There are thousands of business review sites online. They range from the main players like Google, Yelp and TripAdvisor to the thousands of sites that you’ve probably never heard of!
We’re taking a look at which review sites matter the most based on the vertical your client is in. We’re exclusively looking at reviews on businesses NOT products (so we’re ignoring sites like Amazon or Walmart.com)
The review sites that you should focus on is widely different for restaurant owners and hoteliers, as opposed to carpet cleaners or pest control professionals.
** TLDR? – Scroll to the bottom of this article for the full list of review sites categorized based on industry.
Not all business review sites are equal. We tend to split them into 4 different categories.
1) The Big Three
It’s probably no surprise that when it comes to business reviews, Yelp, Google and Facebook tend to dominate the market, regardless of the industry you’re in.
These sites are so popular that regardless of whether you sell copiers, provide mortgage consulting or create food, odds are that many of your client’s potential customers will use at least one of these sites.
This means that virtually every business in the US, Europe and Australia should have a presence on the ‘Big Three’. You should also continuously monitor and respond to new reviews on these platform to avoid damage to that client’s online reputation.
2) Industry-specific Review Sites
While the Big Three attract more traffic and are generally more significant than any other review site, some verticals do have review sites specific to that industry. These sites are as important as the big ones, as a large percentage of clients are likely to search there too.
Some good examples are Lawyers.com and Avvo.com for legal professionals, Edmunds.com for auto dealerships, TripAdvisor and OpenTable for restaurants and bars or WebMD for the medical industry.
These sites should never be ignored, as the type of customers looking for you there, as opposed to Yelp or Google, is usually one that is highly motivated to buy.
3) Third-Tier Review Sites
Probably the largest group of review sites by quantity (but the least important ones for reputation or SEO), are what we’ll refer to as third-tier sites.
These are the thousands of review sites that try to capitalize off Yelp and Google’s success … not realizing it’s much more difficult than it seems!
These sites often have a lot of business listings and even reviews, but there’s usually not much traffic, and in most cases, their reviews are scraped from other places on the web (like Yelp or Google).
We’re won’t list any of these sites, as our focus will be on those that can provide a significant reputation, traffic or SEO benefit.
4) Hybrid Review Sites
Finally, we have Hybrid Review Sites. These sites often aren’t review sites on the surface, but offer customer reviews as a part of their primary offering.
By far the most popular group of hybrid sites are hotel booking sites like Booking.com, Hotels.com, and Expedia. The primary purpose of these sites is offering booking services, but they also gather customer reviews too.
Depending on your industry, these sites can be a goldmine, as many of them consider reviews (both the quantity AND quality) an important data point for deciding how prominently your business or your products are displayed on the site.
At the same time, they’re among the most difficult to monitor and manage. They often have their own proprietary systems, and sometimes won’t provide their users with customers’ contact details even when that customer has made and completed a booking.
The Full List of Online Review Sites That Matter
Here’s the full list of business review sites that you should focus on, categorized by vertical.
** We only list free review sites here, as firm believers that you should never pay to have your business listed on a public facing site.
Top Review Sites for Alternative Medicine
Top Review Sites for Car Dealerships
Top Review Sites for Catering
Top Review Sites for Cleaning Businesses
Top Review Sites for Dentists
Top Review Sites for Electrical and HVAC Businesses
Top Review Sites for Accounting and Insurance Companies
Top Review Sites for Contractors
- Houzz
- Angie’s List
- Thumbtack
- Home Advisor
- Porch
- Kudzu
- Buildzoom
- Networx
- Pro Referral
- My Hammer
- Go Smith
- Trusted Pros
Top Review Sites for Computer Repair Companies
Top Review Sites for Landscaping Businesses
Top Review Sites for Legal Professionals
- Martindale-Hubbell
- Avvo
- Lawyers.com
- Legal Match
- Lawyer Ratingz
- Law Link
- Path Legal
- LawZam
- Lawyers DB
- Legal Fee Financing
- Attorneys Lawyer
Top Review Sites for Marketing Agencies
Top Review Sites for Auto Repair Businesses
Top Review Sites for the Medical Industry
- WebMD
- HealthGrades
- Healthline
- ZocDoc
- Vitals
- RateMDs
- WhatClinic
- Wellness
- PatientFusion
- Healthy Hearing
- Doctor.com
- UcompareHealthcare
- Treat Well
- MD.com
- Doctoralia
- Real Patient Ratings
- FertilityIQ
- CiteHealth
- Hearing Tracker
- Doctors Dig
- Lotus Guide
- Clinic Search
- Where is my Doctor
- eHealth Scores
- LabDraw
- Doctor Canada
Top Review Sites in Nursing and Senior Care
- Care
- Caring.com
- AgingCare.com
- A Place for Mom
- SeniorAdvisor
- Health Grove
- Senior Homes
- Care Homes
- OurParents
- Where to Find Care
- Metro Daycare
- Care Compare
- Golden Reviews
- Nursing Home Ratings
Top Review Sites for Pest Control Businesses
Top Review Sites for Pet Grooming and Veterinary Businesses
- BringFido
- Rover
- Pet Insurance Review
- PetSitter
- Dog Boarding
- Find Pet Boarding
- Pet Grooming Info
- USA Veterinarians
- Precious Pet Services
Top Review Sites for Plumbing Businesses
Top Review Sites in the Property Rental Industry
Top Review Sites in the Real Estate Industry
- Zillow
- Trulia
- Realtor.com
- Nextdoor
- Homes.com
- Movoto
- Apartment Guide
- Apartment Ratings
- Homeowners Circle
- IBS Team
Top Review Sites for Removal Companies
- uShip
- My Moving Reviews
- Movers.com
- Transport Reviews
- Moving Company Reviews
- Moving Guardian
- Transport Ratings
- Removal Reviews
- Mover Rankings
- UMovers
Top Review Sites for Restaurants
- TripAdvisor
- OpenTable
- Eater.com
- Zomato
- Zagat
- Beer Advocate
- Bed and Breakfast
- Happy Cow
- Eat24
- Restaurant.com
- MenuPages
- Delivery.com
- Gayot
- Local Eats
- Best Restaurants
- Menuism
- AGFG
- Dine Here
- Food Pages
- Fyood
- Beanhunter
- Find Me Gluten Free
- Menupix
- Active Diner
- FoodInc.ca
- RestaVista
- Foodio 54
- DineView
- The Food Place
- Restaurants.co.uk
Top Review Sites in the Beauty Industry
Top Review Sites for Educational Facilities
Top Review Sites for Security Firms
Top Review Sites for Software Companies
Top Review Sites in Sport and Leisure
Top Review Sites for Storage Businesses
Top Review Sites in the Travel Industry
- Trip Advisor
- Booking.com
- Airbnb
- Expedia
- Hotels.com
- Kayak
- Orbitz
- VRBO
- Booked
- Hotels Combined
- Hostelworld
- Bed and Breakfast Worldwide
- Fodors
- Apartments
- Smarter Travel
- Viator
- BedAndBreakfast.com
- Frommer’s
- Hostelbookers
- LateRooms.com
- ApartmentRatings
- Hostels.com
- GetYourGuide
- Hostelz
- Splendia
- Vacation Home Rentals
- FreeToBook
- Trekaroo
- Hotels and Travel
- TourRadar
- Pets Can Stay
- Lodging World
- Apartment Reviews
- Book Cottages
Top Review Sites in the Wedding Industry
- Wedding Wire
- The Knot
- My Wedding
- Wedding Bee
- One Wed
- Guides for Brides
- Eventective
- Equally Wed
- Wedding Planner
- Party Wedding
- Net Weddings
- Find A Wedding Venue
- Your Wedding Pro
- Wedding Service Companies
- The Wedding Planner
The Bottom Line and a (not so subtle) plug
As you can see, that’s a lot of review sites, depending on the business you’re in.
We’re not saying that you need to actively monitor every single one of them, but it’s incredibly important to check them from time to time, and make sure that your business profile is complete on each.
With Optimum Feedback, you can also monitor the majority of these sites automatically to check for new reviews and receive email or SMS notifications every time a new review appears.