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6 websites you can trust for product reviews and ratings

Kim Miller

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.

Blog CTA_September 2023_v3

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 . 

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The 12 Most Credible Review Platforms for Customer Feedback

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?

SEARP Google Search Result Page

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.

yelp

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.

10to8-g2

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!

10to8-capterra

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.

tripadvisor

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

It’s a wrap

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

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

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The 25 Best Review Platforms

review platforms

Definition | Benefits of Reviews | Best Platforms |

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

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

product on its website

What is a review platform?

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

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

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

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

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What are the benefits of having customer reviews?

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

Benefits of having customer reviews

1. Easier purchasing decision 

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

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

How is that possible?

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

The magic phrase here is social proof.

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

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

2. Better clickthrough rates 

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

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

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

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

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

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

3. Trustworthiness

Businesses sometimes have a bad reputation.

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

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

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

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

4. Provides Useful Feedback

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

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

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

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

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

What are the best review platforms? 

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

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

websites for honest reviews

1. Trustindex 

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

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

2. TripAdvisor 

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

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

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

3. Google My Business

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

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

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

4. Facebook

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Yelp brings in around 178 million unique visitors every month.

7. Better Business Bureau

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

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

The BBB receives around 7 million monthly visitors every month.

8. Foursquare City Guide

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

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

The platform receives around 3 billion global visits each month.

9. Yellowpages

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

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

Yellowpages has on average 60 million monthly visitors.

10. Trustpilot

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

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

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

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

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

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

The website receives around 10-11 million monthly visits.

12. Glassdoor

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

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

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

13. Choice Reviews

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

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

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

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

15. ConsumerReports

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

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

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

16. Consumer Affairs

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

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

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

17. Citysearch

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

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

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

18. Yahoo! Local Listings

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

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

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

19. Influenster

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

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

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

20. G2 

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

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

There are around 5 million monthly visitors to the website.

21. TrustRadius

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

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

22. Manta Business Reviews

Manta Business Reviews provides reviews for around 35 million businesses.

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

23. GoodFirms

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

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

The website receives around 700,000 monthly visitors.

24. HubSpot App Marketplace

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

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

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

25. Capterra

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

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

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16 Legit Programs Where You Can Review Products and Keep Them

Sign up through companies like L'Oréal and Influenster to get free stuff in exchange for honest product testing

websites for honest reviews

  • Emporia State University

websites for honest reviews

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  • Examples of Products
  • A List of Programs
  • Writing Reviews
  • Tips for Getting Picked

If you like sharing your opinion, and you love getting free stuff, you'll want to join these product testing programs that give you the opportunity to receive free products for your review. 

Product testing is when you try out a product for a company and give them your honest opinion of that product through a survey, quiz, or discussion questions.

Most of the time this happens online, but you may be asked to do a product test in person. You might also be asked to act as an influencer, and share your opinion of the product over social media or with friends and family. 

After you're done trying out the item, you'll be able to keep the product for free. It's also possible that in addition to keeping it, you'll get paid for your review time!

Types of Products You Can Expect to Review

The types of products you can test will vary depending on what these companies think will be a good fit for you. If you have children, you're a great candidate to test stuff for kids. If you're a runner, you may get to try out the latest running shoes. Products like food and electronics can be tested by just about everyone.

Products that are frequently given away in exchange for testing include food, beauty items, small appliances, electronics, baby items, books, DVDs, apparel, shoes, and natural items.

Programs That Let You Review Products and Keep Them

Below, you'll find a list of the best places to sign up for product testing. All of these programs will let you keep the product that you test.

When you apply, make sure that you fill out your profile completely and honestly. The more information they have about you will it make it much more likely for you to get picked.

  • Influenster : Influenster is looking for social media influencers to spread the word about products that range anywhere from single cup coffee makers to the newest cosmetics. You can get one item to review or a box of products to review. It works through their mobile app.
  • Smiley360 : Smiley360 sends out boxes of products like vitamins, candy, and even pillows that they want you to spread the word about on social media. After you've reviewed them, you get to keep them.
  • BzzAgent : With the BzzAgent influencer program, they send you products to try and want you to review them and spread the word about them. You'll get to keep whatever you receive. Be sure to monitor your email for invitations.
  • Ripple Street : Throw a house party and invite all your friends to help you try new products and review them. Examples of companies that have worked with Ripple Street include Coca-Cola, Beyond Meat, and Nature's Bounty.
  • Vocalpoint : This company calls itself "a product-lover’s playground." Throw a party for your friends while you test out the newest products and samples. Your reward ranges from gift card drawings to exclusive offers.
  • Crowdtap : Choose your favorite brands that belong to Crowdtap and build a relationship with them. They may ask you to test products for them in exchange for your opinion. When you earn rewards from surveys, you can cash out with as little as $5.
  • ThePinkPanel : This product testing program is open to women around the country who want to test the latest beauty products including fragrance, makeup, and skincare. Often you'll also get paid for testing the products, just be specific and honest with your feedback.
  • L'Oréal : Join the L'Oréal VIP Product Tester program and you'll get to try out the newest makeup, skincare, and haircare items from this personal care company. You'll get to keep whatever you test and even be rewarded with additional products.
  • InStyle : Join the InStyle Trendsetter program and you'll be eligible to test brand-new products for InStyle magazine. Every review you leave also makes you eligible to win prizes.
  • MomSelect : This is a website for moms who want to try out new products geared for babies and kids.
  • McCormick Consumer Testing : You can get paid to product test items through McCormick's panelist website. You'll get survey invitations over email when new studies are available that match the information you provide. 
  • Friends & Neighbors : Johnson & Johnson will send you some of their products and then ask you to share what you thought. You'll get to keep any products that you test. Examples include testing dental floss and smelling new fragrances.
  • Brooks Running : Test products for Brooks Sports, such as running shoes and sports bras, and you might get to keep them afterward. Otherwise, signing up means you agree to return the shoes if you're request to.
  • Vogue Insiders : Vogue Insiders is another magazine product testing program where you'll test the latest products featured inside the pages of Vogue. This opens up the opportunity to receive special offers and win prizes.
  • Homeschool : Homeschoolers can try out and keep books, kits, and more.
  • Toluna : Join Toluna Influencers and you'll get to product test full-size makeup products from popular drugstore brands. When you complete online surveys, you'll be rewarded with gift cards to places like PayPal and Amazon.

Writing Your Review for the Products 

After you've completed your product test, you'll usually be asked to write a review, fill out a survey, or participate in a discussion about the product. It's important that you be honest when you do this, even if you have some criticism for the product. The company wants to improve their product if needed. The more in-depth you are with your reviews and answers, the more valuable your feedback will be.

Tips on Getting Picked for Product Testing

Here are some quick tips on how to get picked to be a product tester again and again:

  • Completely and honestly fill out your application and profile
  • Keep an eye on your email for pre-screeners to test particular products
  • Don't be afraid to contact the product testing company if you haven't heard from them for a while
  • Follow the programs on social media if available; sometimes pre-screeners will be announced there
  • If you get a product to test, follow the testing directions and give your feedback in a timely manner
  • Complete your survey, discussion, or review honestly and thoroughly

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Business News Daily provides resources, advice and product reviews to drive business growth. Our mission is to equip business owners with the knowledge and confidence to make informed decisions. As part of that, we recommend products and services for their success.

We collaborate with business-to-business vendors, connecting them with potential buyers. In some cases, we earn commissions when sales are made through our referrals. These financial relationships support our content but do not dictate our recommendations. Our editorial team independently evaluates products based on thousands of hours of research. We are committed to providing trustworthy advice for businesses. Learn more about our full process and see who our partners are here .

Tired of Yelp? 14 Alternative Business Review Websites

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

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Table of Contents

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

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

What are business review websites?

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

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

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

Best Yelp alternatives for business reviews

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

1. Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business)

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

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

2. Facebook Page reviews

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

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

3. Angi (formerly Angie’s List)

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

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

4. Better Business Bureau

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

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

5. ConsumerAffairs

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

6. Foursquare

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

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

7. Glassdoor

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

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

8. HomeAdvisor

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

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

9. Judy’s Book

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

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

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

11. Merchant Circle

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

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

12. OpenTable

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

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

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

13. Superpages 

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

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

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

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

How can business review websites benefit your company?

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

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

Using business review websites to your advantage

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

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

Sammi Caramela contributed to this article. 

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The Best Sites To Find Honest Product Reviews

Shopping for new products has undoubtedly changed over the last couple of years.

Customers are much more cautious and need extra confidence in making the final purchase decision.

In fact, over 59% of buyers go through at least 2 to 3 different product review sites. So, how can you harness this opportunity and turn it into a "W"?

You should suggest your products to some review sites!

Not only can getting your own product reviews improve your brand exposure, but it can also increase your sales conversions.

In this article, we will be moving through some of the best product review sites.

Let's get started!

Beautiful, simple reviews for your site

What are product review sites.

Product review websites create content offering an honest and unbiased opinion about certain products. Most of them cover all types of niches, while others are niche-oriented.

The product review goes through all the important features, overall quality, pricing options, and other aspects.

Importance Of Product Review Sites

Product review sites can be quite helpful for your brand.

Here are some of the most prominent benefits:

  • Increase your overall brand visibility
  • Add additional social proof to your site
  • Build more customer trust
  • Improve your sales

Here's a quick example:

Imagine this: A buyer needs a brand-new 40-inch TV. But, with many different options, they must decide which one to choose.

For an informed decision, they typed in Google: "Best 40-inch TVs." The first website brought 3 highlighted products, including yours.

Google Search of a Product

Likely, they will open all the products and carefully inspect them one more time. Even though they know these are the top market options, they will still examine the product description and customer reviews.

Therefore, if you want to stand out from the competitors, consider adding a beautiful review section on your site like this:

Customer Review Display

This will present them with the final boost they need to purchase your product.

What Are The Best Product Review Sites?

Let's see some of the top product review sites without further ado.

1. Consumer Reports

Founded in 1936, Consumer Reports is one of the internet's oldest and most reliable product review sites.

They are home to over 500 employees at the moment, and all their members are highly dedicated to improving their product research and testing.

The website has various review publications that are highly entertaining and fascinating.

Unlike others, this corporation performs all product tests in the headquarters. So, you can undoubtedly rely on the results.

Consumer Reports

2. Best Products

Next up on our exclusive list is Best Products —a website with thousands of visitors every month.

It has a wealth of information about consumer products, including technology items, beauty essentials, home appliances, kid toys, school supplies, gifts, and many more.

Each article lists the top recommendations and contains information about everything you need to know before purchasing.

They even own a unique YouTube channel where they post videos of the product they are testing.

Best Products

When it comes to technology and custom electronic products, CNET is unquestionably your safest option.

They possess a smooth interface and excellent content quality. With over 20 years of experience, CNET offers viewers a variety of content, including blogs, videos, and even podcasts.

Each product on the list has a specific rating based on its quality, reliability, and price rate.

The website is accessible in several languages, including English, Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Korean, and Spanish. This offers more versatility for the viewers.

CNET

4. Wirecutter

Are you searching for suitable product offerings or helpful advice? Wirecutter will come in handy.

The site was founded in 2011 and was mainly focused on providing honest reviews for gear and gadgets.

But, after a few years of operation, they expanded their network and focused on all the other categories, including home, garden, kitchen, money, travel, and more.

They mainly earn their revenue through premium subscriptions and affiliate marketing commission.

In a recent report, Wirecutter has revealed that a regular product review involves weeks and maybe even months of research.

Wirecutter Honest Reviews

5. OveReview

OveReview is another excellent website we can’t help but mention.

This website offers a wide range of reviews for nearly 2,000,000 product offerings, and it has undoubtedly helped many customers make more rational decisions.

The entire platform is powered by an AI (Artificial Intelligence) tool that goes through hundreds of products, evaluates their ratings, and automatically picks out the top ones. So, all you need to do is to decide!

OveReview

Published in late 2013, Byrdie is a unique product review website focused on beauty and style.

The site has reached a lot of traction in just a short time. They own over 10,000 pieces of content that offer great value and are incredibly detailed.

Their team consists of award-winning writers and editors with years of experience working with some of the world's largest publishing houses and companies.

Byrdie Beauty & Style Product Reviews

7. The Spruce

The Spruce has over 385 million annual readers all over the globe.

They are mainly oriented toward testing different types of products related to homes and gardens.

All of their articles consist of well-researched and fact-checked information for more convenience. In addition, their team is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

The entire website is straightforward to navigate and has an excellent, bright design suitable for desktop, mobile, and tablet users.

They are pretty popular in the social media space as well!

The Spruce

8. Bestcovery

Powered by LA Times, Bestcovery brings you the top suggestions using partner technology to analyze millions of ratings and reviews.

They earn a commission whenever someone purchases through their affiliate marketing links.

The content is fact-checked by actual consumers that spend hours and hours testing. All you need to do is search the article for the most suitable product.

Bestcovery

Undeniably, product review sites are incredibly beneficial to your business. Each option on our listing has its unique qualities.

If you want to explore getting your own product reviews, check out our post on the best reviews apps  now!

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26 business review sites where customers rate you.

26 Business Review Sites

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

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

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

Best Business Review Sites

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

1. Google My Business

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

2. Bing Places for Business

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

3. Facebook Ratings and Reviews

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

4. Better Business Bureau

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

5. Amazon Customer Reviews

Amazon customer reviews

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

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

7. Foursquare

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

8. HomeAdvisor

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

9. Yellow Pages

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

10. TripAdvisor

TripAdvisor

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

11. Angie’s List

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

12. TrustRadius

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

13. OpenTable

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

14. PlanetRate

PlanetRate

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

15. Salesforce AppExchange

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

16. Trustpilot

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

17. Glassdoor

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

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

PlanetRate

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

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

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

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

23. FinancesOnline

FinancesOnline software reviews

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

24. Merchant Circle

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

25. Sitejabber

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

Which?

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

Business Review Sites Comparison

Review Site NameDescription
Google My BusinessEssential review and listing tool for local businesses.
Bing Places for BusinessBing's version of GMB. Allows consumers to leave ratings and reviews.
Facebook Ratings and ReviewsPlatform for followers to leave ratings, reviews, and recommendations.
Better Business Bureau (BBB)Ethical marketplace that allows individuals to recommend businesses.
Amazon Customer ReviewsReview platform for products and services.
YelpConsumer destination for business reviews.
FoursquareAllows users to check-in, rate venues, and leave tips.
HomeAdvisorReview site for home improvement businesses.
Yellow PagesDigital platform for local marketing and reviews.
TripAdvisorReview platform for the hotel, travel, and restaurant industries.
Angie's ListCredible business review site with non-anonymous sources.
TrustRadiusOnline review source for software businesses.
OpenTableReservation and review platform for restaurants.
PlanetRateCustomers can write reviews on businesses of all industries.
Salesforce AppExchangeMarketplace for Salesforce platform with a five-star rating system.
TrustpilotProfile generation and customizable review invitations for businesses.
GlassdoorReviews and ratings for over 700,000 businesses globally.
G2Review site for companies that sell software.
VendOpPortal for purchasers to share their experiences with vendors.
MantaDedicated business review site for small businesses.
AvvoReview site for attorneys.
WebMDMedical site with listings and reviews for doctors and dentists.
FinancesOnlineReview platform addressing B2B, SaaS, and financial companies.
Merchant CircleLocal business listings across the U.S. with consumer reviews.
SitejabberOnline reviews of businesses with Q&A functionality.
Which?UK-based consumer review site that reviews services and products.

Other Review Sites

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

Some prominent review sites include:

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

What is a Customer Review?

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

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

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

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

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

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

websites for honest reviews

The Benefits of Business Reviews

Consumer trust.

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

Business Improvement

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

Enhanced Visibility

enhanced visibility, business review sites

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

Engagement and Customer Relationship Building

business review sites, customers

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

Informed Decision Making

business review sites, data

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

5 Tips for Leveraging Business Review Sites

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

Claim Your Business Profile

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

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

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

Encourage Business Reviews 

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

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

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

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

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

Don’t Incentivize Reviews

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

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

Don’t Write Fake Reviews 

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

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

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

Respond to Negative Reviews

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Should I Display Reviews on My Website?

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

Do Customer Review Sites Help with Search Engine Rankings?

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

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

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

RELATED VIDEO:

Image via Shutterstock; various screenshots

websites for honest reviews

websites for honest reviews

17+ Mostly Authentic Product Review Sites For 2024 – Agree/Disagree?

Are you looking for the best product review sites to find a trustworthy source of product feedback? Do you want to list your products on review sites that feature ‘Top 10 review’ type posts? Do you want to find the best review websites on the planet? Do you want to locate a product review website where you can see ratings and reviews for products you are interested in buying?

You’ve arrived at the right place. There are hundreds of review sites that are paid to write reviews and cannot be trusted. In this post, we will provide you with reliable product review websites that you should visit before purchasing any products online.

Product Review Websites

According to a recent report from ReadyCloud, 

Before purchasing, 59% of consumers scout reviews from 2-3 different review sites, and 87% of consumers place as much trust in a product review as they would in word-of-mouth.

The importance of product reviews in the online world is well known. The truth is that every online review site is biassed in some way. However, there are some that are extremely bad with fake reviews and should be avoided. However, it is critical to have a reliable review site to which you can refer when you don’t have a lot of time to spend on Google Search.

Types of Product Review Sites

There are 2 main types of product review websites.

  • General product review site and
  • Niche product review sites

There are consumer review websites where products are reviewed and rated by other consumers like you, and expert review websites where products are tested and reviewed by experts in their respective fields.

There are multiple product categories on a General review site, and each category may contain hundreds or thousands of products. Let’s start with the general product review websites.

Top Product Review Websites – 2023 (General review sites)

Note: Since we are covering product review sites exclusively, we are not going to include other types of reviews sites such as business review sites like Yelp, TripAdvisor, Angie’s List, etc.,

1. Best Products

Best Products is a website that reviews products from various categories such as tech, fashion, beauty, and more. They research, test, and compare products based on market data and consumer feedback.

They also have a YouTube channel where they showcase their product tests. They provide unbiased reviews and top recommendations for each product category.

websites for honest reviews

2. Good Housekeeping

Good Housekeeping is a magazine and a website that reviews household products tested by The Good Housekeeping Institute. They cover products from home appliances, beauty products, electronics, kid’s toys, and more. They help you find the best products for your home and label sponsored content clearly.

websites for honest reviews

Also see: how to create a Product Comparison site

3. Amazon – Product Reviews

Amazon is an ecommerce website that also has customer reviews for its products. You can see the number of reviews and the photos from customers to judge the quality of the products. Amazon tries to make its reviews reliable, but there may be fake or biased ones. So pay attention to the main pros and cons in the reviews.

You can also earn commissions from Amazon by creating an Amazon Affiliate Store.

websites for honest reviews

4. MouthShut

MouthShut is a product review website where users have to log in and share their reviews and ratings. It covers products and categories from home appliances, cars, airlines, and more. It also has a buyer’s guide for many products. It moderates the reviews, but they may still have user bias. So read multiple reviews before buying.

websites for honest reviews

Pro Tip: Tables are important for product review sites. They can show product comparison, pricing, specification, catalog, and more. You can easily create any table in WordPress for free with Tablesome .

websites for honest reviews

5. WireCutter

WireCutter is a product review website that gives you the best items in various categories with their pros and cons. They help you buy the product that suits your needs, not the one that has the most features. They earn from affiliate commissions from the products you buy through them, but they try to be unbiased by asking their employee to be honest in their reviews.

websites for honest reviews

Also see: the best WordPress Review plugin to create best review sites.

Top Niche-Based Product Review Sites

Niche-based product review sites are more focused on niche markets or sub-categories within niches. These top product review sites will be very useful if you are looking for product review sites with expert reviews.

1. CNET – is a news blog website that publishes reviews of cutting-edge technology and customised electronic products. The CNET team provides an expert review and also allows users to rate and review various technology products.

2. Digital Trends – Another technology news website with reviews, guides, and how-to articles on consumer electronics such as smartphones, video games and systems, laptops, PCs and peripherals, televisions, home theatre systems, digital cameras, video cameras, tablets, and more.

3. Gadgets 360 – This is an Indian electronic gadget review website that focuses on smartphones, laptops, and PCs. It also allows users to leave feedback. It offers some great deals that are only available on this website.

4. Tom’s Hardware – This review site includes reviews and how-to guides for various computers, computer parts, accessories, and other items. It’s a one-stop shop for PCs.

5. Capterra – This is a software review website that covers a wide range of software categories. Here, software companies will list their products for review by their customers.

6. Consumer Reports – This is one of the oldest and most reliable product review sites that covers a wide range of products from appliances to cars to electronics. It also offers ratings, buying guides, and advice on various consumer issues.

7. OveReview – This website is a newcomer in the product review space that focuses on providing honest and unbiased reviews on various products such as laptops, cameras, headphones, and more. It also offers comparisons, ratings, and pros and cons of different products.

8. Grills Forever – They go over various grills used in cooking. They also have some instructional content on how to use grills.

9. Get a Coffee Maker –  It’s a coffee grinder and coffee maker product review site. If you enjoy coffee, you should look into it.

10. Instant Grooming –  They review the most recent grooming products such as Electronic Razors, Beard Trimmers, Head Shavers, and more. Men who are interested in self-grooming should definitely look into it.

11. Design My Costume –  As the name implies, this is a website for designing costumes. They provide an overview of various costume design tools.

12. The Soothing Air –  This is a website that reviews air coolers, air purifiers, heaters, humidifiers, dehumidifiers, air conditioners, and many other products.

I hope the list of the best review websites in the world in this article helps you promote your company and products.

Features Image Credit : Business vector created by pikisuperstar

Create a Review Section on a Website:

websites for honest reviews

Leave your thoughts and questions in the comments section.

Related posts:

websites for honest reviews

20 thoughts on “17+ Mostly Authentic Product Review Sites For 2024 – Agree/Disagree?”

'  data-srcset=

Today’s time is e-commerce time and in such time it is hard to choose a quality product. So review sites are the best to check which product is best. Thanks for the list you have provided here.

'  data-srcset=

We only have one remaining, impartial product review site left in Australia – Productreview.com.au. Other review sites are set up by/for businesses to increase sales. For example, many businesses “steal” good reviews from them to put at the bottom of their own web pages.

'  data-srcset=

i think you are missing a major review site… trustedreviews.com this is my current go to.

No, trustedreviews.com is a site set up by businesses to increase sales and profit.

'  data-srcset=

Amazon is the worst place to go for reviews. Many of the reviews are paid for, Amazon allows sellers to combine reviews for different products so if there is a product with, say, 4000+ reviews, and 4 Star average, you can just about guarantee the reviews are a mish-mash of multiple products and you may even be buying an item based off reviews for an entirely different item than what you are purchasing. There are a long list of problems with Amazon Reviews, they should not be trusted for accuracy at any level.

'  data-srcset=

Can I be cheeky? May I suggest myself myhelpfulhints.co.uk I write honest product reviews (over 400).

'  data-srcset=

The article is very interesting and effective, it really explains everything. Thank you and good luck.

'  data-srcset=

All pages of this site are useful

'  data-srcset=

Thanks for this. if you need an all in one platform for business you can use Vonza – vonza.com

'  data-srcset=

great article, I also see the great product review site amazeguides.com, providing an excellent review about the products, please also include it on your blog too, thank you 😉

'  data-srcset=

Thank you so much for sharing that information.

'  data-srcset=

This is one of the best sites.

'  data-srcset=

You completely blew your credibility with me by actually listing Amazon as a reliable source for consumer reviews. I find that Amazon reviews are completely and totally unreliable.

'  data-srcset=

This is very informative article ever i read

'  data-srcset=

Strike a deal with POULSEN1296 on Instagram I bet you an excellent job, he’s the masterpiece behind all account recoveries, and stuff like this….. He’s indeed the perfect one contact him now and get your account fixed

'  data-srcset=

This is a great list of product review sites! I’m always looking for new places to find reviews and this list will definitely come in handy. Thanks for sharing!

'  data-srcset=

thank you for this article

'  data-srcset=

Thanks for sharing. A1office pdf editor one of best editor in 2022

'  data-srcset=

I appreciate your comment. Though Amazon has many fake reviews, it still is the largest repository for real customer reviews as well.

Comments are closed.

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Ten Honest Review Sites for New Authors

Books flood into review sites, and the sheer numbers overwhelm book review editors. They must make choices: the big New York publishers or the little guys?

typewriter

Publicists are Tweeting the editors and importuning them with e-mails. “Well, are you going to review my guy or gal or not?”

Probably not. There’s just not time. And the number of newspapers with book review sections keeps shrinking.

If this is publishing’s new reality, how are unknown authors supposed to get pithy, cover quotes? Hire a publicist? Sure, but not everyone can afford that.

If you want to throw a “Hail Mary,” you can join the National Book Critics Circle and gain access to the members of that organization. Alternately, you can monitor the group’s Twitter feed and collect Twitter addresses. Be forewarned, however.

Without a publicist, small presses, independent publishers, and self-published authors have very little chance of making it into the book review sections of national newspapers.

But, don’t give up yet. There are paid and unpaid review sites that will give you what you want–a “money quote.”

review sites for books

The Money Quote

Long before a book goes to press, the author or publisher needs to solicit reviews. Why? Because it’s good to have a “money quote.” That’s a single sentence you can put on the cover to promote it.

Here’s the money quote for my novel, Montpelier Tomorrow . “An affecting, deeply honest novel; at the same time, a lacerating indictment of our modern health care system.”– Kirkus Review

And, here’s a money quote for Bonds of Love & Blood . “MacDonald applies insight, power, and delicacy to create characters between whom the psychic space virtually sizzles.”– Foreword Reviews

You need quotes like these in your marketing campaign. That campaign can involve Tweets, blog tours, press releases, podcasts, and speaking engagements. But, all that effort begins with you deciding which review sites you’re going to target.

In this post I’m going to cover free review site and sites that charge money. Sometimes the same review organization will do both. ( Foreword Reviews, Kirkus Review , and Publishers Weekly/BookLife are examples of two-tiered review sites.)

The Skinny on Review Sites

I’ve seen disparaging comments on the web about sites that charge authors money in exchange for reviews. Honestly, it’s a very competitive world out there, and most sites that want you to pay for a review do not guarantee a positive outcome.

The reviewer can pan your book or give it a lukewarm endorsement. In that case (since you’ve forked over money), you can ask the site not to publish; but that’s the only break you’re going to get. Money doesn’t buy happiness, and it doesn’t buy a five-star review.

I’ve solicited both paid and unpaid reviews. Some of the paid reviews have been the best, not because I bought the reviewers’ good opinion, but because the readers took time to read thoroughly and respond in a “feelingful” way.

Apart from reviews, what authors want most is that vital connection with readers. Our chances improve if the review sites allow reviewers to self-select from among the many books available for review. One site, for instance, says they receive 1,000 books per month. There’s no way the editor who manages that rising tide can possibly know which readers who will be receptive. As I said, review sites are literally being inundated.

Review Sites | Free or Cheap

The Midwest Book Review — This is a site that favors small presses. If the book has not yet been published, the author or publisher can pay a $50 “reader fee” (which is an administrative fee) and MBR will assign a reviewer. At that point the author or publisher will send the reviewer a pre-publication manuscript, galley, uncorrected proof, ARC, or pdf file . Turnaround isn’t instantaneous, so it’s important to allow enough time, especially if you want a money quote for your book cover.

If your book is too far along to qualify for a pre-publication review, you can still try to get one from MBR, one of the oldest and most respected review sites in the country. The editor, James Fox, asks that you send two copies of the book, a press release, and a physical address to which they can mail the review.

If the book isn’t picked up by one of their volunteer reviewers during the 12 to 14-week time window, you can submit a review from any other reviewer (with their permission), and they’ll run the review in their newsletter.

While you’re on their site make sure you take note of their info about Book Review Magazines Used by Librarians and Other Book Reviewers . The latter is a helpful list because it includes review sites for academic books.

Foreword Reviews is one of my favorite sites for small and independent presses and for indie authors .

“To be considered for a review in the pages of Foreword Reviews magazine, a review copy (printed or digital) of the title in question must be received in the Foreword offices at least two months prior to the book’s firm publication date. Once we have our hands on your book, our managing editor will carefully critique whether it meets our editorial standards. We receive hundreds of worthy titles every month. Due to space limitations, we’re only able to review 150 books per issue of the quarterly magazine. If your book did not make the cut, we also offer objective, 450-word reviews (including a star rating) by Clarion Reviews , Foreword ‘s fee-for-review service.”

These folks produce a beautiful magazine, and their reviewers are great. Unlike Kirkus Review (more on that in a minute) Foreword Reviews does not charge for its reviews. I’m very proud that my short story collection, BONDS OF LOVE & BLOOD , is a finalist for their IndieFab awards and that they featured the book in their January issue. The magazine spotlights many books published by university and small presses.

New Pages is a great site for small and independent presses, but not so great for self-published authors and presses that use a POD printer. New Pages doesn’t charge for their reviews, and they are also inundated with new books.

“If you want your book to be considered for a review, please send two copies. We need to keep one in the office to check against any review that might be submitted. Advanced Reading Copies are acceptable.”

Their address is New Pages, PO Box 1580, Bay City, MI 48706. If your book is self-published or published by a POD publisher (such as CreateSpace), they will not review your book , but they will list it on their “Books Received” page. If, in their initial screening, they think your book looks promising, they will offer it to their reviewers, but it is up to the reviewers to choose.

Even if you can’t get a review from these folks, the site is still worth visiting. Don’t overlook their  New Pages Guide to Review Sources .

BookLife is a new venture for Publishers Weekly , the big gorilla in the publishing zoo. (If your book’s publisher produces works by multiple authors, then the publisher must submit the book through the Publishers Weekly’s GalleyTracker portal.)

Prior to launching BookLife, an author could only get a book review on PW if the author’s publisher submitted the book and if PW accepted the book for review. With BookLife you’ll have a chance at getting your book reviewed, but only if the book meets their standards .

Amazingly, the review is free. You’ll also find that they’re offering a host of other services, including helpful info about ISBN numbers, social media, and publicity. That is undoubtedly where they intend to make money.

Kirkus Indie Reviews is one of the sites acquisition librarians consult, and Kirkus reviews carry weight with readers. Kirkus Indie needs a lot of lead time–7 to 9 weeks ($425) for a standard submission and 4 to 6 weeks ($575) for a rush job.

If you’re publishing with a small or independent press, and they did not submit your book prior to publication, you can still get it reviewed under Kirkus’s Indie program.

“In the interest of introducing consumers and industry influencers to self-published books they might otherwise never discover, Kirkus Indie does not put any restrictions on publication dates for submissions. You may order a review for a book that’s been on the market for 10 years or for a book that doesn’t even have a publication date yet.”

Kirkus Indie reviews are eligible for Kirkus stars.

I’ve had two books reviewed by Kirkus Reviews . Click the link at left, and see if you can tell the difference between the one I paid for and the one I didn’t. (Hint: The publisher of BONDS OF LOVE & BLOOD submitted an ARC to Kirkus prior to publication.)

Kirkus Review clearly states that they do not review POD (print-on-demand) books except in their Indie program, but both my books were produced using POD technology, and they reviewed them.

paying review sites

Review Sites That Want You To Show Them The Money

Some of my favorite reviews have come from review sites that require a modest payment. Often these sites employ volunteer reviewers, but sometimes, they pay their reviewers for taking the time to write a coherent review.

The US Review of Books is a site that has given both my books great reviews. They state that they “ do not sell editing or manuscript review services on the side . This practice creates a clear conflict of interest with the integrity of a fair and honest review.” ( Kirkus Review does sell editing services.) A basic review with US Review of Books costs $75, but if you’re close to your pub date, you can get an express review for $129. If you’re on Twitter and you include the hashtag #USReview in your Tweet, they will retweet to their list.

An added feature of the US Review of Books site is that it supports the Eric Hoffer Award . This is an award for new books, and it also honors books that have been around for awhile. I’m thrilled that the cover of BONDS OF LOVE & BLOOD is a finalist for the da Vinci Eye award.

The Readers’ Favorite Book Review and Award Contest is one of the review sites that every indie author needs to know about. I know there are a lot of sites out there that have a gajillion categories and steep entry fees. They bilk new authors with the promise of recognition. However, Readers’ Favorite Book Review is different. The people who run the site have high integrity.

The site will do one free review of your book, and the reviews are done by real readers. You can rank your reader, just as your reader ranks you. But, there’s more! For $129 you get three reviews, and for $199 you can order five. In addition to putting the reviews on their site, they will post the reviews to Goodreads and Barnes & Noble (but not to Amazon because Amazon doesn’t accept paid reviews. Oddly, Amazon doesn’t accept reviews from Midwest Book Review , even though that site has been around a long time and has a solid reputation for objectivity.)

If you enter the Readers’ Favorite Award Contest and are one of their finalists, you become eligible to join their Forum. Contest winners share strategies they’ve used to market their books, and I can’t think of another site that’s as genial and helpful as this one.

Gold Medal for Drama

Last year I won a Gold Medal for Drama for MONTPELIER TOMORROW , and I was invited to attend their award ceremony in Miami, held in conjunction with the Miami Book Fair. It was a first-class event. These folks truly are dedicated to indie authors, and the writers you meet, either in person or online, soon become your friends.

Pacific Book Review is a site that provides reviews and extra features, such as author interviews. The PBR Basic Review Package costs $300, and they post the review to Oasis (a library site), Barnes & Noble, Google Books, the Apple iStore, Authorsden.com, Bookblog.com, and Writers Digest Book Blog. They use professional reviewers who know how to think about–and write about–books.

If you’re in need of another review, they have a second review site called Hollywood Book Reviews . For another $200 you can order a professionally written review/press release and see it posted on all major sites.

Reader Views is another good site for indie authors, as well as small and university presses. Their basic package for one review costs $119, but they have a disclaimer saying that the cost isn’t actually paying for a review, merely for their processing. If you need reader reviews for Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Goodreads, on top of a book review, ask about their book giveaways . What’s good is that you get the reviewers’ email addresses so that you can send them a “thank you” note.

That’s a start! What sites have you found? I’d love to hear about your successes.

Marylee MacDonald

Marylee MacDonald is the author of MONTPELIER TOMORROW, BONDS OF LOVE & BLOOD, BODY LANGUAGE, and THE BIG BOOK OF SMALL PRESSES AND INDEPENDENT PUBLISHERS. Her books and stories have won the Barry Hannah Prize, the Jeanne M. Leiby Memorial Chapbook Award, a Readers' Favorites Gold Medal for Drama, the American Literary Review Fiction Prize, a Wishing Shelf Book Award, and many others. She holds an M.A. in Creative Writing from San Francisco State, and when not reading or writing books, she loves to walk on the beach and explore National Parks.

2 Responses to “Ten Honest Review Sites for New Authors”

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I review for the following three virtual book tour companies: 1. Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours . Lori offers free review tours for cozy mysteries. She charges for other genres as a way to support the free cozies.

2. Historical Fiction Virtual Blog Tours . They set up and run tours for authors of historical fiction. They have done and do scores of tours. I do not know their pricing structure.

3. TLC Book Tours . Again, scads of tours under their belts and in the pipeline (I have some reviews scheduled out through August.) I do not know their pricing structure here, either.

There are a few other sites for which I review, but they are smaller and/or I haven’t worked with them as much.

' src=

Thanks so much for these great links. I knew about TLC, but not the other two.

All Content © 2024 Marylee MacDonald

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10 most trusted reviews websites in the UK

Whether you’re looking to book your next holiday, preparing for home improvements, hoping to invest your savings or searching for somewhere to dine out, the internet can provide a review website to help you make an informed decision. We’ve put together our top 10 of the best reviews websites in the UK for trusted reviews, so you can be sure you’re making the right choices in life.

Trustpilot is probably the best-known general reviews website for many different types of consumer businesses in the UK. It hosts user and customer reviews on a wide range of companies. The site has struggled with issues around fake reviews, but says it is working hard to make improvements, and provides a good general site for reviews where a more specialised platform is not needed.

Tripadvisor

We’ve all been there: you’re trying to plan a holiday or mini-break and you want to scope out the local attractions before you arrive. Enter Tripadvisor to offer you comprehensive listings and reviews on everything you might want to experience on your travels. From hotels, to restaurants, to tourist attractions, Tripadvisor has it covered. Like Trustpilot, the site has received some negative press as companies try to ‘game’ their reviews, but is also working on improving its accuracy.

When buying or renting a new home, you need a specialist review site to differentiate between the UK’s many developers and developments. HomeViews is the UK’s only review site dedicated to new build property, offering detailed, carefully verified reviews from the people who know best – the residents who already live there.

Buyers and renters can read detailed reviews and check ratings for individual developments and developers. We show building ratings for Location, Design, Management, Value and Facilities, as well as an overall Star Rating. Our area guides and blog also provide a useful source of information on top developments, locations and all aspects of the property buying and renting experience.

Checkatrade

Home improvements, maintenance and construction can be some of the biggest investments you can make. If you’re putting your hard-earned money into improving your home for your family, you want to make sure you’re bringing in the best to get the job done to a high standard.

Everyone’s heard horror stories about ‘cowboy builders’ or construction teams upping and leaving before a job’s completed. Checkatrade gives consumers a place to find reliable reviews of tradespeople. With its reviews, you can choose from the most trusted suppliers in your local area.

Google Reviews

Google Reviews service has an ever-expanding library of reviews attached to listings, venues and businesses on Google Maps. If a business or location features on Google Maps, you can be sure to find reviews of it on Google. Whether a local retailer or tradesperson, a major workplace, a tourist attraction, a leisure facility, a supermarket or even a carpark, you can find what people think of it on Google.

Amazon is a vast resource for consumer reviews of almost any product. If you’re shopping for anything and Amazon sells it, you’ll find reviews of it there. Amazon allows reviewers to upload photos and videos of their products. It has a system to verify that reviewers have genuinely purchased the product, and also recognises the most prolific and influential reviewers on its platform.

A genuinely authoritative voice in the UK consumer sector, Which? has been providing independent reviews and consumer advice for decades. Members can access an extensive database of product reviews, from electronics to financial products, to cars and home products. Which? also provides backing for consumer rights campaigns in a variety of different areas.

If you’re looking for a new smartphone, laptop, pair of headphones, TV, tablet, smartwatch or almost any other electronic gadget, Techradar is a great place to start. They regularly publish up-to-date top 10 lists of products in any given category. The tech website reviews products fairly and with an unrivalled level of detail. If you really want to know the performance difference between an A15 Bionic and a Snapdragon 8 smartphone chip, Techradar has got you covered.

Booking.com

As well as being a comprehensive holiday rental and hotel booking site, Booking.com has a reliable bank of accommodation reviews that can help you choose your next holiday destination. Sort accommodation according to reviews to compare your options in your chosen holiday haven. You’ll find the best combination of high review score and value for money, to make that trip of a lifetime even more satisfying.

Expert Reviews

Expert Reviews is one of the UK’s most reputable independent product review websites. If you’re overwhelmed by the sheer choice on offer across the market, Expert Reviews can help. They publish detailed reviews of the latest products and up-to-date listings for the most popular consumer products, with a level of detail and advice that can give you confidence in sending your hard-earned money.

Trusted Reviews

Yes, we’ve slipped in an 11th review site just to keep you on your toes. Did you notice? Trusted Reviews is another UK-based tech specialist review site. They provide reviews on all the latest computing, tablet, smartphone and audiovisual kit. Their site can help you to wade through all the confusing product names and numbers to find the tech that’s truly right for you.

Best rental websites UK: Our pick

Uk property blogs and news sites: our pick, best websites for london apartments: our pick, what to look for in a trusted reviews website.

There are plenty of things to look for in a trustworthy reviews website. You’ll ultimately have to decide whether you trust the website, but several things might help you make up your mind. Here are our top five things to look in a trusted reviews website:

  • Independent, unbiased reviews: The first thing you’ll want to check is that the reviews contained on the site are unbiased and independent. That means they’re not sponsored by the company or product being reviewed.
  • Verified reviews: When it comes to user reviews, you’ll want to know the reviewer is actually a customer of the company or owner of the product. You can only be sure of this if the reviews are verified before being published.
  • A clear scoring matrix: If you’re going to make a purchase decision based on website reviews, you’ll want to know how the scores for each product have been put together. Look for a clear, transparent scoring process with a breakdown of how the ratings have been compiled.
  • Moderation services: A high-quality reviews website moderates and checks its reviews for legitimacy. If you read enough reviews, you’ll start to spot fake ones, and a trustworthy review site should make sure they have a mechanism to remove these.
  • Thorough and extensive review criteria: The more extensive and detailed the review criteria, the more trust you can place in the review score.
  • Good grammar: While the quality of writing on a site doesn’t necessarily make it more or less trustworthy, it’s still an important factor. Correct, consistent grammar and spelling are an indication that the company takes its image seriously. This shows that the company makes an effort to do things properly. Accordingly, this suggests that it also spends time and resources on verifying reviews and generally checking that everything it puts out online is clear, honest and transparent.

HomeViews only publishes independent, verified reviews from residents who actually live in each new build property development. We provide moderation of reviews and each review is made up of scores in five different categories of the lived new build experience. When it comes to finding out what it’s really like to live in a new build property development, HomeViews has got you covered.

Have we missed your blog or site? We’re always on the lookout for innovators and new arrivals on the scene, so please do get in touch and we’ll try to include you in a future update.

HomeViews  is the only independent review platform for residential developments in the UK. Prospective buyers and tenants use it to make an informed decision on where to live based on insights from carefully verified resident reviews. Part of Rightmove since February 2024, we’re working with developers, house builders, operators, housing associations and the Government to give residents a voice, recognise high performers and to help improve standards across the industry.

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The 13 Best News Sites You Can Trust for Credible Stories

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Fake news is a big issue right now. News companies are in the pockets of mega-billionaires. Media bias, inaccurate reporting, and sensationalism are on everyone's mind. We are in an age where we don't trust the people reporting the news.

Despite all this, there are still some trustworthy news sources out there. You just have to know where to look. In this article, we'll list some of the most honest and reliable news sources.

What We Mean When We Say "Trustworthy"

This is going to be a controversial article, no matter which news sites we suggest. Some people will disagree with the ones we choose. Others will be offended that we didn't include their favorite media outlets.

Unfortunately, there's no objective metric of trustworthiness. Most of the sites you'll see listed made their way onto this list because they've developed a solid reputation for unbiased news , and not-politically-motivated reporting.

Yes, you can contest a reputation as it is also in flux always. It can't be easily quantified (though we've cited sources where we can), and people will always have different opinions. That being said, we stand by the assertions we make here. Note that we are presenting these credible news websites in alphabetical order and not ranking by trustworthiness.

What Are AllSides Ratings?

AllSides website homepage

In many of the entries below, we mention AllSides ratings. The ratings are from AllSides , which dedicates itself to exposing bias and providing multiple perspectives on issues. The site determines its ratings in a number of ways—you can check out its methodology for more information.

AllSides is itself a great place to get news, as it clearly labels each story as left-leaning, center, or right-leaning. We highly recommend it when you want to see what different people are saying about the same issue. It's eye-opening and can help you learn to pick out news bias, even on your most trusted news source​​​​​.

1. Associated Press News

Screenshot of AP News homepage

If you read a lot of news, you'll see the AP credited all over the place. It often reports stories first, and other outlets pick up those stories and run them for their own readers.

AP is a non-profit, has no corporate sponsorship, and is not government-funded. The crowd-sourced bias rating at AllSides is "left-leaning," as of writing. While you'll most often see AP cited in other news outlets, you can get news directly from the source.

bbc

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is the largest broadcaster in the world. The British government funds the organization, and so it is not beholden to corporate interests. The BBC has a history of over 90 years with a well-earned reputation for accurate, unbiased reporting.

AllSides classifies it as a center news source—meaning if you want balance, it's one of the unbiased independent news sites . Despite being center, US citizens may find that "center" in the UK is notably to the left of what they might be used to.

C-SPAN's website homepage

Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN) has been around since 1979. The channel provides unbiased news coverage of the US federal government, US political events, and limited coverage from the governments of the UK, Canada, and Australia.

C-SPAN is a private, non-profit organization that has never failed a single fact check in the past five years from mediabiasfactcheck.com .

4. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism's website homepage

Though it has a focus on politics, the Bureau's stories will likely be of interest to people even outside the British political beat. As a non-profit, independent media organization, it has few ties to groups that might influence its political leanings. The Bureau publishes its stories in conjunction with other outlets—from both sides of the spectrum.

A look at its major investigations does show that many of its stories focus on issues that are generally of more interest to the left. The group prides itself on fact-based reporting, however, and does pull together a lot of data to support its claims.

The Bureau isn't listed on AllSides. But van Zandt, again, calls it among the most unbiased news outlets. Its stated mission is to "hold power to account," and its goal certainly comes through in its journalism. It also aims to drive change through journalism.

5. The Christian Science Monitor

Christain Science Monitor news website homepage

Because it's a news magazine, the format of the Christian Science Monitor is a little different from the other best news sources on this list. It runs fewer stories, but those stories tend to be very in-depth. It was founded in response to the sensationalist press of the early 1900s, and it's maintained a strong reputation over 100 years later, maintaining its independence from mainstream media corporations.

There are two ways you can get news from CSM: through the daily edition (which gives you unlimited access to the site, key daily stories sent each evening via email, along with an explanation of why they're important) or the weekly version (which is also available in print and includes access to the daily edition).

Unfortunately, neither is free. The daily will run you $11/month, and the weekly is $15/month. Before Amazon discontinuing magazine and newspaper subscriptions , you could also grab it on your Kindle. However, the good news is that CSM also has several free newsletters you can subscribe to, including Today's Highlights and several others dedicated to different topics sent out on different days of the week.

6. The Economist

A screenshot of The Economist's homepage

Although AllSides states that while The Economist tends to lean left, it does have a reputation for high-quality reporting. The publication "considers itself the enemy of privilege, pomposity, and predictability."

Throughout its history, the Economist has championed issues on both sides of the political spectrum. Today, it does tend to have a bit more of a left lean. That being said, it's not afraid to align itself with the party it believes best supports its ideals, which focus on free trade and free markets.

One of the unique features of the Economist is the lack of bylines. According to the news outlet's About Us page, "collective voice and personality matter more than the identities of individual journalists."

Screenshot of NPR news homepage

This is likely to be a controversial one, as public broadcasting is strongly associated with liberal political views in the US. However, NPR has a reputation for journalistic excellence. It's invested in continued government funding, but it remains free of corporate bias.

AllSides rates NPR as left-leaning, with a blind survey, third-party data, community feedback, and secondary research supporting the classification. The Pew survey shows that conservatives tend to mistrust NPR, but its journalistic acumen is high. It's known for rejecting sensationalism, issuing corrections when necessary, and fair reporting.

8. ProPublica

ProPublica website home page

If you get your news from NPR, you've probably heard ProPublica mentioned. Like the AP, ProPublica is a non-profit, non-government-funded news organization. The fact that it was the first online news organization to win a Pulitzer Prize also gives it some credence (it's gone on to win several more since then). Similar to NPR, AllSides rates ProPublica as left-leaning.

ProPublica was founded in 2007-2008 with a mission to "expose abuses of power and betrayals of the public trust by government, business, and other institutions" through investigative journalism. This is a smaller organization than some of the others mentioned on this list, but it's absolutely worth checking out. We have a feeling it's going to continue to grow, both in size and reputation, so you should definitely add it to your trusted news outlets list.

Reuters website

Like the AP, other news outlets often cite Reuters—and that's largely because it has a long and solid reputation for good reporting. The organization is owned by Thomson Reuters. This gives it added resistance to corporate influence.

Reuters strives to use a "value-neutral approach" to guard against bias in its reporting (so much so that it has courted controversy, especially after refusing to use the word "terrorist" after the September 11 attacks in New York).

While you may not be as familiar with Reuters as some of the other outlets listed here, it has a long-standing reputation for good journalism. Its Hallmarks of Reuters Journalism is a great resource for anyone reporting the news, and Reuters editors hold their journalists to its tenets.

10. USA Today

Screenshot of USA TODAY's homepage

In 2016, USA Today shared the crown of widest circulation in the US with The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. It's read all over the world and is a major source of news for millions of people every day. The op-eds in USA Today are clearly labeled and present a range of viewpoints (a refreshing change from the opinion pieces in some other publications).

AllSides gives the publication a left-leaning rating, although it notes that there's been some disagreement. The fact that two blind surveys and three recent editorial reviews supported this rating adds weight, however. You might be used to seeing USA Today in front of your hotel room door, but if you're looking for good news, do check the site regularly.

11. The Wall Street Journal

The Wall Street Journal homepage

This is likely to be another controversial inclusion on the list, due to the ownership of WSJ by News Corporation, the mega-media conglomeration helmed by the Murdoch family. Rupert Murdoch has developed a reputation for being ruthlessly conservative and using his considerable media power for political influence. Some of his news outlets also have a deservedly terrible reputation.

The Journal, however, has consistently ranked as highly trusted in the United States, even after its takeover by News Corp. AllSides gives it a strong center rating in its recent blind survey.

It's important to note that the news and opinions section of WSJ has a strictly enforced separation and that op-eds tend to have a very strong right-leaning bias, which many agree with. Despite that, the news (especially financial news ) published by the outlet is of high quality.

FAIR homepage

If you're interested in media bias—beyond finding media that's minimally biased—you should definitely check out FAIR. Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting is a watchdog group that writes about media bias. It publishes a number of remarkably stinging critiques of current news practices.

AllSides gives them a provisional left-leaning rating. FAIR is known for writing articles that critique even the largest media organizations, like The New York Times, CNN, and BBC. It doesn't hold back, and no one is safe from its rhetoric.

13. The Pew Research Center

The Pew Research Center website homepage

Pew Research describes itself as a "nonpartisan fact tank" aiming to inform the public about the current issues and trends shaping the world. Pew Research derives its reporting from data through research and opinion polls. Like several outlets in this article, Pew Research is a non-profit, nonpartisan, and nonadvocacy organization mainly funded by its founding organization, The Pew Charitable Trusts.

According to AllSides, Pew Research is center-leaning, which the community agrees with. Pew Research doesn't publish new articles daily, so a good way to keep up with their reporting is by subscribing to their free newsletter.

Your Most Trusted News Outlets

These news sites have earned themselves reputations for being trustworthy. That said, news, in general, tends to have a negativity bias, which you can counteract by seeking out positive news.

Reporters and editors also have their own biases, so it's impossible to find 100 percent unbiased news—and that probably wouldn't be very fun to read anyway. But, in general, you can trust what you read from these outlets. The key is to read multiple publications that include a few credible news sources from the other side of the fence.

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How To Evaluate Online Reviews

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Consider the Source and Ask Questions

Using reviews.

The FTC has brought a number of cases involving online reviews — likely more than any law enforcement agency in the world. Some involved companies that posted fake reviews of their own products and services. Others involved reviews by people who might have been real customers or users of a product but didn’t say that they’d been paid to write a positive review.

When you use online reviews to help you make decisions, consider the source of the information. What do you know about this reviewer? Or about the site or platform where you’re reading the review?

For years, the FTC’s main recommendation when considering reviews has been to look at a variety of sources, including well-known websites that have trustworthy and impartial expert reviews. That’s still a very good place to start. Here are some other steps to take:

  • Check how recent the reviews are, and watch for a burst of reviews over a short period of time. That can sometimes mean the reviews are fake.
  • Check if the reviewer has written other reviews. If so, read those to get a better sense of how much to trust that reviewer. If it seems that the reviewer has created an account just to write one review for one product, that review may be fake.
  • Don’t assume that, just by looking, you can spot the difference between a real review and a fake one. Some reviews may look suspicious, and some may look real, but it can often be nearly impossible to tell for sure. For example, you already know to watch out for reviews that seem too positive to be real, but some fake positive reviews give less than the highest possible rating in order to seem more believable.
  • Remember that fake reviews are not always positive. Sometimes, a company might post fake negative reviews to harm a competitor.

You won’t always know if a reviewer got something — like a free product — in exchange for writing a review. But, on some websites, you’ll see a label or badge next to the review that tells you the reviewer got an incentive. How you weigh those reviews is up to you.

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22 best product reviews websites for online marketers.

websites for honest reviews

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No matter what you are trying to sell (or buy), one of the easiest ways to do so and also  make money online  is by writing great online product reviews. In fact,  about 92% consumers  read online reviews before making a purchase and  40% form their opinion by reading just one to three product reviews . This makes review writing an important aspect of the work of all online marketers (including affiliates).

Therefore, it's essential to learn the latest lessons in review writing. You can check out the  ultimate guide on how to write product reviews , which I wrote it several weeks ago, but now it needs to be supplemented by another -  equally important  - chapter.

I bet you not only need information on  how to write a powerful product review , but you'd also appreciate a  cheat sheet on the best product review sites  that will guarantee decent organic traffic and strong conversions.

For this reason, I've combed the deepest and darkest recesses of the Internet to find these sites for you! Now, I'm revealing my findings so that you can have your resources at hand.

Regardless of the niche you operate in or  whether you are an affiliate marketer  or just looking for useful product review sites out of curiosity, let me present my  ultimate list of best product reviews websites  you might find useful - sorted by the authority and domain rating:

Let's start with the most prominent online players.

1.  Amazon Customer Reviews

Amazon is the largest online behemoth. As you probably know, Amazon is a well-known forerunner of e-commerce, and it's also the first online platform that enabled submitting product reviews back in 1995. Currently, it's one of the top product review sites.

This shift has hugely helped customers make more informed purchase decisions that are based on real-life stories, authentic product use cases reported by the actual consumers of items. Amazon is still the obligatory source of information for buyers.

The rule with Amazon Customer Reviews is simple → if a product is available on Amazon, you'll find product reviews for it. And since the platform offers numerous types of products, it's the place to have on your list when distributing your product reviews online.

Furthermore, apart from a textual review (the description), products are typically evaluated with a five-star rating scale. Practically, those stars represent the average customer opinion about an item.

Take a look at Amazon's Customer Review editor:

amazon customer review

As you can see, Amazon reviews are about both: comments and five star system. Thanks to that, you can review data by what kind of feedback interests you most. For example, you can check only the negative reviews. After you read multiple reviews, you will be aware of the problems other users are facing with a given product.

2.  Angi

Heard of Angi?

More than 6 million households nationwide  check Angi reviews  to find the best local service providers, like roofers, plumbers, handymen, mechanics, doctors, and dentists.

I would call it a high-end review site that is popular among Americans. In fact, Angi collects honest product reviews on 720+ household-related services. Its members submit over 60,000 reviews every month about the companies they employ.

angies list

Ratings are based on A-to-F grade scale. The website's administrators monitor the quality of these reviews to make sure the platform provides only solid, honest information backed with real-life examples.

Users pay for the monthly membership on the platform to get exclusive access to online product reviews in the household category. While payment makes the access limited, the nice thing about this community is that reviews are well-thought out. Also reviewers personal details are revealed which efficiently restrains fake messages when compared to free product reviews sites. Also, vendors can get an account on Angi, so they can actually monitor opinions as they come in and actively interact with reviewers.

When you are a promoter of a company, you may consider setting up an account on Angi so you can actively encourage customers to review your services on the platform.

3.  Trustpilot

Trustpilot is yet another customer review site, a fast-growing, using user-generated online content. Although it originated in Denmark, it has expanded to 65 markets including the US.

The idea behind Trustpilot, similarly to other platforms included on this list → the company strives to help people buy with confidence and make smarter; more informed purchase decisions. They believe that sharing is caring, so Trustpilot wants to build trust and transparency through shared experiences.

Trustpilot is a place you can proactively promote your online business and interact with users who share their opinions. It's frequently used among technology startups.

Just take a look at Uptowork's Trustpilot profile:

uptowork

You can easily encourage reviews on the platform with email campaigns, and you can add a link to the site ( which can also be an affiliate link ).

What's more, Trustpilot is beneficial from an SEO standpoint.  Trustpilot will give your product another listing in search results  that can increase traffic due to the increased visibility.

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4.  Quora

This is probably one of the most known free review sites. In practice, Quora is an online knowledge market that takes the form of a questions-and-answers forum.

quora

Quora may seem unremarkable at first glance, but it's unique. It stands out because of its special contributors who are powerful people  from Silicon Valley or politicians such as Hillary Clinton .

Quora's viewership is constantly growing. Therefore, it makes sense to use it as a platform to spread your product reviews under the relevant questions and threads.

While membership is free, you need to ensure your content meets the quality standards and respects Quora's guidelines when posting reviews. Well-written product reviews can be added whenever they're relevant and if you don't look spammy and you don't overdo the links you won't get banned from the platform.

Generally speaking, when Quora content writing is done right, it can generate a decent amount of stable, free traffic to your website (and that translates into potential customers, higher sales conversions and higher search results). For this reason, it's seen as one of the primary traffic sources by many organizations.

However, there's one thing: your reviews have to be honest. If you're going to spam with 100% positive reviews about your product or business, it will be clear for anyone that you're posting fake reviews because you're either the business owner or you're paid to post them. In such cases your account can be reported by other users and blocked, so be careful.

5.  Capterra

This one also belongs to the top of reliable product review websites.It includes over  500 product categories  , and hosts over  325,000 product reviews  and  ratings.

capterra

Listing on Capterra gives you access to a massive community, so you can interact and refer visitors to your website, while also promoting your online visibility in search engines. This way you can reach and attract relevant customers to your website as they are exploring the kind of software you offer.

Moreover, Capterra offers a  PPC advertising program  to maximize your exposure on software directories. It also shows up high in google search results, so it's a good place to boost your online visibility.

6.  G2

If you're marketing a B2B software, then G2 is a dedicated platform and a perfect review site for your listing. When you need unbiased advice and transparency regarding online tools, you'll find it here as the platform leverages over  300,000 independent and authenticated user reviews read by over 1 million buyers each month.

g2crowd

Additionally,  G2  is useful for its comparison section. You can choose a product of interest and see how it compares with the other software from the same category. And the comparison is calculated with real-time data from verified user reviews.

7.  GetApp

The next famous place where you can find honest product reviews is GetApp .

GetApp  offers:

  • a precise product overviews with screens, videos and pricing insights
  • user-generated product reviews
  • product comparisons
  • star ratings
  • an alternatives section - where you can actually see cheaper substitutes
  • available integrations for any listed product

and any other features necessary for a powerful software review platform.

getapp

GetApp is a strong domain ( Ahrefs puts the domain rating at 78 DR ), so your online presence on the platform will also boost your visibility in search engines → in other words SEO.

8.  FinancesOnline

FinancesOnline is the fastest growing B2B & SaaS software marketplace in the world.

This review site is relevant to online software solutions in the Finance and SaaS industries. The platform is growing really fast, and they get around  2,200,000 visitors every month .

Therefore, if you are promoting a cloud-based B2B solution, those numbers make your exposure here necessary. Reviewers are authenticated with Linkedin to improve credibility and avoid scams. Moreover,  FinancesOnline  quarterly generates reports regarding solutions in the most popular categories.

Reviews on  FinanceOnline  aren't just user-generated, they are also backed with expert product reviews, tested and evaluated by key usability factors. A bonus is a fact that its product pages rank high in Google and can bring you some extra SEO benefits.

9.  Choice

While Angie's List is targeted at the US market, Choice is  the leading consumer advocacy group in Australia  (as they call themselves on their site).

See what company says about themselves:

Choice  allows their members to submit product reviews but also allows their representatives to test out products from many different categories independently in order to put up honest opinions about the services and products available in Australia.

Choice's  mission is to provide practical advice helping customers get the best deals and minimize dodgy review writing practices that make people confused about the purchase decisions they make. The company was established 50 years ago (!) and both its membership count and website views are continuously growing.

Membership on this product review site is paid, so you should consider whether exposing your product on this platform would be beneficial. If your consumers come from Australia then joining  Choice  is the right thing to do (right choice to make).

However,  Choice  officially rejects advertising or sponsorship, which means affiliate marketing would be perceived negatively if performed there and could end up with a ban.

10.  TrustRadius

TrustRadius  is a similar product review platform to G2 Crowd as it's also targeted toward B2B software businesses. A great thing about this community that makes it one of the reliable product review sites is the fact that it's connected to Linkedin.

  • When you sign up, your profile gets authenticated with Linkedin.
  • When browsing products, you can see what your Linkedin connections say about them.

There are various filters available on the platform to sort and organize product reviews. You can compare several software products from one category, or just display a single product page overview with a full, user-generated, description.

trust radius

Bear in mind, if you're promoting B2B software then  TrustRadius  is a must-have on your list, so make sure you build your online presence there and actively encourage your users/customers to rate your products on the platform.

11.  TestFreaks

TestFreaks is a Swedish review site, and it's great to have it on your list when looking for listings and directories to promote your company with online product reviews.

It's a collection of reviews from 60 countries across the world and still growing fast. Although it's not a place dedicated to software and apps, you might find nicely reviewed electronics devices. Currently, the platform is used by online stores in over 30 countries,  as well as by   leading international brands, manufacturers and price comparison sites .

The excellent feature TestFreaks offers is the easy ability to integrate the directory with your website. With a simple setup and one line of code - through JavaScript, XML or an API - you'll make the reviews visible on your site.

12.  Which?

Any other platform worth mentioning is  Which?  a broad product review site. However, on  Which?  you can neither go and submit a review, nor create a product profile by yourself. In fact, you can post your review by direct messaging Which? team via [email protected].

While access is limited and you can't have real influence on the final product overview and don't have direct editing access to your profile and product reviews, it's still a great place as we know we'll get honest and unbiased reviews.

Ahrefs rank of the site is 88 DR, which makes it powerful, and Similarweb verifies this → the site is popular among users, with 11.3 million visits each month.

similarweb

Other product review sites:

Glassdoor is a website where employees and former employees anonymously write reviews about companies and their management. It provides insights into company cultures, salaries, and interview processes, serving as a resource for job seekers and a platform for employers to engage with their reputation. Launched in 2008, Glassdoor has expanded to include job listings, salary data, and more, aiming to offer transparency in the workplace.

2. CNET  

CNET is a website that publishes consumer reviews, news, articles, blogs, podcasts, and videos on technology and consumer electronics globally. Founded in 1994, it has become one of the leading sources of information on tech products, including computers, smartphones, home entertainment systems, and more. CNET reviews new products, provides technical advice and tutorials, and covers tech industry news and trends. It's designed to help consumers make informed purchasing decisions and stay up-to-date with the latest advancements in technology.

3. Salesforce App Exchange

The Salesforce AppExchange is an online marketplace for Salesforce apps, where users can find, buy, and install third-party software applications that integrate with the Salesforce platform. These apps cover a wide range of business needs, from sales and customer service to marketing and analytics, enhancing and extending the functionality of Salesforce.

4. ConsumerReports

Consumer Reports is a nonprofit organization that conducts independent research, testing, and reviews of consumer products and services. It provides unbiased ratings and advice to help consumers make informed purchasing decisions.

5. Google My Business

Google My Business is a free tool from Google that allows business owners to manage their online presence across Google, including Search and Maps. It helps businesses create and update their listings, engage with customers, and gain insights about their online performance.

When comes to Google, there are also available additional plugins that allow you to display Google reviews on your website.

6. Yahoo! Local Listings  

Yahoo! Local Listings is a service that allows local businesses to add and manage their business information on Yahoo's directory, helping them improve their online visibility and reach potential customers searching for services or products.

7. Better Business Bureau

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) is an organization that focuses on building trust between consumers and businesses. It provides business ratings, reviews, and accreditation, and facilitates dispute resolution between consumers and businesses.

8. Facebook Ratings & Reviews

This is simply a Facebook's review feature that allows users to leave ratings and reviews for businesses on their Facebook Pages, helping others learn about the quality of services or products offered by those businesses. To make use of this feature, you need to have your business facebook page.

9. Google Reviews

Google reviews is probably the most known feature that allows to both: users to leave reviews and user testimonials in a form of a post and a five star rating system. Similarily to Facebook reviews, you need to have your Google business profile to get user ratings.

10. Yelp reviews

Yelp Reviews is a platform where users can post reviews and ratings of businesses and services, offering insights and feedback based on their personal experiences to help others make informed decisions.

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As you see, we've gathered here the most reliable product review websites and we hope you gained some valuable insights here.

So roll up your sleeves, create your online presence on all these platforms mentioned on this page, but always put your website first, when it comes to building strength, visibility, and authority.

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How to Ask & Get Good Customer Reviews [+Examples]

Sophia Bernazzani Barron

Updated: January 12, 2022

Published: August 04, 2021

It’s so easy to make purchases online without ever connecting with a sales rep — the internet usually does the selling for you. This is why getting customer reviews is so important. They can have a huge impact on if a customer purchases from you or not.

service rep asking a customer for a review via email

The fact of the matter is, your company's best marketers and sales reps aren't your employees — they're your existing customers.

We’ll cover:

  • Why Reviews are Important

How to Ask for a Review

  • Getting Good Reviews

Why Customer Reviews are Important

Customer trust in businesses is fading. HubSpot Research found that customers trust recommendations from friends and family over any type of online marketing and advertising your brand can create. And in the absence of trusted recommendations, according to BrightLocal , 98% of consumers read online reviews for local businesses trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations — the single most trustworthy and credible source of "advertising" out there.

HubSpot Research also found that 60% of consumers believed customer reviews were either trustworthy or very trustworthy — meaning that businesses that can accumulate positive reviews had a good chance of them helping a customer make a purchase decision.

The same BrightLocal survey found that positive customer reviews make 73% of customers trust a business more, and 57% of customers visit a company's website after reading positive reviews. That also means that, in order for businesses to grow in today's competitive, online-first marketplace, they need happy customers sharing positive reviews of their experiences in order to even get visitors coming to their site for the first time.

The good news is, your customers are usually more than happy to help you out with this: The same survey found that, of the 74% of customers who were asked to provide feedback, 68% were willing to do it . So don't be intimidated by the prospect of asking your customers for a favor — because all you have to do is ask, and they'll likely be happy to help you out.

Good/Positive Customer Review Examples

A great customer review will be one that is detailed and specific. In this example, a HubSpot employee left a review on Glassdoor. They noted how long they'd been working at HubSpot, what they liked about it, and what they're most proud of in terms of company growth.

Additionally, a great way to continuously encourage positive customer reviews is to respond to your reviews. In the screenshot below, you'll see HubSpot's Chief People Officer responded to the review with gratitude and agreement.

Positive customer reviews: HubSpot

2. Amazing Lash Studio

Positive customer reviews often call out amazing customer service. This is a great example because the customer discussed who they had been seeing at the Lash Studio, and why her customer service was so excellent.

Additionally, the customer proclaims that she is a customer for life, and her review indicates that she has gone from a customer to an advocate because of the great customer experience.

If you get a detailed review that calls out your customer service, then you're doing something right.

Positive customer review example: Lash studio

3. Ashley Leavitt Photography

This is one of my favorite positive customer reviews because the customer felt so compelled by her experience that she updated a previous review.

The photographer provided an excellent customer experience in 2020, so the customer left a review. Then, she used her services again a year later and left an even more detailed review citing why the experience was so positive.

Additionally, the best customer reviews will have photos. This user included several photos she got from her photoshoot, which helps potential customers decide whether they want to hire this photographer.

Positive customer review: Ashley Leavitt Photography

So, how do you get your customers to write glowing reviews that help close deals? How do you ensure a customer is satisfied and happy enough to ask for the kind of positive reviews you need? Read on to adopt strategies that will make generating positive customer reviews a cinch.

  • Identify the right moments to ask according to their buyer's journey.
  • Choose a method that works for you at scale.
  • Personalize your request.
  • Offer an incentive.
  • Communicate their importance to customers.
  • Ask the customer in person.
  • Leverage moments of customer happiness.
  • Begin with an open-ended question.
  • Reduce the friction where you can./Make it easy
  • Provide a template.
  • Let them know how long it will take.
  • Follow up on your request.

1. Identify the right moments to ask according to their buyer's journey.

Make sure you're soliciting customer reviews at the right moment in their journey with your business to get optimal results.

Business relationships have natural ebbs and flows, from times of sticker shock or buyer's remorse before a successful result to times of euphoria after their pain/problem is successfully resolved.

Think about it: If you ask for a review at the wrong moment, it could result in a customer leaving a negative review that hundreds of more people read when considering whether or not they want to buy from your business.

Ask for customer reviews at strategic moments along the customer journey, like:

  • After they experience or demonstrate success with your product or service
  • When they re-purchase or re-order
  • After they tag your brand in a post on social media
  • If they are spending time on your website browsing other products or services
  • If they refer another customer to you

These are just a few examples of signs that your customer is satisfied enough that they would leave a positive review of your business.

For example, Etsy asked me to review a recent purchase approximately one month after I received it. I ordered a party favor for a friend's bridal shower, so one month later was the right time frame to make sure I had time to enjoy and use my product.

email from etsy asking for review on product

On the other hand, some products and services will work within different time frames. For the ride-sharing app Lyft, I usually receive a prompt to review my experience with my ride and driver immediately after the ride ends. For the language-learning app Duolingo, I receive a prompt to review the app in the App Store after completing a lesson or achieving a milestone in the language I'm learning.

2. Choose a method that works for you at scale.

According to BigCommerce , 50 or more reviews per product can mean a 4.6% increase in conversion rates. The big takeaway here is that more reviews mean more proof and, therefore, more trust in your brand. In addition, dated reviews inspire less confidence than recent ones. To truly fuel your flywheel and benefit from testimonials as social proof, getting them should become a regular part of your process. Here are some common avenues to help you ask for reviews at scale:

  • Train your team to ask for reviews after every successful project or service
  • Incorporate requests for reviews as part of your email marketing automation campaigns
  • Use NPS to identify promoters (your happiest customers) at scale and have your service team foster relationships with them
  • Include review links after checkout or on thank-you pages as an optional final step

Whatever you choose, it should be consistent and often.

3. Personalize the request.

Personalization not only helps with building customer relationships, but it can also improve your prospects of getting a review. You can do this by creating a specific review type for the product or service the customer purchased, or to the device they used. 

For example, if they made the purchase via mobile device, they should be able to review the product on their mobile device as well. 

4. Offer an incentive.

If you’d like your customers to go the extra mile for you to provide a review, offering them something in return is an excellent motivator. This could be a small discount, free gift, or exclusive offers of future products or services. 

By offering an incentive to your loyal customers, you can not only get the word out about your brand, but can build stronger relationships. This could lead to not only more reviews, but referrals too. 

5. Communicate the importance of referrals.

Happy customers want to see your business succeed — especially if they have been loyal and continue to use your products or services. You can encourage customers to write reviews by communicating how important reviews are to your business. 

State how many of your customers found out about your business through reviews. That way customers can see they have a direct impact on your business and its success. 

6. Ask the customer in person.

If you work in a customer success manager or account executive role and you have close relationships with the portfolio of customers you work with, don't hesitate to add a personal touch and ask your customers to review their experiences in person.

If you're taking your customers out to coffee or lunch, or if you invite them to one of your company events, keep things conversational, and ask them how they're doing with your product or service. (Ideally, you'll know if they're achieving success or not based on your regular communications, so you'll ask customers that you know are achieving goals already.)

If your customers tell you they're seeing success, let them know that you value their opinion and their loyalty and that you'd appreciate them helping you get the word out to potential new customers. Remember the data from the beginning of this post? Most customers will leave you a review — all you have to do is ask.

7. Leverage moments of customer happiness.

If you've just made a major breakthrough for a client, or if you've received praise or positive feedback from them, you've just come up to a point of customer happiness. At these moments, they may not only be more inclined to give you a review as a way of providing reciprocity for good work, but they are also more likely to give you a good review.

8. Begin with an open-ended question.

Don't start by coming out and asking directly for a customer review.

Instead, start a conversation — and use an open-ended question to kick off the process.

By asking customers "How are you liking the product?" or "Are you ready to renew/purchase again?" or "How was your recent interaction with customer support?" you can start a conversation and gauge their level of satisfaction before actually asking for the review.

This is helpful in two ways:

  • You can source helpful customer feedback
  • You can avoid the awkward mistake of asking a customer for a review before learning they had a bad experience

Use the open-ended question to genuinely collect customer feedback — and to sneakily make sure the customer is happy before offering them a reason to submit a review. There's nothing you can do about negative reviews coming onto various sites, but if there's a customer who needs a resolution, focus on that before you ask them to rate your business.

An open-ended question in an email subject line — as BioClarity did here — prompted me to get ready to give an answer as a reply or in the form of a review:

bioclarity email asking for review with line: "how is your skin liking our nourishing Essentials Routine?"

9. Reduce the friction where you can.

If leaving a review becomes a hassle, your customer will be less likely to do it. That means you should make it as easy as possible, especially when asking for a testimonial over email . Here are some ideas:

  • Include multiple options so that the customer can choose the platform they're most comfortable on
  • Include a link directly to the page where they leave a review to minimize the number of clicks or steps they must take
  • Give them a prompt so they're never at a loss on what to write (e.g. "Will you leave a review about your experience with your most recent store visit?")

10. Provide a template.

As we mentioned, making it easy for customers to leave a review is key. Keeping with that theme, using a template will save users time filling out a review. 

You can use a variety of formats, some with little writing at all like a Net Promoter Score which ranks customer satisfaction with a sliding scale of 1 to 10. Customers merely have to check a box for a series of questions. Additionally you can go with a simple star-rating for customers to make their choice or use a short form.

If using a form, it could be helpful to leverage AI to help customers complete their entries faster with autofill responses. Using tech like sentiment analysis can help with language processing.

11. Let them know how long it will take.

One of the biggest points of friction that should be called out is time. If the customer perceives that they don't have time to fit in a review, they won't. However, if you address this objection beforehand during your ask, you can change their thinking while you have the momentum. For example, you might say or write "It will only take 2 minutes" as a side-note or post-script to the request.

12. Follow up on your request.

Get comfortable with knowing that you may have to ask for a review more than once. Everyone gets busy and your customers may need a reminder to give a review if you’ve already asked them previously. 

This is not an excuse to badger them with requests. Instead, if you have customers that typically write reviews, but they haven’t for a certain product this round, reach out with a gentle reminder. Chances are, they simply forgot or didn’t have time when you sent the original request.

Now that you have these review-getting strategies in your toolkit, let's explore how to make sure they're positive. 

How to Get Good Reviews

  • Create different spaces to leave reviews.
  • Optimize your content.
  • Create incentives.
  • Meet customers where they are.
  • Respond to every review — even negative ones.
  • Share positive customer reviews you've already received.
  • Give your customers a positive review first.
  • Host an event.

1. Create different spaces to leave reviews.

Before potential customers even make it to your website to learn about your business, make sure they can learn about you no matter where they're conducting online research about making a purchase.

There are a few typical third-party review sites people consult to learn more about a business or a product:

BrightLocal found that Yelp and Facebook were consumers' most trusted sources of customer reviews in the U.S., so make sure your business is registered and up-to-date. You can learn how to claim your business (or add it , if your business is brand-new) using Yelp for Business Owners .

Make sure you're regularly monitoring communications coming from this profile — responsive business owners are highlighted with an average response time and response rate that could encourage readers to move forward in the process towards becoming a new customer.

Yelp request a quote and response time and response rate

You should also claim your business' Facebook Page so potential customers can find you to learn more about you without having to leave their social network. This is another site that rewards high levels of responsiveness, so make sure you assign someone to monitor incoming messages across the channels you're trying to optimize for new customer acquisition.

Facebook response rate notification

Next, use Google My Business to claim your business on the world's biggest search engine, where potential customers might find you if they're searching for information on Google, or searching for directions in Google Maps. (This is of particular importance to brick-and-mortar businesses trying to attract foot traffic -- learn more about local SEO in this blog post.) People also leave reviews using Google, which appears in the search results for your business, as shown below if you Google "HubSpot."

HubSpot's Google My Business Card With Google Reviews

If you're an Amazon seller, make sure to claim and customize your Amazon page.

Amazon serves up a lot of different results for different searches, so make sure your Amazon page tells your business' story the same way your website does. If a shopper finds your brand over the course of an Amazon search, make sure your Page highlights product details, testimonials, and reviews.

Amazon Store Results Page With Product Listings and Corresponding Reviews

Image Source

Better Business Bureau

For businesses in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada, you can register with the Better Business Bureau — another highly trusted source of customer reviews. By claiming your business on the BBB, you can access more candid customer reviews and become accredited on the site — which lends greater credibility and trustworthiness to you if customers are deciding between options using these reviews and ratings.

HubSpot's Better Business Bureau Page With A+ Rating

There are also industry-specific review sites you should claim if they're popular within your business's vertical — such as TripAdvisor and Oyster in the travel and hospitality industries, G2Crowd, and Finances Online in the software industries, and OpenTable and HappyCow in the restaurant industries. Make sure your contact information, website, hours, and key offerings are available on these more niche sites, too.

2. Optimize your content.

Your customer reviews might be coming in unsolicited from happy — or unhappy — customers on third-party sites.

But once people are already on your site, make sure it's easy for them to leave reviews there, too.

Optimize your website, blog posts, social profiles, and emails to provide quick and easy avenues through which to write reviews by:

  • Setting up website badges to quickly and easily direct visitors to your Yelp , Facebook , and Amazon pages to read and leave reviews
  • Optimize your website for mobile devices for people who come to your website when they're browsing social or conducting searches on their phone
  • If you're asking for customer reviews via email, keep the asks short and sweet.

Here's a review request I received from a tour company in Charleston. It wisely included a link to various ways to review the company on the actual receipt of my purchase shortly after taking the tour. (For those curious, I highly recommend the haunted graveyard tour if you're ever in Charleston, SC.)

Bulldog Tours Email With Buttons to Request Reviews on Yelp, TripAdvisor, and Google

3. Create incentives.

Your time is valuable, and so is your customers', so make sure you're giving customers a reason to leave a review.

Offer incentives to make your customers want to write a review — such as discount or coupon codes, entrance into a contest for an even bigger prize, or gift cards for coffee, online shopping, or cold hard cash.

g2crowd "have a coffee on us" incentive for testimonial

A review request (with a caffeinated incentive) from G2 Crowd

4. Meet customers where they are.

Don't email your customers to ask them to leave you a positive review on Yelp.

Instead, make sure your requests match up with the avenue where you want your customer to write a review. If you're sending out an email asking for a customer review, make sure the email links to exactly where they can leave their feedback. If you want reviews on your Facebook Page, send the request via Messenger. And if you have to ask for a customer review cross-platform, make the request as integrated as possible — for example, by linking to your Yelp page in your email signature , or asking customers to review their purchase from your Amazon store in a follow-up email post-purchase.

Here's a review request I received from a third-party Amazon seller — along with some helpful tips for how best to use the product I had recently purchased:

litter mat request for review along with tips for using the product effectively

5. Respond to every review — even negative ones.

Nobody's perfect, and mistakes sometimes happen that result in a customer leaving a scathing one-star review on your website, on Facebook, or on Yelp.

When you get a one-star review, though, make sure to take the time to respond thoughtfully, without being defensive, to come to a resolution. It's the right thing to do if you work in customer service, and it could actually help your business in the long run.

Harvard Business Review found that businesses responding to negative reviews online actually resulted in better ratings overall. Your customers are human beings too, and the value of empathetic and compassionate customer service strikes a chord and actually leads to an uptick in total reviews, particularly positive ones.

Here's an example of how HubSpot responds to reviews on our Glassdoor page. Although not technically "customers," showing prospective employees that HubSpot responds to feedback and takes it seriously helps our employment brand, too.

hubspot glassdoor review response to neutral rating with negative feedback

6. Share positive customer reviews you've already received.

When you start receiving positive reviews from your customers, keep the momentum going by highlighting and sharing them so other customers are inspired to do the same.

On Google, Yelp, TripAdvisor, Glassdoor, and many other reviews sites, business owners (and site visitors) can mark certain reviews as helpful, which is like upvoting and moves reviews further up on the site so more people can read them. Make sure to periodically do this to positive reviews so your company's page highlights the cream of the crop.

You could also share positive reviews on your brand's social media channels to open up the option to your audience there. You could reshare positive Facebook reviews in a post on your page, or you could format positive reviews as quotes for Instagram to post for your followers.

Social proof is a powerful marketing tactic — it means that, if customers see other people like them sharing reviews, they're more likely to do the same by following the crowd. So make sure that, in addition to asking for new customer reviews, you're promoting the positive ones you receive across your brand's channels for promotion.

7. Give your customers a positive review first.

If you want customers to leave you a review, you could leave them one first to get the ball rolling.

This may not always be possible (depending on your industry or product), but in a lot of cases, you can get customers to reciprocate your positive words.

If your product or service allows customer profiles to be reviewed — Uber, Lyft, Airbnb, VRBO, and TurnKey are examples — then leave them a positive review if you'd like them to review you in return. Of course, if they were bad customers, you don't have to do that, but if you want to garner more reviews, taking the first step could prompt them to leave you one in return.

Another good option is recommending your customer on LinkedIn. If you're in an account management role and you work with individuals over a long period of time, you could leave them a recommendation or endorsement on LinkedIn. Those go a long way for their own personal branding and might compel them to reciprocate on their own by leaving your business a positive review. And if they thank you for the endorsement, you could politely ask them for a specific review on a different platform during that exchange.

Customer: Thanks for endorsing me on LinkedIn! I appreciate it.

Business Representative: You're welcome! I've enjoyed working with you over the last few months and wanted to make sure other people know how skilled you are at web design. If you've enjoyed working with me as well, I'd appreciate a review of our product on G2 Crowd if you're up for it.

I only recommend this strategy if you've built a relationship with the individual over the course of working together. If an unknown person starts endorsing the customer for random skills on LinkedIn, that might seem creepy, and likely won't result in them reciprocating.

8. Host an event.

To create opportunities to ask for reviews in-person as details in the previous strategy, and to create the conditions where customers are more likely to leave positive reviews, host a remarkable user conference or industry event to create more value for your customers beyond just the products or services you sell.

By creating an engaging and useful experience for customers, where they can network with a community of people like them, get access to new product releases and discounts early, and meet their points of contact at your company, you'll increase their positive sentiment toward your business and engender the likelihood that they'll leave more reviews.

You could even make customer reviews a part of your post-event feedback process — after customers complete a survey asking how they'd rate their experience, you could ask them to share highlights of their experience at the event on a public review site.

Clever or Unique Ways to Ask for Reviews

  • Use social media.
  • Send a handwritten note and gift card.
  • Help your customers when they need it.
  • Give employees rewards for positive customer reviews.

1. Use social media.

While using social media to gather reviews isn't exactly clever, the place you ask for them can be unique. For instance, if you have a Facebook group or LinkedIn group, you could ask those members to leave a review.

Chances are, that if they're in your social media group, then they like your company and will provide a positive review if you ask.

Additionally, you can use social media to promote your reviews. For example, one company I follow on Instagram, Bowmar Nutrition , responds and reposts reviews to their Stories every single day. As a follower, I know that if I leave a review on Instagram, it'll be shared by the company. This provides an incentive because it helps develop a relationship with your customers.

2. Send a handwritten note and gift card.

It might seem a little old school, but if you're running a company, a handwritten note to your customers will go a long way. Your sales reps can write these if you're at a mid-size or larger company, or if you run a small business, you can write them yourself. You might consider sending a gift card to your loyal and happy customers, just thanking them for being a customer.

While you can't and shouldn't ever purchase reviews, it's okay to send your customers a nice thank you gift, whether they leave a review or not. Your note could say something like, "We wanted to thank you for being a customer with this gift card! If you ever feel inclined, we'd love to get your honest feedback in the form of a review."

3. Help your customers when they need it.

When times are tough, be there to help your customers. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic , HubSpot offered reduced prices for prospects and customers, increased limits for customers, and offered a six-month advance on commissions from HubSpot to all Platinum, Diamond, and Elite Solutions Partners.

Again, we weren't doing these things just so customers would leave good reviews, but so we could actually help customers during an unprecedented time. Many customers, new and old, were so positively impacted, that they felt compelled to leave a positive review.

Helping your customers and putting them first will give you goodwill and then inspire positive reviews.

4. Give employees rewards for positive customer reviews.

A month ago, I went to an escape room with my family. After we escaped the room (with 5 minutes to spare, I might add), we were talking to our guide and asking him questions.

After our discussion, he told us his name again and said that he'd really appreciate it if we left a review because they get extra tips if a review calls them out specifically.

Offering your employees a reward for positive reviews gives them a reason to ask happy customers for a review. It also incentivizes customers. I wanted to help our guide because we had such a great experience, so my family and I all left separate reviews calling him out.

To begin implementing customer review cultivation at scale, the best thing you can do is incorporate it into your business as a process. This starts with an active strategy for customer service as well as online reputation and testimonials. Start by building from templates and asking your existing customers for reviews.

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

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

Alo's Running Shoes Launched Today—Here Are Our Honest Testing Notes

We took them on a run and laid down the law on the new launch.

alo yoga running shoe launch

Women's Health may earn commission from the links on this page, but we only feature products we believe in. Why Trust Us?

If you know anything about us, it's that we're huge fans of Alo Yoga , and it's because it makes some of the best activewear we've ever tried (and trust, we've tried a lot). Another pro about Alo? The brand offers some of the best walking shoes in the game (peep them here ), which we love for busy errand days, pairing with cute outfits, and so much more.

Alo Yoga Alo Runner

Alo Runner

Lucky for us, the brand just announced an exciting new launch in the footwear space, and it's everything we've been waiting for as active girlies. Today, the brand announced its debut running sneaker , called the Alo Runner , which is designed to blend style with high performance. And trust us, it does just that. We were lucky enough to take the sneaker out for a run before the launch, and we have thoughts.

First off, we love how lightweight and breathable the shoe feels on our feet. After testing, we felt like it never dragged us down or made us feel heavy. And, a lot of that is thanks to the breathable engineered double-layer mesh upper, which optimizes air flow. While the shoe has a super cushy outsole and a supportive midsole, it still feels nice and light. Our heel-to-toe transitions felt seamless and easy, which is not the case for a lot of running shoes we've tried in the past.

Plus, the kick has pods at the back of the heel, which offer ultimate heel-to-toe traction on every terrain. Not to mention, there's a stabilizing heel clip that keeps the foot locked in place and totally slip-free. During my long run in the shoe, I felt like it provided all the bounce and structure that I needed. And, it looked super cute along the way.

Currently, the shoe is available in two simple colors: black and white . I personally got the white pair to test, and I love how sleek it is. It has the Alo logo at the front and on the sides with thin white laces and a simple mesh upper. Super sleek and super simple, but that's everything I want in a running shoe.

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As soon as Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was permitted to speak out publicly under Supreme Court tradition, she delivered the keynote address from the pulpit of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala. It was September 2023, the 60th anniversary of the Ku Klux Klan bombing that killed four young Black girls as they arrived for Sunday morning services.

“I was a little Black girl at one point,” Justice Jackson said in an interview on Tuesday. “And I just really felt very strongly that I should be a part of that event and use whatever platform I have to bring attention to it and to the court.”

This week, Justice Jackson is speaking out again with the publication of her new book, “Lovely One,” which traces her childhood from Miami to Harvard — where she performed as a scene partner in drama class with Matt Damon — and ultimately to the Supreme Court. She began writing the memoir, for which she received a $3 million book deal, almost immediately after joining the Supreme Court two years ago.

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Justice Jackson was far less forthcoming about the current court, where she and the justices have come under historic scrutiny after the leaked draft of its decision to overturn the constitutional right to abortion. Revelations about the failure of some of the justices — most notably Justice Clarence Thomas — to disclose luxury gifts and travel from wealthy benefactors only intensified the attention.

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At the Jerusalem synagogue where Hersh Goldberg-Polin danced in life, grief and anger reign after his death

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JERUSALEM — Three hundred and thirty-two days after Hersh Goldberg-Polin danced in the courtyard next to his Jerusalem synagogue on the holiday of Simchat Torah, more than a thousand people gathered there in grief and prayer to mourn his murder by Hamas terrorists in Gaza.

During the Sunday night vigil, the courtyard railings were lined with oversized yellow ribbons to symbolize advocacy for the hostages, Hapoel Jerusalem soccer flags — the 23-year-old’s favorite team — and posters that read, “We love you, stay strong, survive,” a mantra coined by his mother, Rachel Goldberg-Polin.

Just hours earlier, one of the posters had been hanging over the balcony of the home of Shira Ben-Sasson, a leader of Hakhel, the Goldberg-Polins’ egalitarian congregation in the Baka neighborhood of Jerusalem.

“We were sure we would take it down when he came home,” Ben-Sasson said.

The community wanted to unite while respecting the Goldberg-Polins’ desire for privacy, she said, prompting them to organize the prayer gathering.

“But it’s like a Band-Aid or giving first aid, it’s what you do in an emergency. I don’t know how we go on after this,” she said.

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A covered courtyard at the Hakhel congregation was filled with mourners the day after Hersh Goldberg-Polin, whose family are prominent members, was found to have been killed in Gaza. Hundreds of other people crowded outside the gates, Sept. 1, 2024. (Deborah Danan)

She added that the community, which has a large contingent of English-speaking immigrants, was not prepared for the High Holidays, which begin in about a month. She said, “Seeing his empty seat is hard.”

For Ben-Sasson, who wore a T-shirt bearing the Talmudic dictum “There is no greater mitzvah than the redeeming of captives,” the tragedy is especially painful because, she said, it could have been avoided with a ceasefire agreement that freed hostages.

“Hersh was alive 48 hours ago. We think a deal could have saved him. There is no military solution to this,” she said.

That feeling of bereavement, often mixed with betrayal, pervaded gatherings across Israel on Sunday, as the country struggled with the news that six hostages who may have been freed in an agreement were now dead as negotiations continue to stall. Speakers at protests in Tel Aviv blamed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who himself apologized for not getting the hostages out alive but blamed Hamas for obstructing a deal. The country’s labor union, the Histadrut, has called a national strike on Monday to demand a deal.

A rare early September rain lashed parts of Israel on Sunday, leading to a widespread interpretation: God, too, was weeping.

Some at the Jerusalem gathering, including the relative of another former hostage, said Netanyahu had chosen defeating Hamas over freeing the captives.

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Josef Avi Yair Engel’s grandson Ofir was released from Hamas captivity in November. He paid tribute to Hersh Goldberg-Polin, murdered in captivity, in Jerusalem, Sept. 1, 2024. (Deborah Danan)

Josef Avi Yair Engel, whose grandson Ofir, 18, was released from Hamas captivity in November during that month’s ceasefire deal, expressed shock over Hersh’s murder but said he was not surprised, given the wartime policies of Netanyahu’s government.

“We knew months ago this was going to happen. Bibi’s formula, to dismantle Hamas and return the hostages, wasn’t logical. It’s an either/or situation,” Engel said, referring to Netanyahu by his nickname. “He’s tearing the country apart. I’m afraid that in the coming months there won’t be a state at all.”

Engel said he felt a close bond with Hersh’s father Jon Polin, not only because of their joint activism in the hostage families’ tent outside the Prime Minister’s Residence, but also because of their shared identity as Jerusalemites.

“There aren’t many of us in the hostage circle,” he said. “We’re like family.”

Sarah Mann, who did not know the family personally, said the weekend’s tragedy reminded her of Oct. 7.

“This day has sparks of the seventh, which created numbness and an inability to talk. Just complete shock,” she said.

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Mourners left notes at a gathering at Hersh Goldberg-Polin’s family synagogue in Jerusalem. Many of the messages used the Hebrew word for “sorry.” (Deborah Danan)

Part of the reason for that, Mann said, was Rachel, who she described as a “force of faith.” Goldberg-Polin’s mother emerged as the most prominent advocate for the hostages globally and became a symbol in her own right as she crisscrossed the world calling for her son’s freedom.

“Millions of people around the world held onto her. Once that was cut, people’s ability to hold onto faith was knocked out today. But even though this has shattered us, we need to keep holding onto God,” Mann said.

For Susi Döring Preston, the day called to mind was not Oct. 7 but Yom Kippur, and its communal solemnity.

She said she usually steers clear of similar war-related events because they are too overwhelming for her.

“Before I avoided stuff like this because I guess I still had hope. But now is the time to just give in to needing to be around people because you can’t hold your own self up any more,” she said, tears rolling down her face. “You need to feel the humanity and hang onto that.”

Like so many others, Döring Preston paid tribute to the Goldberg-Polins’ tireless activism. “They needed everyone else’s strength but we drew so much strength from them and their efforts, “she said. “You felt it could change the outcome. But war is more evil than good. I think that’s the crushing thing. You can do everything right, but the outcome is still devastating.”

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Guy Gordon, with his daughter Maya, added a broken heart to the piece of tape he has worn daily to mark the number of days since the hostage crisis began, Sept. 1, 2024. (Deborah Danan)

Guy Gordon, a member of Hakhel who moved to Israel from Dublin, Ireland, in the mid-1990s, said the efforts towards ensuring Hersh’s safe return have been an anchor for the community during the war. The community knew him as the family described him in its announcement of his funeral on Tuesday, as “a child of light, love and peace” who enjoyed exploring the world and coming home to his family, including his parents and younger sisters, Leebie and Orly.

“It gave us something to hope for, and pray for and to demonstrate for,” he said. “We had no choice but to be unreasonably optimistic. Tragically it transpired that he survived until the very end.”

Gordon, like many others in the crowd, wore a piece of duct tape marked with the number of days since Oct. 7 — a gesture initiated by Goldberg-Polin’s mother. Unlike on previous days, though, his tape also featured a broken red heart beside the number.

Nadia Levene, a family friend, also reflected on the improbability of Hersh’s survival.

“He did exactly what his parents begged him to do. He was strong. He did survive. And look what happened,” Levene said.

She hailed Rachel Goldberg-Polin’s “unwavering strength and belief in God,” adding, “There were times I lost faith. I suppose I was angry with God. But she just kept inspiring us all to pray, pray, pray.”

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Leah Silver of Jerusalem examined stickers showing Rachel Goldberg-Polin’s mantra for her son Hersh, who was murdered in captivity in Gaza, at a gathering after Hersh’s death, Sept. 1, 2024. (Deborah Danan)

Jerusalem resident Leah Silver rejected politicizing the hostages’ deaths.

“Everything turns political so quickly. I came here because I felt that before all the protests, we need to just mourn for a moment and to pray. And show respect for each other,” she said. “We’ve become confused about who the enemy is. It’s very sad.”

But not everyone at the gathering joined in to sing Israel’s national anthem at the closing of the prayer gathering.

“I’m sorry, I can’t sing ‘Hatikvah,'” Reza Green, a Baka resident who did not know the Goldberg-Polins personally, said. “I’m too angry. We shouldn’t be here.”

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