Review sites for small business

Review and rating sites

Review and rating sites provide opinions of people who have used a product or service. Consumers like to hear what other people think of a business before using it. Some reviews are good and having these published on these sites can mean extra business for you. However many reviews are bad - to the point of scathing - and can mean bad news for your business. Some review sites allow you to respond to reviews, some don't. All try to determine if reviews are real or fake and can penalise a site for trying to post fake reviews. Sites like Yelp only use trusted reviewers while other encourage you to get all your customers to submit a review.
We have assembled a list of the main review sites in Australia. Some are also business directories that have added a review section and some are just dedicated review sites. Most also have a rating scale and encourage reviewers to rate the product or service they have received.

Product Review - www.productreview.com.au

ProductReview.com.au is Australia's first and most comprehensive consumer opinion site with over 330,000 reviews. Reviews services as well as products. Some of the service reviews include home builders, Internet Service providers, mobile phone service providers, car service/repairs, real estate agents, couriers, fitness centres and health clubs, carpet cleaning, comparison websites, furniture removalists, hire companies, energy providers and flooring companies. Review responses are available.

YELP - www.yelp.com.au

Yelp is one of the biggest US review sites and set up an Australian version in 2011. Nearly all categories of services are covered on Yelp. Reviews are supplied by Yelp users and there is a stringent algorithm that filters out the fake or contrived reviews. As a result the majority of reviews are positive and accurate. Yelp advises against companies asking customers to post reviews. If your business is reviewed you need to claim your business page and update your details, add pictures and monitor and respond to reviews. Yelp also takes reviews from Yellow pages and vice versa - 'this partnership will see Sensis syndicate the Yelp ratings and reviews content to yellowpages.com.au, Yellow Pages mobile and the Yellow Pages iPhone application. In return Sensis will power the Yelp brand using Sensis Yellow Pages local business content'. So a few good reviews on the Yellow pages site may find their way to Yelp. Responding to reviews is available.

Yellow Pages - www.yellowpages.com.au

Is both a directory for small business but also allows people to post reviews about service quality. It allows you to respond to reviews and gives advice on how to handle negative reviews. It also integrates with Yelp for ratings and reviews.

True Local - www.truelocal.com.au

One of the biggest Australian directories also has reviews. Reviews can be written by anyone with a True Local account and once published can be shared with Facebook friends and on Twitter. Reviews are moderated to ensure guidelines are followed. Ratings are either ticks or stars (for accommodation) and out of 5. You can get alerts sent to you when someone submits a review about your business and you can respond to a negative review by adding a comment to the original review.

Start Local - www.startlocal.com.au

Another business directory that has reviews as well as a rating system where consumers can rate a business from 1 to 5. A higher customer satisfaction score results in extra exposure on the site. Reviews are encouraged and by leaving a review, you earn Starpoints which can be redeemed for cash or prizes like iTunes giftcards. Businesses can leave a reply to a review.

Trip Advisor - www.tripadvisor.com.au

For travel related businesses you are more than likely to feature on Trip Advisor and have reviews written about you. You should update your listing details on Trip Advisor by claiming your business and adding pictures and relevant info. You can respond to any review written and you should take the time to do so - especially any negative reviews.

Zomato - www.zomato.com/sydney

A restaurant review site. Owners can add their restaurant if they are not already listed, with info on cuisine type, opening hours, location, web site and social media links and contact email and phone. A rating system allows users to rate the restaurant as a positive or negative experience and add a rating on a scale up to 5 along with their written review. You can add comments on written reviews.

Menulog - www.menulog.com.au

Another restaurant website which allows you to order takeaway food online at over 4,200 restaurants around Australia. Has a rating system for each restaurant which is split into food, value and speed and an overall rating out of 10. Reviews are more like comments - short and concise - and restaurants have the ability to reply to the reviews. Given the number reviews and restaurants, this site is a must for any take away restaurant.

Try and respond to all reviews - positive and negative ones. A response to a positive review shows your customers that you are responsive to reviews and appreciate the time they have taken to write the review. Responding to negative reviews can be tricky. Try to stay calm and look at your customers point of view. Be respectful and make sure you address your customers concerns. Responding to negative reviews shows your potential customers that you are concerned about the quality of product you are offering and are prepared to rectify any issues you receive. This can have a positive impact on any new customers considering your services.

review sites