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Today, creating a successful business requires more than just high-value products and services. Considering the accessibility of information online, having a strong brand reputation is critical for standing out in a sea of competitors.

A big part of building a solid reputation online is having customers express their positive feedback online through various business review platforms. When individuals are researching new services, these review sites are often their first stop to research other customer’s experiences with a brand.

Businesses can establish profiles, collaborate directly on these platforms, and advertise their services. However, with so many online review sites, it’s important for businesses to pick and choose the platforms that bring the most value to their brand.

 

Why Many Review Sites Are Misleading

Even though review sites can be helpful for consumers and brands when it comes to building awareness, they can come with various downsides. Below are some of the common issues associated with them:

Unhelpful or Fake Reviews

Considering the number of review platforms available, there is a growing number of fake reviews that are generated online and unverified before being posted by administrators. This can lead to a surge of unhelpful comments about a company – even some people using AI tools to create smear campaigns against competitive companies.

Many People Don’t Trust Them

There are a variety of review platforms that don’t take the extra step of validating a user’s purchase before allowing individuals to leave brand reviews. This has resulted in a reputation of these review sites spreading misinformation, with comments or criticism not being genuine or lacking useful insights about the value of certain services.

Wrong Target Audiences

A problem with review sites is that many of them don’t specialize in certain markets or industries and feature a mix of brands. This means that reviews being left are from a broader or more generalized audience than brands may specifically target. This can sometimes lead to an increase in irrelevant feedback from customers that may not provide helpful insights a business can use to improve its offerings. 

Pay-to-Win Approaches

Although some review sites are well-known for prioritizing the best interests of consumers, many others are heavily focused on monetization. Opening up opportunities for brands to advertise on the platform can lead to more biased promotions by companies willing to invest more in their SEO and marketing initiatives. This leads to favoritism when recommending specific solutions to website visitors.

 

The Heavy Price of Choosing Bad Partnerships

Taking the time to manage company profiles on different review sites can be vary demanding on both time and financial resources. Registering on multiple sites while also reviewing all comments and reviews being made, not to mention needing to reply to all of them, can be very taxing for businesses of all sizes.

The other thing to consider is the optics of establishing an active presence on less credible review platforms. This could directly impact a brand’s trust factor in the eyes of potential customers and could do more harm than good. Subscribing to “pay-to-play” models or practicing questionable review practices can have a major negative impact on the brand’s reputation and could make acquiring and retaining clients much more difficult – and expensive.

 

How to Find a Review Site Worth Consideration

While there the Internet definitely hosts its fair share of less-than-trustworthy review sites, not all of these platforms are bad for a business. In fact, by selecting the right review sites to engage customers on, you can much more effectively manage your brand’s reputation while demonstrating your commitment to continuously improving your products and services.

Below are some of the important qualities you should look for when finding review sites that are worth your business’s time:

• Established Reputation and Trust – You want to ensure you’re only prioritizing review sites that have already earned a reputation for being a credible, unbiased source of information. This will help you to avoid being associated with companies that try to game the system or mislead consumers.
• Niche-Focused – Knowing where your potential customers are exploring before committing to a purchase is critical. Look for platforms frequented by the same audience you’re looking to attract. This will help you engage with customers who are more likely to convert to new business.
  
• Prioritizes High-Value Reviews – Certain review platforms have hundreds or even thousands of brand reviews listed on them. Although this may point to there being more exposure for brands when using these platforms, many times, the quality of the reviews on these websites is often mixed with a larger number of poor and unhelpful reviews.
• Active Moderation Practices – Depending on the review site you’re researching, some of them with have strict moderation policies implemented before accepting reviews. This can be critical to making sure your brand will be protected from a growing list of fake misleading reviews.
  
• Integration Capabilities – It’s important to also consider any additional features that a certain review site can offer to your brand. This includes sourcing review sites that already have native integrations with popular CRM (Customer Relationship Management) platforms or that can allow you to connect your social media platforms. This helps you streamline monitoring and responding to customer reviews instead of having to rely on multiple platforms.

 

Find the Right Review Sites For Your Business

Managing your online reputation successfully takes time and effort, which is why it’s so important to conduct thorough research when deciding on the review sites you want to engage with.

By carefully evaluating the credibility of the platforms you subscribe to, you’ll be able to reach a broader audience of customers while safeguarding your hard-earned business reputation.

 

Author: Jason Khoo

Jason Khoo started freelancing in SEO in college, sold his first agency, and now is the founder of Zupo, an Orange County-based SEO consulting agency helping construct powerful long-term SEO strategies for our clients. Jason also enjoys multiple cups of tea daily, hiding away on weekends, catching up on reading, and rewatching The Simpsons for the 20th time.