are automatically calculated based on our test measurements, which are designed to match what really matters to a customer.

When a product is discontinued or no longer popular, we sell the purchased products locally. You can see what products we currently have for sale here .

• What's Covered
• Partner with Us
• Shopify Retailers

6 websites you can trust for product reviews and ratings

If you’ve spent any time researching a product online , you came across a lot of resources (and if you didn't find what you were looking for, you might have given up). Whether it’s a baby stroller , educational toys for your toddler, a comfortable pull-out sofa, or the best deal on Apple AirPods , there is no shortage of brands vying for your money in any product category. Since most products require an investment, you not only want the best quality you can find but assurance that it will last.

Sourcing the best recommendations combined with adding extended warranty protection will result in not only quality products at competitive price points, but coverage to protect your product for years to come. So before you start researching and shopping around, subscribe to Mulberry Unlimited . For just $9.99 a month, you'll get coverage for all your online purchases under the same product protection plan .

Now let's talk about finding the best quality products , and what online resources you can rely on to provide solid product reviews, ratings and recommendations. We’ve compiled a list of six online resources known for providing accurate and unbiased information, from product review blogs to consumer surveys. These can be your go-to sources when you're looking for trustworthy information on the best products, regardless of the product category.

1. Consumer Reports

For unbiased, data-driven information, Consumer Reports is a fail-safe option for product ratings and reviews. As a non-profit organization, Consumer Reports has been an unbiased source of information for consumers since 1936 (before online reviews were even popular!). Consumer Reports gathers data from surveys, tests, and consumer reviews, and compiles recommendations for the best products with the goal of providing trustworthy information for consumers.

You can search the over 7.7 million products that Consumer Reports has reviewed to get an assessment of the top competing products in a specific category, a score for each product that was tested or reviewed, and other valuable insights to help you make the most informed decision possible. By searching for things like "Consumer Reports mattresses" or "Consumer Reports dishwashers", you can get tons of great product reviews.

2. Wirecutter

Now owned and operated by the New York Times, Wirecutter is another trusted source for unbiased product reviews. With Wirecutter, you’ll find recommendations and reviews based on months of research, analysis, and input from experts and consumers alike. The Wirecutter deals and Wirecutter gift guides are also very popular around the holidays, providing recommendations by gift recipients and product category.

Although Wirecutter requires a paid subscription for unlimited access, you'll still find plenty of valuable insights for free. Wirecutter can help you avoid splurging on products that don’t live up to the hype, have features you don’t need, or don't hold up to normal wear and tear .

This is also why extended warranties  are a cost-effective way to extend the life of your products. Shopping with the Mulberry extension and taking advantage of online resources to do you research can help you save money initially and down the road.

3. Good Housekeeping

Good Housekeeping offers more than just food and lifestyle information. While many people might be more familiar with the Good Housekeeping magazine, the Good Housekeeping Institute test thousands of home, beauty, tech, clothing, food and health products to find the best products for you and your family. You'll find product reviews on everything from appliances to mattresses to outdoor living spaces.

Good Housekeeping is based in New York City and takes the art of product reviews very seriously. With staff members from dozens of different disciplines including engineering, culinary, biology, and chemistry experts (and many others), the Good Housekeeping Institute spends each day thoroughly testing thousands of products in order to give you thorough, unbiased review.

4. Popular Mechanics

Popular Mechanics magazine is a publication that has been around for over 100 years, and along with its website has become a trusted source for countless consumers when it comes to product reviews. From technology to tools , you’ll find reliable, extensively-tested reviews that you can trust (as other consumers have since 1902!).

They also cover a wide range of products like fitness equipment , storage solutions, office furniture and kitchen appliances . There's even a Popular Mechanics for kids subscription, which provides lots of fun activities and games for children. If you choose to get a Popular Mechanics subscription, you’ll also enjoy a print copy of their publication, which they send out 6 times per year.

5. TechRadar

If you're looking for advice specifically on tech gear and equipment, that's what you'll find from TechRadar . This resource focuses on everything technology-related, with the goal of being your go-to source for tech-buying advice and everything else you need to buy and enjoy the tech you love.

They have a rigorous review-testing process, looking at long-term value as well. They update and maintain their reviews regularly so you can be sure you're getting up-to-date info, regardless of when a device was released. They say if you can still buy it, it's on their radar. Though they state that they may earn commission if you purchase products through their site, they are also clear that they do not accept payment for product reviews.

6. Honest Product Reviews

Although there’s a bold claim in the name itself, many consumers agree that Honest Product Reviews lives up to its name. From pet-related items to beauty products to electronics , Honest Product Reviews offers unbiased reviews, side-by-side comparisons, and a consumer-friendly format with minimal ads to make your research process a little less painful.

One important detail to note is that Honest Product Reviews does accept compensation from retailers whose products appear on their site. This means that if you choose to click on an Amazon link on their site, chances are they’ll get some kind of commission or receive a benefit in one way or another. While they still provide quality reviews, it is something to keep in the back of your mind.

Bonus resource: Fakespot

While Fakespot doesn't have a content-based website like the other six resources, it will alert you to the quality of a review as you're shopping on retailer websites like Amazon , Walmart , Sephora, eBay, and Best Buy .

When you install the Fakespot Chrome extension, it will provide you with an analysis of existing reviews on the retailer website, giving them an overall grade of A through F based on trustworthiness. You can also choose to further analyze the reviews for a specific product with the Fakespot analyzer.

Protect your purchases with Mulberry Unlimited

Although navigating the world of product reviews can be daunting, there are resources like these to make it less confusing, and more straightforward when it comes to product research.

Additionally, you can subscribe to Mulberry Unlimited to extend the life of your products and ensure that once you do find a quality product, you'll get the maximum value out of it with product protection . 

About the author

You also might like:, subscribe for the latest articles.

Learn / Blog / Article

Back to blog

The beginner’s guide to website feedback with 10 practical use cases

What do you do when your website is not converting, your product is not working, and people are leaving you? How do you find out what’s wrong—so you can fix it?

Last updated

Reading time.

Companies and leaders who deliver outstanding experiences for their website visitors and users know something you might not: that  customer feedback  is the number one driver to create long-term success.  Knowing the voice of the customer (VOC) can lead you in the right direction, no matter the problem.

Customer feedback  gives you a glimpse inside your users’ minds, and you can use that information to improve their experience, reduce drop-offs, and boost conversions. While analytics tools show you what is happening, website feedback—feedback that you collect directly on your website—tells you why it’s happening.

This guide covers everything from how to ask for website feedback to building a better customer experience with what you learn.

Table of contents

What is website feedback.

The value of website feedback (What vs. Why)

Types of website feedback

What is a website feedback survey, the 7 best website feedback survey questions to ask, 10 use cases for improving your website based on customer feedback.

Website feedback FAQs

Website feedback is information obtained directly from website users—through on-page surveys, feedback widgets, and other techniques—to help organizations understand what people think (and how they feel) about their websites and landing pages. Companies combine this information with web analytics to improve user experience, increase traffic, and convert more prospects into paying customers.

The value of website feedback (what vs. why)

Why gather user feedback when you can see what people do through  web analytics  tools, such as  Heatmaps ,  Session Recordings , and old-school Google Analytics?

Because you need  more  to understand the whole picture.

What would you do, for example, if you noticed a huge drop-off on your order page?  Analytics tools can tell you   what   your users are doing  (e.g., 70% quit before completing the order form),  but only   website feedback tools  can tell you   why   this is happening  (e.g., the high shipping costs are freaking them out).

Website feedback sheds light on the bigger picture. The ten methods below will help you understand your  main KPIs  what drives visitors to your website, what barriers prevent some users from converting, and what hooks convince the buyers to take action.

Ask for feedback on your website today 🔥

Sign up for Hotjar to start collecting feedback on your website, and answer burning questions like: why is my website not converting? Why are visitors leaving without buying? How can I improve?

Feedback can come in many forms, from on-page surveys to customer reviews to basic feedback forms. Here are some of the most common website feedback sources:

Website pop-up surveys

A pop-up survey appears in the middle of the screen, forcing visitors to take action (either responding or closing the window) before they can proceed with what they’re doing.

Pop-up surveys should be used sparingly since they run the risk of annoying people—especially if they require a lot of input. Try to limit these kinds of surveys to a handful of questions, and save them for exit-intent pop-ups—a survey used to figure out why a user chooses to leave a website. A pop-up on exit can be valuable for figuring out why customers leave your website without converting.

Website on-page surveys

On-page surveys take up a tiny amount of screen space and slide up from the bottom of the screen (like a chatbot). If you’re looking to survey your users without interrupting their user experience, we recommend on-page surveys (which we call  Feedback Polls  here at Hotjar).

You can ask  on-page feedback questions  in different formats (including open-ended and multiple-choice questions), and you can set the number of seconds it takes for the survey to appear after the page loads.

Website feedback widgets

A website feedback widget is a button that sits at the edge of a web page. Users click the button, rate their experience, and usually answer an open-ended question about how the company could improve their page. They can typically highlight the element(s) on the webpage they want to discuss, so there’s no confusion about what they’re addressing.

While on-page surveys are great for learning more about issues you’ve already identified (the known unknowns), they’re not as good at uncovering those things you know nothing about (the  unknown  unknowns)—which is where the website feedback widget comes in.

Here's a great example:

You may think your product descriptions need improvement because users drop off your product page—but what if they’re leaving because they are ready to buy  but can’t find the order button?

If it never occurred to you to include an order button next to every product description, you’d never think to ask about it. A website feedback widget could make you aware of this ‘unknown unknown.’

“Website feedback widgets are an easy way to be constantly listening, and I think they are the ultimate empathy tool. When you connect them with tools that let you see how people interact with your website (for example: session recordings), you elevate your analysis to the next level.”

Additional sources for website feedback

On-page surveys and website feedback widgets are great because they help you get visual, contextual, and in-the-moment feedback without requiring too much extra effort on your end. But the following can be helpful as well:

Dedicated feedback pages:  some websites include feedback pages, which users usually access from the contact page.

Community feedback : forums and community feedback tools (also called ‘receptive’ feedback) provide a space where customers can flag issues and offer ideas for improvement.

Product reviews : companies with a large customer base can learn a lot about their customers by giving them the option to review their products on their website.

A website feedback survey helps you get direct answers from the people that matter most, your users. Website feedback surveys often help you answer questions about how your customers feel, such as:

Do visitors trust our site?

Are we getting them the information they need?

Is our site visually appealing?

Are visitors returning to our site?

Are we making visitors feel safe on our site?

When gathering customer feedback, we recommend asking questions that revolve around the following themes:

Drivers: what drives users to your website?

Barriers: what prevents some users from converting?

Hooks : what hooks persuade other users to convert?

The following seven questions will help you uncover those drivers, barriers, and hooks.

Drivers: ask the right questions on high-traffic pages and landing pages

1. How can we make this page better?

This open-ended question can highlight issues you never even considered.

2. Where did you first hear about us?

Website analytics can be misleading when it comes to identifying the source of some traffic. If someone hears about your company at a trade show or from a friend, they might Google it to find your website. Your website analytics tool will flag this visit as ‘organic’ search—even though the real source was word-of-mouth. And that’s why this question is helpful.

3. Why are you looking for [product or service] today?

Users may be interested in using your product in ways you never even considered, and knowing more about their intent can help inform your marketing copy as well as future product development.

Barriers: ask these questions on pages that users most frequently leave

4. What, if anything, is stopping you from [taking action] today?

Figure out what’s preventing users from converting so you can tailor your website toward countering any objections.

5. What are your main concerns or questions about [product or service]?

By identifying specific objections to your products, you can counter those objections in your marketing copy.

Hooks: ask these questions after users convert

6. What persuaded you to [take action] today?

This question will help you understand your unique selling points. For example, if your competitive pricing convinces people to buy, then you’ll want to double down on that  unique selling point  in your marketing copy.

7. Thanks for [taking action]! How are you planning to use [product or service]?

How people use your products or services might surprise you. If you notice they’re using them in ways you hadn’t considered, that could very well change the way you market your products or brand your company.

These questions will get you started, but when you’re ready to dig deeper, we’ve got more fore you:

28 customer feedback questions (recommended by our team)

The ultimate guide to,  survey questions with 50+ examples and the 4 types of survey questions , tailored for e-commerce, SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) companies, and online publishers/blogs

How can you improve your website with the information you learn? Here are ten use cases along with some real-world examples.

Use case #1: improve the usability of your website

Why it matters : every time someone uses your website, they’re interacting with your brand. The more usable your website, the happier your visitors will be... and happier visitors are more likely to convert (and recommend you to others).

How it's done : use a  website feedback widget  on every page.

Use Case : Matalan, a leading fashion retailer from the UK, used Hotjar’s Feedback tool (along with some Hotjar surveys) to  identify usability pain points , and they redesigned elements of their website to address those concerns. When they A/B tested the new features,  Matalan saw a 17% uptick in winning tests . In other words, getting website design feedback from  user testing  helped them optimize a better user experience.

Use case #2: redesign your website

Why it matters : we recommend making regular, incremental improvements to your website rather than doing a complete redesign, but this approach may not be realistic for you. If you require a complete redesign for whatever reason, collecting user feedback is a must.

How it's done : add the website feedback button on every page and a pop-up survey that appears when visitors are about to leave the site.

Questions to ask : use the pop-up survey to ask the seven questions listed above to uncover the drivers, barriers, and hooks.

Use case #3: increase conversion rates on your landing pages

Why it matters : High-performing landing pages can be the difference between losing and making money, which in turn means you can (or can’t) re-invest more into your marketing to bring even more people to your site.

How it's done : set an on-page survey to appear after five seconds on all high-traffic landing pages.

Question to ask : “Quick question: how can we make this page better?”

Use case #4: improve your homepage

Why it matters:  your homepage is often the first experience people have with your brand, and it’s the place they go to understand what you do and what makes you special. By setting up an on-page survey on your homepage, you’ll learn more about your customers and figure out what draws them in at the very top of your funnel.

How it's done : include an on-page survey, on your homepage, that appears five seconds after the page loads.

Questions to ask:

1. “Did you find what you were looking for today?” (Yes or No)

If they answer “Yes,” skip to question #3

If they answer “No,” go to question #2

2. “Tell us what’s missing?”

3. “If you could change this page in any way, what would you have us do?”

* Note: Most users will leave items in their shopping cart. Understanding why can help you boost conversions.

Use case #5: boost your e-commerce sales

Why it matters :  setting up a post-purchase on-page survey  is so valuable to e-commerce companies that we recommend making it your top priority where feedback is concerned. You’ll learn a great deal about your customers’ needs and why they choose to buy from you. Then you can change your marketing copy to stress your unique selling points.

How it's done : add on-page survey questions—typically on the thank-you page—with the first question appearing right after people make their purchase.

Questions to ask :

“How would you rate your overall experience?” (Rate on a scale of 1-5)

Note: This low-commitment question gets your foot in the door so you can ask other questions later.

Based on how they rank their experience:

If 1-3, ask: ‘How can we improve your experience?’

If 4-5, ask: ‘What did you love about your experience?’

“What almost stopped you from completing your purchase?”

Use case #6: understand why people leave, downgrade, or cancel

Why it matters : it’s important to understand  why prospects leave your website  so you can address their concerns, counter their objections, and win more conversions.

How it's done : add on-page surveys and/or exit-intent surveys to your high drop-off pages.

Question to ask : “What, if anything, is stopping you from taking action today?”

Example #1 :  HubSpot

HubSpot is a leading Customer Relationship Management platform that also offers online training and certification programs for marketing professionals through its HubSpot Academy service. 

HubSpot Academy increased its conversion rate  by adding an exit-intent survey that asked one simple question when users decided to leave: “Not for you? Tell us why.”

The answers revealed issues the team at HubSpot hadn’t even considered, and they adjusted their web copy to address those objections.

Example #2: Conversion Rate Experts

Conversion Rate Experts has helped giants like Google, Apple, Amazon, and Facebook to increase conversion rates, and they actually coined the phrase ‘conversion rate optimization’ back in 2007. One of  Conversion Rate Experts’ favorite techniques  is an exit-intent survey that asks two questions:

“Quick question… did you find the information you were looking for on this page?”

Based on the answer:

If Yes, ask, “Great! How could we improve this page?”

If No, ask, “Sorry to hear that! Could you tell us what was missing?”

“Thanks for your feedback. If you’d like a response, please leave your email below. (We won’t use it for anything else!)”

“Research is a huge part of our success—it’s the bedrock of everything we do with our clients. We don’t guess what’s wrong with a web business. We find out. This is the job of our research department. The key question to address is ‘Why aren’t visitors converting?’ and we leave no stone unturned in finding the answer.”

Use case #7: figure out whether your pricing makes sense

Why it matters : if your pricing plans are confusing, it’ll be an immediate turn-off to prospective buyers.

How it's done : add an on-page survey to your pricing page that appears five seconds after the page loads.

“Is our pricing clear?” (Yes or No)

Based on their answer:

If Yes, ask: “Awesome! What was your biggest challenge, frustration, or problem in finding the right [product type] online?”

If No, ask: “What’s confusing about our pricing?”

“What’s the one thing we’re missing in [product or service]?”

Use case #8: improve word-of-mouth

Why it matters : customer recommendations amount to free, effective advertising, and the best way to figure out whether your customers like you enough to recommend you is to measure your  Net Promoter Score®  (NPS).

To determine your NPS, ask your customers how likely they are to recommend you (on a scale of 0-10). Next, subtract the percentage of respondents who answer 1-6 replies (your detractors) from the percentage who answer 9-10 (your promoters). The result is your NPS.

How it's done : set up an on-page survey on your main conversion page(s).

The  standard NPS question  is very simple:

“On a scale from 0-10, how likely are you to recommend [company] to a friend or colleague?”

To get maximum benefit from the NPS survey, we recommend that you always ask a follow-up question—for example: “What was the main reason for your score?”—to understand the context behind people’s score.

(Note: if you use Hotjar, you can select an NPS survey from a dropdown menu and  set up your NPS survey in Hotjar in 5 minutes ).

Use Case #9: build a simple user persona

Why it matters : a user persona is a semi-fictional character based on data you’ve collected about your customers. It reflects who they are, what they want to accomplish, and what may stop them from attaining it. User personas are extremely useful to grow and improve a business: they help uncover the different ways people search for, buy, and use products, so you can improve the experience for  real  people.

How it's done : add an on-page survey to a commonly visited page, like your homepage, that appears after five seconds.

“Describe yourself in one sentence (e.g., I am a 30-year old marketer, based in Dublin, who enjoys writing articles about website feedback.)”

“What is your main goal for using our [website/product]?”

“What, if anything, is preventing you from taking action?”

Example : rather than spending tens of thousands to hire a marketing firm,  Smallpdf used an on-page survey  to ask their website visitors five simple questions, and the answers helped them understand who uses their product. Smallpdf then used this data to build simple user personas, and they went on to study their ideal users in greater detail. By getting to know their users, they were able to implement changes that cut their user error rate significantly on a commonly-used feature and improve their overall NPS).

Want to try it yourself?  Check out 4 steps to  creating a super-simple persona using your website , which is part of the user persona post referenced above.

"With all the changes said and done, we've cut our original error rate in four, which is huge.”

Use case #10: understand the competitive landscape

Why it matters : it’s important to study your competitors’ websites, products, and pricing; otherwise, it’s difficult to sell against them. And while you probably know all the big players, you may be surprised to learn that your prospects are considering alternatives to your product that you’ve never thought about.

How it's done : add an on-page survey to your product page, appearing five seconds after the page loads.

“Have you looked at any other companies that offer [product or service]?” (No/Yes/Not yet, but I will).

Based on their answer to the question above:

If No, ask “Why not?”

If Yes, ask “Who else have you looked at?”

If Not Yet, ask “Who else do you plan to look at?”

Example : Michael Aagaard, international keynote speaker and conversion optimizer, used these survey questions to evaluate the competitive landscape at Unbounce. He learned that the vast majority (83%) of the company’s prospective customers were reviewing (or planned to review) more than one provider before making a decision (not too surprising). What did surprise him was that he learned about competitors he never knew existed.

“The second people set up a landing page; I tell them to start running a feedback poll. People think they have to start A/B testing right away, but I say `No!’ Do your research first, and you’ll do better testing afterwards.”

Website Feedback FAQs

Will asking for feedback annoy my users, damage user experience, and/or hurt conversion rates.

The truth is, you can’t really afford  not  to collect feedback. Unless you know what users think about your page and  why  they behave the way to do, you’ll never create a user-friendly user experience. In fact, there’s a good chance you’re already doing something right now that bugs them more than any survey or feedback button ever would.

If you’re really concerned that adding a survey or a feedback widget might affect conversions, start small and survey only 10% of your visitors. You can stop collecting data once you’ve received enough replies.

What’s a good sample size?

A good rule of thumb is to aim for at least 100 replies that you can work with.

You can use our  sample size calculator  to get a more precise answer, but keep in mind that collecting feedback is research, not experimentation. Unlike experimentation (such as A/B testing), all is not lost if you can’t get a statistically significant sample size. In fact, as little as ten replies can give actionable information about what your users want.

What’s the average completion rate?

Completion rate can vary a great deal depending on where you place the survey, how many questions you ask, and even what copy you use. Better qualified leads might be more inclined to leave feedback—so when you put a survey on your product or pricing page, it might get a higher response rate than one on your homepage.

In the end, though, try not to worry too much about your completion rate. Instead, focus on getting at least 100 replies.

How can I make sure my users give me honest and critical feedback?

First of all, consider adding “... and please be 100% honest” at the end of your first survey question.

Secondly, you’ll also get better data by focusing on people who have some level of personal/professional investment in your business and want you to improve your product, such as paying customers and prospects further along in the sales funnel.

How can I get more replies?

The following tips can increase your response rate :

Begin the first greeting with an informal, “Hey...”

Refer to your survey as “quick”

If you’re only asking one question, let them know up front by leading with, “One quick question…”

If you’re asking multiple questions, begin with a simple “yes” or “no” question to get your foot in the door, then follow it with an open-ended question

Focus on high-traffic pages

What’s better: multiple-choice questions or open-ended questions?

It depends. If you’re gathering feedback for the first time, focus on open-ended questions since you have no idea what your visitors are thinking. If you limit them to multiple-choice answers, you can’t learn what you don’t know… and what you don’t know will probably surprise you.

That said, making the first one a simple “yes/no” or multiple-choice question can get your foot in the door, increasing the odds that people will answer the open-ended questions that follow.

Of course, if you’ve already done your homework and you really know your users, you can go ahead and ask a series of multiple-choice questions without worrying that you’re missing something.

Here's a more detailed guide on the  differences between open-ended and closed-ended questions .

How do I make sense of all the answers?

A mountain of  qualitative data  can seem intimidating, but there are some shortcuts that make it much easier to analyze. We put together a guide for  analyzing open - ended questions in 5 simple steps , which should answer all your questions.

Could collecting feedback create a privacy/GDPR violation?

Every company’s situation is unique, so we can’t give you an answer that applies to every case. What we can do is tell you what we do to keep things legit here at Hotjar.

After a user gives us feedback for the first time, we ask for consent to connect their feedback to data related to their behavior on our website. We also provide a ‘ more information ’ link that explains our privacy policy.

On the privacy page, we discuss how we track  behaviors , not users. We do this by assigning each visitor a  unique user identifier  that lets us track returning visitors without tying their behavior to any personal information.

What if I don’t have enough traffic to get feedback?

Unlike A/B testing, collecting feedback is research, not experimentation. Even ten solid replies will give you somewhere to start. Beyond that, you can conduct informal  customer interviews  to gain insight into what potential customers want.

Related articles

User research

5 tips to recruit user research participants that represent the real world

Whether you’re running focus groups for your pricing strategy or conducting usability testing for a new product, user interviews are one of the most effective research methods to get the needle-moving insights you need. But to discover meaningful data that helps you reach your goals, you need to connect with high-quality participants. This article shares five tips to help you optimize your recruiting efforts and find the right people for any type of research study.

Hotjar team

How to instantly transcribe user interviews—and swiftly unlock actionable insights

After the thrill of a successful user interview, the chore of transcribing dialogue can feel like the ultimate anticlimax. Putting spoken words in writing takes several precious hours—time better invested in sharing your findings with your team or boss.

But the fact remains: you need a clear and accurate user interview transcript to analyze and report data effectively. Enter automatic transcription. This process instantly transcribes recorded dialogue in real time without human help. It ensures data integrity (and preserves your sanity), enabling you to unlock valuable insights in your research.

Shadz Loresco

An 8-step guide to conducting empathetic (and insightful) customer interviews

Customer interviews uncover your ideal users’ challenges and needs in their own words, providing in-depth customer experience insights that inform product development, new features, and decision-making. But to get the most out of your interviews, you need to approach them with empathy. This article explains how to conduct accessible, inclusive, and—above all—insightful interviews to create a smooth (and enjoyable!) process for you and your participants.

• Start For Free

How To Improve Online Reviews Fast? (12 Simple Steps)

Online reviews can make or break your business.

Statistics show that 33% of customers in the US check out reviews before they make a purchase, while 63% show that they have a higher chance of purchasing from a platform with a better online reputation or reviews.

Online reviews can contain positive, negative, and sometimes false claims about a company and its services. Positive reviews influence customers to make a purchase and trust your brand.

However, negative reviews will do the exact opposite. Ideally, you’ll want a mix of both, focusing on positive reviews since they help project a genuine face for your company.

But what happens when you don’t get any customer feedback or you have more negative reviews than positive ones? Well, our guide will show you everything you need to know.

Here, we will cover 12 tips to help you improve your online reviews and how to easily incorporate them.

Collect feedback with JustFeedback

JustFeedback helps your business increase profits and reduce risk by improving your customer experience

Setup in seconds No credit card required

1. Teach Customers the Importance of Online Reviews

Most customers who enjoy your service wouldn’t mind leaving Google reviews if they knew its importance to your business. However, some clients may not leave a review because they do not know how to do so.

To address this, ask your team to politely request customer feedback.

For instance, after your account manager closes a sale, he can ask the client to leave an anonymous review. Ensure you request detailed, honest feedback from satisfied customers alone. The goal is to get positive feedback and not negative ones.

You can also post a short note on your website or physical office explaining the importance of leaving a review and how to do so. Once your clients understand that you value their reviews, they’ll be more inclined to leave one.

2. Follow Up with Customers Who Don’t Leave a Review

Sometimes a client may get a review request and still fail to leave a Google review. This might not always be because they don’t want to, but simply forgot. Therefore, it is important to follow-up without being persistent.

Doing this politely will help you regain the confidence of your satisfied customers, who will be happy to leave a review.

3. Respond To Negative Customer Feedback

No business owner or company likes a negative review, but the reality is that you can’t satisfy everyone. Regardless of what you do, there’ll still be an unsatisfied customer somewhere in your mix who’ll gladly leave a negative review.

This could be due to a minor problem that your business could easily fix or a difficult customer who just loves to complain.

Notwithstanding what the reason is, you’ll need to address negative feedback and get the valuable insights they offer.

If you decide to ignore a negative review, your potential customers might decide not to do business with you based on this. It’s even worse when they don’t get your side of the story and will automatically believe it’s true.

Therefore, make sure you respond to reviews politely. Don’t blame the customer even if they are at fault, and try to resolve the issue in an amicable manner. Apologize for their negative experience and offer solutions to deal with it.

Finally, give them an offline contact to reach you so you can address the issue privately – away from the public eye.

4. Don’t Ignore Positive Reviews

It is easy to focus on negative reviews while ignoring the positive ones. However, this is a mistake since the positive reviews are just as important.

Focusing on responding to negative online reviews alone may give clients a sign that you are only interested in protecting your image.

While this is great, there needs to be a balance. You must show your happy clients that you care about their experiences too. Responding to positive feedback will show you care about how your customers feel and will also increase their loyalty to your business.

You don’t have to write a long note to achieve this either. A simple “Thank You” or “We look forward to serving you again” can do the trick.

5. Personalize Responses to Clients

Many companies use an automated response system to respond to every type of review. While this is a time saver, it could have a negative effect on your business.

Making responses personalized to customers helps them feel valued – and shows that your company sees them as more than just another client.

Let’s face it, it can be annoying to get an automated response, when you invested time to leave an online review.

Instead of leaving a robotic response to everyone, ensure you personalize your response based on the review. If the reviewer leaves a name, you can respond by starting with his/her name before the response.

Aside from making your business seem more credible, it helps enhance customer engagement. It also helps your business search engine optimization since search engines love interactive businesses.

6. Make The Process Simple

Even your most loyal customers will find it frustrating if they must jump different hoops before they can leave a review. Therefore, you’ll want to make sure your customers find it very easy to share their positive experiences.

You can list links to popular review sites on your website or business page so clients can leave reviews without issues. Another great alternative is to provide your direct Facebook or Twitter account so anyone can visit these pages and leave you reviews.

Lastly, ensure your website is fully mobile functional, especially if you’ll be requesting reviews via email. Most clients will respond through their mobile devices, so you’ll want your links to work seamlessly on a mobile device.

7. Have a Presence on All Review Platforms

There are many review sites out there and it is important for your company to have a presence on all of them. This will increase your credibility and let customers know that you are particular about the success of your company.

Ideally, you’ll want to focus on the most renowned options, such as Google, Yelp, and Facebook. We also recommend opening a Google Business profile and adding your company address to Google Maps for more exposure.

8. Add a Review Page & Showcase Your Google Reviews

Adding a “Testimonial” or “Review” tab on your website where they can see all the Google reviews you have is another great way to improve online reviews.

It shows clients that you are genuine and are not trying to hide feedback. This can also help prove that you are open to feedback and will make changes when needed.

In addition, if you have a review page attached to your website, it will be one of the first things clients see when they search for your reviews on Google.

Focusing on showcasing more positive reviews on this page can subtly encourage customers to do business with you.

9. Encourage Clients with Incentives To Write Reviews

Paying clients to give you Google reviews is not allowed, but offering an incentive is fine. However, when offering incentives, make sure it is not specifically for positive Google reviews – but to encourage clients to leave any type of feedback.

For instance, you can offer a voucher, coupon, or discount when they make their subsequent purchase. Regardless of the option you choose, make sure you note the rules of the website like we discussed above.

10. Leverage Your Social Media Pages

Boosting your social media presence is another excellent way to draw customer reviews to your page. Research the platforms where your customers tend to spend time and make your presence known there.

We recommend focusing on major platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube.

A great strategy is to provide quality and informative content while showcasing positive customer reviews. This will ensure your prospective clients get value while showing them that your business is reliable.

If you are lucky, you could get free word-of-mouth which could translate to more business for your company. Lastly, be as consistent as possible with your posts so you remain relevant in the eyes of clients.

11. Get Reviews from Partners and Vendors

While vendors and partners are not paying clients, they are a great source for great Google play reviews. They work with you frequently and know how reliable you are when it comes to business.

They may also be willing to leave a review on your Google Business profile which will further improve your credibility.

12. Obey The Rules

Having a presence on every review site is great, but you need to know that all websites have their rules. Learn these rules so you don’t get blindsided down the line.

For instance, requesting your customers to leave you Google reviews is fine, but doing it on Yelp is unacceptable. Sometimes, they may flag reviews on your page and in worse cases, you lose the entire page.

Also, buying fake reviews is not supported on any platform. While you may get away with it and get more reviews, your business will feel the negative effect in the long run.

Genuine reviews will help you get more consistent customers than falsified ones.

Final Words

Online reviews are a great way for prospective clients to measure the reliability of your company and its overall success.

If you have been having issues with getting the right volume of Google reviews as a business owner, you can start to increase them today. Simply use one or more of the tips we have provided in this guide, and you’ll start to see the changes you expect.

Remember that a negative review does not mean the end of your business, and ignoring it never works.

Make sure you listen to what your clients want and find a way to resolve their complaints. This will improve customer engagement, your Google reviews, and your sales!

Ready to create surveys with JustFeedback ?

🚀 Collect feedback with JustFeedback customer experience survey tools Start For Free

Live In The D

• Newsletters

How often do you look at online reviews?

Do you take both positive and negative posts into consideration.

Whether it’s five stars or a negative experience, there are many different types of customer reviews that can be seen. AJ Williams, Managing Editor and City.Life.Style Editor at The Michigan Chronicle, and comedian, actor, and podcast host, J. Will appeared on “Live in the D” to talk about leaving reviews.

The topic was sparked by a women who shared a horror story experience at a hair salon on TikTok that went viral. That had the group discussing if social media is the best place to go to get response from a business. For Williams, she said, “I don’t think so.” This is because of a past experience she has had, and she said, “I think some times we just need to address it to the business.”

When it comes to leaving reviews, whether they’re good or bad, Williams does when she gets good service. She shared a positive experience with a business she had, and how she left five stars for the business for handling her experience in a good way. “I always appreciate reviews for hotels,” said Will, but he always likes to taste food for himself for restaurant reviews.

Now when it comes to checking reviews before going to a business, “I am going to check with my friends,” Williams said, while Will said he checks reviews out on TikTok.

To watch the entire interview, watch the video above.

Copyright 2024 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit - All rights reserved.

Click here to take a moment and familiarize yourself with our Community Guidelines.

Recommended Videos

94% of Customers Say a Bad Review Made Them Avoid Buying From a Brand. Try These 4 Techniques to Protect Your Brand Reputation.

P rotecting your online reputation means more now than ever before. Roughly 94% of customers claim that a negative review has convinced them not to purchase from a brand. This indicates that "bad" comments can be problematic for business owners, but there are ways to approach them and turn them around to be more positive.

At some point, you'll have to deal with negative customer comments online and must learn to respond to criticism effectively. There are countless techniques out there, but here are the ones we've used with great success at Keever SEO, taking our cue from some of the most popular brands.

Related: Why You Must Monitor Your Online Reputation Before it Hurts You

1. Creating a separate support handle

As our brand grew, we struggled to complete our daily tasks. Conducting competitor research , mastering content marketing and sending out customer support emails made managing our online reputation challenging. One way we combatted that issue was by creating separate support handles, which is similar to what Nike did.

Nike created a separate Twitter (now X) account (@NikeSupport) dedicated solely to handling customer questions and complaints. We used our company name and it's working well. The goal is to keep customer questions and comments in a single place. This helps you respond to your loyal fans quickly and efficiently, but it also reduces the risk of negativity in other feeds.

For example, our clients' Facebook pages often get flooded with questions and sometimes even negativity, as their customers need help to reach out. Once we added a separate X handle for support, everyone knew they could go there for queries and concerns. We recommend that you create a separate support handle for your brand. It doesn't take much time to complete, and it will make it easier to find and address negative comments.

2. Using humor to respond to criticism

While creating a separate handle for support is beneficial, we still found that some customers were a bit standoffish. Since we were focused on being funny, warm and welcoming, we took inspiration from the Joe Dough Sandwich Shop in NYC and sometimes used humor to deal with criticism.

Humor should only be used for criticisms when the complaint isn't severe, and it's only appropriate if it matches your brand's tone and style. It's quite easy to trigger a backlash of unhappy customers if you aren't taking things seriously.

When done well, humor diffuses a challenging and awkward situation. Joe Dough Sandwich Shop used this style to respond to a bad review on Yelp. The intelligent comment created a funny moment and boosted the brand's profile online. After a Yelp user complained that the meatball sandwich was the worst he'd ever had, the shop wrote about it on the chalkboard menu out front. People were commenting about how funny it was, which created more engagement.

If you plan to use humor to deal with complaints, we recommend doing it only when it makes sense. A comment of one sentence, such as "this sandwich sucked," might fare well with a funny response, but someone who is raging over many paragraphs will likely need a more respectful and thought-out response.

Related: What is Google Saying? Why a Positive Brand Reputation Online is So Important

3. Showing that you're competent

Sometimes, a customer is angry so a polite response won't calm them. This has happened to us before, and it's disheartening to read those types of comments. However, ignoring them won't help — it might actually make things worse.

One time, a person claimed our client offered terrible customer service. They went into great detail about their package deal and how they didn't assist them in making the arrangements they promised on the website. Ultimately, they were mistaken because the client didn't actually guarantee those things that were listed on the site.

We recommended that the client thank the person for their comment, directly address the issue and explain how they would fix the problem in the future so that no one else would be upset.

Why did that work? Overall, we realized that viewers would see the person's comment and response and realize they were unreasonable. Though we appeased the original commenter by answering them, we also indicated to others that we were competent enough to handle all types of queries.

4. Avoiding canned responses (even though it's easier)

Investing in online reputation management is essential for all types of businesses, whether you're running a startup, a small company or a large corporation. You may think shortcuts like artificial intelligence (AI) are often a great way to respond to people's questions and needs, though they have their limits.

You've likely heard of chatbots, which answer a customer's question without needing the human touch. It works well for traditional FAQs and other things but is not ideal for complaints.

When we observed clients switch from a human responder to a chatbot for review responses, we discovered that everything sounded canned (because it was). Though this isn't necessarily bad in some situations, it doesn't work for complaints because people want to feel heard.

We then recommended that humans write the comments using scripts, but that still didn't work. Canned responses sound dull and often upset the commenter more. Therefore, it's always wise to have a real person craft the words. It might not be perfect, but it will offer a personalized touch.

Related: Why Investing in Reputation Management is Crucial for Your Business Strategy

The bottom line

Though many tools are available to help you manage your online reputation, it's all about how you react to people's comments. There are bound to be negative reviews periodically, and you must decide how to respond.

Humor and sarcasm can be great comeback options. However, those only work when the issue isn't severe. Likewise, creating a separate support handle can be helpful because it keeps all the negativity or queries in one spot.

Overall, you want to respond quickly to negative comments, avoid canned responses and explain how you'll address the issues customers bring up. Doing these things (and implementing any changes) shows that you care about the consumer and their experiences.

Whether you use online reputation management tools, hire a separate staff member to write responses or tackle the job alone, acting quickly and responding professionally is crucial.

Sign in to add this item to your wishlist, follow it, or mark it as ignored

Sign in to see reasons why you may or may not like this based on your games, friends, and curators you follow.

prohibited for children

What's included in this pack

About This Content

• Styles for the City — These modern looks are inspired by a time and place near and dear to Ebonix. They’re bold, unapologetic, and reflect a style Ebonix wanted to share with the Simmer community.
• Forward-facing Throwbacks — Embrace a medley of stand-out colors and lively patterns. Iconic graffiti shirts, a bright bodysuit, and glamorous nails are just some of the options your Sim has for self expression.

System Requirements

• Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
• OS: 64 Bit Required. Windows 10
• Processor: 3.3 GHz Intel Core i3-3220 (2 cores, 4 threads), AMD Ryzen 3 1200 3.1 GHz (4 cores) or better
• Memory: 4 GB RAM
• Graphics: 128 MB of Video RAM and support for Pixel Shader 3.0. Supported Video Cards: NVIDIA GeForce 6600 or better, ATI Radeon X1300 or better, Intel GMA X4500 or better
• DirectX: Version 11
• Network: Broadband Internet connection
• Storage: 26 GB available space
• OS: 64 Bit Windows 10
• Processor: Intel core i5 (4 cores), AMD Ryzen 5 or better
• Memory: 8 GB RAM
• Graphics: 1 GB of Video RAM, NVIDIA GTX 650, AMD Radeon HD 7750, or better
• Storage: 51 GB available space

*Requires The Sims 4 & all game updates. For PC, see minimum system requirements for the pack.

More from The Sims 4 EA

More like this, customer reviews.

You can use this widget-maker to generate a bit of HTML that can be embedded in your website to easily allow customers to purchase this game on Steam.

Enter up to 375 characters to add a description to your widget:

Copy and paste the HTML below into your website to make the above widget appear

Popular user-defined tags for this product: (?)

Sign in to add your own tags to this product.

Sponsored Content | The Genius Wave Review 2024 (Updated): Does it…

Share this:.

• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
• Click to print (Opens in new window)
• Advertise with Us
• Special Sections

Sponsored Content

Sponsored content | the genius wave review 2024 (updated): does it really work theta waves or is it just a scam .

What if you can learn quickly (anything) and succeed in every venture of your life?  

Click here to visit the official website of the Genius Wave Program!

Generating wealth and learning new things is hard. The ability you have as a child goes away, and as an adult, you are left with a slow brain. Today we are reviewing a program that can positively affect your life. We are talking about the Genius Wave review.

What is the GeniusWave?

Genius Wave is an audio program designed to boost cognitive abilities. It is a collection of Theta waves known as genius waves. These waves stimulate the hippocampus, a unique organ inside our brain that plays a major role in cognitive function and our behaviour during stress and anxiety.

Neural oscillations generated in the GeniusWave audio program will aid in developing cognitive abilities. It is not magic; this product is based on years of research and trial and error.

Who should use this program?

Any person looking to boost learning abilities and power to manage stress and anxiety can use this. A relatively side effect-free product that may change your life for the better. The ideal person for this product is

• People with bad decision-making skill
• People with poor observational skills
• Men and women who fail to utilize an opportunity
• Looking to succeed in life
• If you are a slow learner

Why could Genius Wave be a game-changer for late bloomers?

As a child, you learn quickly and have a strong memory. As an adult, learning is hard and requires lots of effort, causing many to fail.  

If you are a person who missed a few things during your early years, fear not; the Genius program will assist you in learning things quickly.

Designed to help men and women gain an edge while learning is what these genius waves, aka the  theta waves , are designed to do.  

Fast learning is a great advantage for people who are slow learners and are adults.  

How can this program benefit you?

Improved Cognitive abilities mean you make better decisions and are on time. You learn quickly and stay ahead of your competition.

Better institutions in life aid in being first in the field, giving you an advantage over others. An early start can push you miles ahead of your completion.

The genius Wave download website! Click here

Who created the Genius Wave Program? And the Science behind the program?

Dr. James River, a renowned neuroscientist with out of the box inventions created the genius Audiowave Program. A compilation of rhythmic theta wave oscillations that flow in sync with hippocampus, making in vibrate a stronger and increase in size.  

What is rhythmic neural oscillation?

Brain waves are rhythmic, they send signal in oscillating wave form. Our central nervous system when interacting with the neurons send the oscillating signals. It send signal in various frequencies.  

The  GeniusWave program  focuses on THETA WAVES.

Theta   are (4-8 Hz): Linked to   meditation , deep   relaxation , also   creativity .

The audio program is designed to send the boosted  theta waves that sync with the hippocampus . This synchronizing allows our brain to gain new edge when it comes to learning power.

Smart Work not the Hard Work, theta waves are designed to make us smarter and sensible allowing living a fulfilling life.

How do you use the genius Audio Wave program?

You just have to listen to the program for at least 7 minutes a day. Do not skip a day. Take your headset/earphones. Sit in a quiet room. Close your eyes and focus on the theta waves’  neural oscillation . Stay relaxed.

Wear loose-fitting clothes and try to avoid stress.  

Pros and Cons of using Genius Wave

• Can boost creativity
• May aid in wealth manifestation
• Can boost confidence
• Improves learning power
• Economic price

Cons of using Genius Wave

• It may not work for everyone
• Requires continuous listening for at least 60 days
• Skipping a day may affect the progress

Comparing Genius Wave with Billionaire Brainwave!

Let’s start with the similarity: both of these programs are using the theta waves to help men and women succeed in life. The major difference is the wealth creation and creativity. While genius allows you to be calm and creative, the billionaire brainwave program allows you to be more active toward wealth manifestation.

Read More about the Billionaire Brain Wave program.

Where can you buy the Genius Wave audio program? The genius wave download website?

www.geniuswaveofficial.com

The best place to buy this product is the official website. The manufacturers are giving it away at a reasonable rate. The manufacturers are aware about the inflation problems wants this to be available to good folks everywhere.

Pricing and Refund Policy

$39 is the fixed price of the product. (do not buy it at higher prices anywhere).

• Bonus 1 : Bestselling book on Attracting money and wealth
• Bonus 2:  Genius Visualization
• Bonus 3:  Create your Ideal future infographic

90-day money-back guarantee, no questions asked. You can use it and return it if you don’t see any results. We are sure you will get exceptional results.

All in all, genius wave is a an exceptional smart and reliable way to boost creativity and overall success in life. All this learning and creativity allows you to create new source of income and become best in your current job. Buy it only from the genius wave official website. And make good use of this product.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Genius Wave legit?

Yes, this product is legit. Dr. James River conducted research and clinical trials with volunteers and showed positive results and hope for humanity. You can use it without any fear.

Is the genius wave a scam?

The only scam you will encounter is the third-party websites selling the product at a marked rate, and few are even selling counterfeit products.

Does it really work?

Yes, genius wave program really works in favor of the people who are regular and motivated to make positive changes in life without fail.

The news and editorial staff of the Santa Cruz Sentinel had no role in this post’s preparation. This is a paid advertisement and does not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Santa Cruz Sentinel, its employees, or subsidiaries.

More in Sponsored Content

AI vs Human Writing: The Enduring Value of Human Quality

Sponsored Content | Best Shilajit Brand To Buy That Works According to Experts

Sponsored Content | FuturHealth Reviewed – What are Customer Results Saying About GLP-1 Weight Loss Medication?

Sponsored Content | The Wealth Brain Code Review [Fake or LEGIT] Negative Complaints or False Controversy?