Think back to the last time you had to buy a new major appliance, hire a contractor or choose vacation lodgings. What did you do— what process did you use to decide which business to go with?
If you are like an estimated 88 percent of customers today, you probably read online reviews….lots of them. You may have read these reviews on just one site, but chances are good that you scanned online reviews on several sites. Even though these reviews were written by total strangers, you probably didn’t hesitate to trust them, either.
This is the odd online world we do business in today. In this increasingly anonymous global eCommerce economy, who else are we going to trust but the equally anonymous online reviewer who may be half a world or half a block away?
What this all adds up to is simple: if you want to do business competitively, you need to claim your business listing on the major online review sites for your industry — and then monitor those sites like a hawk to promote good reviews and do your utmost to resolve bad ones!
Top 12 Business Review Sites to Consider
If your primary goal is to boost your local search engine rankings, you can’t do better than Google My Business. Verification is easy, and then you can start marketing your page using Google’s many business tools.
2. Facebook
Facebook gives you the freedom to create and build your own business page. From there, customers can visit and review your business. Facebook continues to own the number one slot as most popular social media site, so having a business page there is a must.
But be aware that as the page owner/administrator, you can remove reviews, so you should not use Facebook as your only online review site.
3. Bing Local
Getting started on Bing Local is an easy three-step process. Just claim your business, edit details as needed and verify it. Bing Local also offers the option of purchasing targeted advertising to promote your listing.
4. Yelp
Yelp has a streamlined process to find and claim your business listing. First, you need to add your business, and then you will receive an email with notes on how to claim it from within Yelp.
From there, you can add more detail to your profile and cross-promote it on your website to generate more online reviews.
5. Angie’s List
Angie’s List is unique among most online review sites in that its founder is still involved with the daily operations. As well, each potential reviewer must sign in AND pay a subscription fee before being permitted to read or write reviews.
Angie’s List, like many review sites, also has additional paid opportunities for you to promote your business listing once you have claimed it.
6. FourSquare
Many local businesses learn about Foursquare for the first time when customers begin checking in to their listing from within the app.
From here, all you need to do is locate and claim your listing and then you can start using Foursquare in some pretty powerful ways to market your business, including running ads and offering perks and rewards for check-ins.
7. Superpages
Superpages offers free and paid advertising options once you claim your business listing. While it may seem confusing at first, your listing on Superpages is not the same as your listing on Yellowbook (Local YP) or the Real Yellow Pages. Each of these is an independent listing site with its own target audience and reach.
For best results, claim your business listing at all three sites.
8. Better Business Bureau (BBB)
Even with the wealth of business review sites available to companies and customers today, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) still leads the pack in terms of trustworthiness. Getting accredited by the BBB is not a simple process, but once you have done it, you are eligible to display the BBB logo on all of your company materials and use it for marketing purposes.
As a bonus, if BBB does receive a complaint, they will also work with you to help resolve it.
9. CitySearch
Citysearch is one of the hottest local online review sites out there right now, especially with the addition of its customer-driven “Best of” business features. With its diverse category options and associated mobile app, local customers turn to and trust Citysearch when deciding which business to choose.
10. Insiderpages
InsiderPages offers city-specific local and online options for major cities around the nation. This site also offers businesses the option of posting coupons to attract attention to their listing. It is easy to find and claim your listing and begin promoting it.
11. Yellow Pages
The Real Yellow Pages, otherwise known as simply the Yellow Pages, comes with a free claimed business listing and an assortment of free and paid enhancement options, including the ability to post coupons and distribute your listing to multiple mobile apps and websites.
12. Hotfrog
You can create your business’s free listing on Hotfrog in just a few seconds. With more than 120 million business listings, Hotfrog definitely offers you a chance to market your business to new prospects.
One perk Hotfrog offers is that, unlike some other online review sites, this site does not permit anonymous reviews – each review is associated with a social media profile of the reviewer’s choice.
Need help getting on any of these review websites? Contact the review crew at Rize Reviews. We’d love to help your business acquire more positive reviews and improve your online reputation!
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