As a business owner, you know that reviews are essential for success. With more than 31 million small businesses in the U.S., consumers have a tremendous amount of options. For companies, this means that it's crucial to find ways to differentiate their brand from the competition. To help you out, I've compiled a comprehensive guide on the best places to leave reviews for your business.Google My Business (GMB) is the most important review and listing tool for local businesses.
Your customers will find your business online in a wide variety of places, from Google to social networks such as Facebook, to industry-specific websites and local business listing sites such as Yelp or Google Local. Google local is a specific type of search result that is displayed when you type a query that could be considered local-focused. For example, if you type “plumbers near me” or “I need a florist”, you will be presented with the Google Local result that contains a map of the surroundings, with the company indicated so you can find it. This is the Google Local result for “plumbers near me” - which one are you most likely to call? Try Googling a company and see where your Facebook page ranks - you'll also see those stars underneath it.Tripadvisor is the best for any hospitality business.
Think about hotels, bars, nightclubs, restaurants and cafes. In fact, if you type any of those terms into Google, Tripadvisor will show you a list of the top ten in your local area. Yelp is similar to Tripadvisor, but has more categories, adding dentists, stores, spas, sports and cars to Tripadvisor's main hospitality focus. It's where people find local businesses in a wide variety of categories.If you want your company to stay ahead of the competition, apply for your
Google business profile
.By requesting this profile, it will be easier for your customers to find your company. Most likely, you're a Facebook user - after all, the site has 2.41 billion monthly active users. Of course, social media isn't the only place where Facebook wins - while Google is above the competition, Facebook is the second largest review site.It is estimated that the Yellow Pages attract around 13 million visitors every month. While Yellow Pages may not have the same monthly user count as Facebook and Google, all review sites are important - you never know where a potential customer might find your business.
Your company most likely has a free Birdeye that creates personalized company profiles based on information available in places like Google and Facebook.Porch is a local home services website that helps homeowners with projects, maintenance and repairs by connecting them with quality professionals. Customers can contact you directly after reviewing your profile.So far, we've featured some of the top customer review sites available today. But did you know that there are specific review sites for B2B and B2C companies? Here are some of the best B2B review sites to visit: G2 Crowd, TrustRadius, Clutch and Capterra. Here are some of the top B2C review sites today: Tripadvisor, Yelp, Manta and Foursquare.With Birdeye, you don't need to send review requests manually - our platform will take care of it for you.
Birdeye automatically sends review requests to its customers via text message and email, with selected customer review sites as options - including a customizable “leave a review” button.To answer the question: “Well, where is the best place for my customer to write a review?” For most companies, it will be Google - and to do that, you have to have your Google My Business listing. You have to verify it and then it will appear on Google Maps. And so, you want them to go there - tell them: “Hey, go to Google Maps, search for the name of my company and you'll see right there - leave me a review!”There's no reason to limit yourself to one or two review sites - explore several options and decide which platforms are right for your marketing strategy. If you need help deciding which sites to go to, check out my consulting services.
