Top Online Review Websites

Rebecca Bloomwood
Sep 6, 2018 · 5 min read

What is an online review site? In short, it is a web-based platform where users can post reviews about products, services, and companies. Online reviews and company ratings can make or break any business since they heavily influence consumers’ purchase decisions. Many online review websites have come and gone. But there are platforms which continue to be trusted sources of business reviews and ratings. Top online review websites include Yelp, Google Reviews, Pissed Consumer, TrustPilot, ConsumerAffairs, and Sitejabber to name a few.

Yelp

Photo by Eaters Collective on Unsplash

Yelp is a free crowd-sourced review website launched in 2004. It is designed for users to share their positive and negative experiences, helping others make informed decisions about local workshops, restaurants, stores, etc. The platform is easy-to-use with many interesting options. All Yelp users can set up free profiles to write a review and to rate any business on a five-star scale. Live online support is available 24/7. Using a “Yelp Nowait” solution people can add themselves to a restaurant waiting list remotely, track their wait time via smartphone, and receive notifications when a table is ready. It is also possible to start a discussion with their “Talk” section.

But opinions on Yelp aren’t always even-handed. Review website can’t guarantee the credibility of reviews posted on it. Some businesses can use unethical practices paying people for promoting their goods and services. Certainly, content is screened by moderators, but fake reviews may appear on the platform. Users who want to un-publish their reviews can do this by clicking a “Delete Review” icon and confirming it. There no restrictions.

Google Reviews

With a view to enhance users’ search experience, Google offers online reviews which are displayed on Google Search results and Google Maps listing. Businesses can manage their pages on Google by signing up for Google My Business accounts. Verification is required to prove the rightful ownership. Only verified users can respond to reviews. Google Maps pulls information from Google My Business pages including reviews, comments, pictures, etc. into the application. Actually, it is a great advantage for a business since an abundance of reviews from real people let any company look more reputable.

Anonymous reviews are prohibited. So, people, who do not want to share their names, should look for another consumer advocacy platform where anonymous opinions are allowed. Google reserves the right to delete any review the company considers to be fake or irregular. The procedure of un-publishing your reviews is very simple. There is a Delete option in the Google Maps Menu.

Pissed Consumer

Pissed Consumer is a popular consumer complaint website where the name speaks for itself. Consumers, who feel pissed off, can use this platform not only to share their negative experience, but also to get their issues resolved. Pissed Consumer provides users with a number of interesting options including “Compare Companies” and “Call to a Company”. Any user can make a free call to a company to negotiate and resolve issues. It is also possible to ask questions and get answers directly from the company on the platform.

People who complain online on Pissed Consumer don’t require verification. So, there is a risk of fake content. It is very easy to post a review, but it’s really a huge hassle to remove or edit it. A review can be removed from the platform by a valid court order, by a valid decision of an arbitrator, or through a notarized letter from original poster.

TrustPilot

TrustPilot is an active online community based in Denmark. Consumers can post reviews which are verified by third parties. In other words, a reviewer is obliged to provide proofs of his/her experience with the company like cheques, bills, video records, etc. The basic version of the platform is free. Users, who want to create customizable review invitations and share ratings and reviews on social media, should purchase TrustPilot subscriptions. Public responses are allowed. There is an automatic feedback system.

One more issue that should be highlighted is a possibility of businesses to selectively display reviews about them. There are no dispute resolutions options. TrustPilot allows review removal by original posters. The procedure is very simple. It is only required to log in to the account, find the necessary review, and press a “Delete review” button next to it.

ConsumerAffairs

Photo by John Schnobrich on Unsplash

ConsumerAffairs is a non-governmental organization founded in 1998. It offers a specific forum where users can post and discuss complaints. If any complaint has legal merits, an author can get legal assistance from a lawyer. It is possible to mark a complaint as “Resolved”. Registration is required to post reviews. Companies’ star rating, product recalls, and categorization of reviews are other convenient features available on ConsumerAffairs.

Businesses can respond to complaints and reviews using their ConsumerAffairs for Brands option. It isn’t free. The company has a strong policy against review removal. All users must accept Terms of Use. According to the Terms of Use, all content is the property of the company. So, un-publishing is prohibited. The same applies to resolved complaints as well.

SiteJabber

SiteJabber is an online company review website launched in 2008. It focuses on business ratings and reviews. SiteJabber offers unlimited review posting, i.e. each company can get unlimited number of public and private responses. There are no fees for setting up accounts. Each reviewer receives so-called badges which demonstrate their activeness in the SiteJabber community. Customized and e-mail invitations are allowed. Review sharing on social media is also possible. Users do not require to get verified in order to leave a review online.

Due to a large number of reviews received, the moderators are not able to screen and approve all of them manually. Therefore, the risk of fake content is really high here. Users may update, edit, and remove their own reviews. It can be done on their profile page by clicking on the corresponding link underneath the review.

Online review websites are designed to help consumers find trustworthy businesses. In the era of online technologies customers often take their experience straight to the web. More and more people read reviews as a part of their pre-purchase research. The significance of online review web resources can hardly be overestimated today.

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