---
title: "Which review sites matter for your business, by trade"
description: "Start with Google, then add the one or two review sites your trade's customers use. See each site's rules on asking, claiming and paid plans, by trade."
url: "https://webleveling.com/blog/which-review-sites-matter-for-your-business/"
lang: "en"
published: "2026-09-21"
modified: "2026-09-21"
author: "Cal Hewitt"
tags: ["online-reputation","online-reviews","small-business"]
image: "https://webleveling.com/og/blog-which-review-sites-matter-for-your-business.jpg"
alternates:
  es: "https://webleveling.com/es/blog/cuales-sitios-de-resenas-importan-para-su-negocio.md"
---

# Which review sites matter for your business, by trade

Start with Google, then add the one or two review sites your trade's customers use. See each site's rules on asking, claiming and paid plans, by trade.

![A fan of blank index cards beside a pencil and a small tray on a plain wooden desk.](https://webleveling.com/blog/which-review-sites-matter-for-your-business/which-review-sites-featured.jpg)

You searched your business name and found listings on a dozen review sites, some you never set up. A few have old phone numbers. One has a review you have not seen. You cannot keep up with all of them, and you should not try. The best review sites for small business owners are the ones where customers in your trade actually look before they call, and for a local business that starts with Google. After Google, one or two trade sites usually earn your time, and the rest can be claimed, checked now and then, and left alone. This post gives you that shortlist by trade, what each site says about claiming a listing and asking for reviews, and a routine that takes about ten minutes to start.

**Key Takeaways**

**Start with Google, then pick one or two**

Google is the broadest local review source in BrightLocal's 2025 survey of 1,000 U.S. adults. Add the one or two sites your trade's customers use, and claim and monitor the rest.

**The rules on asking differ by site**

Google allows asking by link or QR code, Yelp's business guidance says not to ask, and Tripadvisor encourages asking every customer. Check each site's rule before you send a request.

**Claiming a listing is not buying ads**

Yelp, Healthgrades and Tripadvisor offer free claiming separate from paid promotion. Pay only for a plan that shows calls or bookings you can count.

## Which review sites should a small business start with?

Start with Google. Google's [local ranking guidance](https://support.google.com/business/answer/7091) says local results rely on relevance, distance and prominence, and that prominence can include review count and review score. Your Google Business Profile is also where a person who searches your name lands first, so a claimed, accurate profile comes before every other site on this list.

Then ask a second question: where do customers in your trade look when they are choosing? The answer changes by trade. BrightLocal's [2025 Local Consumer Review Survey](https://www.brightlocal.com/research/consumer-search-behavior/) of 1,000 U.S. adults supports a broad finding: Google leads and that Yelp, Facebook, Tripadvisor and industry directories matter unevenly from one category to the next. It does not give exact usage percentages for every trade, so treat the table below as a priority order for your time, not a ranking.

![A row of blank index cards fanned out beside a pencil on a plain wooden desk.](https://webleveling.com/blog/which-review-sites-matter-for-your-business/review-site-audit-index-cards.jpg)

Write each site you find on its own card, then sort the cards by whether customers in your trade use it.

## Which review sites matter for my trade?

Where to put your time, by trade

| Trade | Start with | Add one or two if they fit |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Home services and contractors | Google | Angi, Thumbtack, Yelp, BBB; Houzz for design and remodeling |
| Restaurants | Google | Yelp, Tripadvisor, Facebook |
| Medical and dental | Google | Healthgrades, Zocdoc, specialty directories |
| Legal | Google | Avvo, BBB, state bar resources |
| Hotels and lodging | Google | Tripadvisor, Yelp, Facebook |
| Auto repair and sales | Google | Yelp, BBB, dealer and manufacturer sites |

Two details keep this table from turning into homework. First, "add" means one or two, not all of them. A remodeler who is active on Google and Houzz is in better shape than one with thin profiles on eight sites. Second, your own customers settle ties. Ask the next ten people who book where they looked, and let that answer outrank any list, including this one.

If you want the trade-specific details, we cover [contractors](https://webleveling.com/blog/reputation-management-for-contractors/), [restaurants](https://webleveling.com/blog/reputation-management-for-restaurants/), [doctors and dentists](https://webleveling.com/blog/reputation-management-for-doctors-and-dentists/) and [auto repair shops](https://webleveling.com/blog/reputation-management-for-auto-repair-shops/) separately. This post is for choosing between sites before you pick a trade-level plan.

![A set of tabbed manila folders standing upright in a desk organizer, all tabs blank.](https://webleveling.com/blog/which-review-sites-matter-for-your-business/trade-shortlist-tabbed-folders.jpg)

One folder per site you actively manage keeps the shortlist short.

## What does each site say about claiming and asking for reviews?

The rules are not the same everywhere, and a request that is fine on one site can break the rules of another. Each site's own help pages say the following.

Claiming, asking and paid plans, by site

| Site | Claiming and asking | Paid plans |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Google | Claim and verify your Business Profile. You may ask customers for reviews with a direct link or QR code. Incentives and selectively asking only happy customers are prohibited. | Ads are separate from organic local ranking. |
| Yelp | Claiming is free and lets you respond to reviews. Yelp's business guidance says businesses should not ask customers to post reviews. | Advertising requires a claimed page. |
| Facebook | Page owners turn on Recommendations and reviews in Page settings. | Meta advertising is separate from Recommendations. |
| BBB | You can keep a public Business Profile. Reviews and complaints are separate from the BBB rating. | Accreditation, advertising and sponsorships are paid or administered separately. |
| Angi | A free profile is available, and its business guidance encourages asking customers directly. | Lead and advertising products vary by market and service. |
| Houzz | Professionals create or claim profiles with portfolio and review tools. | Houzz Pro has paid plans. |
| Thumbtack | Professionals keep profiles and receive reviews from Thumbtack customers. | Lead costs vary by category, location and account. |
| Healthgrades | Providers can claim a free profile and manage reviews. | Featured listings are paid advertising. |
| Zocdoc | Providers get a profile, and patient reviews are collected automatically. | Standard pricing is per new-patient booking, with no upfront subscription. |
| Avvo | Lawyers can claim and complete a profile and collect client reviews. | Advertising and added-visibility products are paid. |
| Tripadvisor | Claim and verify a listing before editing details or replying to reviews. It encourages asking every customer, not only happy ones. | Free listing management sits beside paid advertising. |

Sources for the table: Google's [review policy and request guidance](https://support.google.com/business/answer/3474122), Yelp's [claimed business page](https://www.yelp-support.com/article/What-is-a-claimed-business) and [business guide](https://business.yelp.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Guide-to-showcasing-your-business-online-English.pdf), [Facebook's Recommendations help](https://www.facebook.com/help/548274415377576/), the [BBB FAQ](https://www.bbb.org/faq), [Healthgrades patient reviews](https://www.healthgrades.com/about/patient-reviews), and [Tripadvisor's reputation guide](https://www.tripadvisor.com/TripAdvisorInsights/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/online_reputation_guide_usen-compressed.pdf). Terms and prices change, so confirm current fees and cancellation rules with a site before you pay.

Notice the Yelp row. If you want the detail on that one, read [whether to ask customers for Yelp reviews](https://webleveling.com/blog/should-you-ask-customers-for-yelp-reviews/) before you send anyone a request.

## Is claiming a listing the same as paying for it?

No. On Yelp, Healthgrades and Tripadvisor, claiming a profile is free and separate from advertising. Claiming gets you control: you can correct your name, address, phone number, hours and website, and reply to reviews. Buying a plan gets you promotion, and it is a separate decision.

That separation is where a lot of money gets wasted. A sales call from a directory often starts with "your profile is unclaimed" and ends with a monthly plan. Claim the profile first, fix the details, and then decide about the plan based on what the site sends you. Count calls, bookings, form submissions and visits from that site over a few months. If you cannot see them, cancel before the next renewal.

![Two shallow sorting trays on a table, one holding a few blank cards and the other a larger stack.](https://webleveling.com/blog/which-review-sites-matter-for-your-business/claim-versus-manage-sorting-trays.jpg)

A short stack to manage actively, a larger one to claim and check on a schedule.

## How do I decide which sites to manage and which to claim and monitor?

Use three tests. Manage a site actively if customers in your trade use it, if it shows up when someone searches for you or your service, and if you can respond or correct information there. That usually means Google plus one or two more.

Claim and monitor the rest when the listing is visible, when wrong information on it could cost you a job, or when the site matters in your trade. "Monitor" can be as simple as a calendar reminder to look once a quarter. SOCi's [2024 Consumer Behavior Index](https://www.meetsoci.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Nurturing-the-Customer-Relationship_-Top-Takeaways-from-SOCis-2024-Consumer-Behavior-Index_Superside_Final-compressed.pdf) reported that Gen Z consumers use an average of 3.6 apps to find and choose a local business, which is a reason to keep your name, address and phone number consistent everywhere, not a reason to post on all of them.

Try this ten-minute audit today:

1.  Search your exact business name plus "reviews."
2.  List every review profile on page one, including sites with wrong information.
3.  Mark each as an active customer source, trade-relevant but quiet, a duplicate or wrong listing, irrelevant, or a paid offer to evaluate separately.
4.  Claim the active and trade-relevant ones and correct name, address, phone, hours, website, category and services.
5.  Set a quarterly reminder and a rule for who replies to new reviews.

That is usually enough. If you would rather see how much outside help costs for the same work, [what reputation management costs](https://webleveling.com/blog/how-much-does-reputation-management-cost/) lays out the ranges, and [what reputation management includes](https://webleveling.com/blog/what-does-reputation-management-include/) lists the monthly work.

## What rules apply when I ask customers for reviews?

Ask the way each site allows, and never pay for sentiment. The FTC's [final rule on fake reviews](https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2024/08/federal-trade-commission-announces-final-rule-banning-fake-reviews-testimonials), announced August 14, 2024, bans fake or false reviews, buying or selling reviews, incentives tied to positive or negative sentiment, undisclosed insider reviews, and certain forms of review suppression. Google also prohibits incentives for reviews.

So, a discount in exchange for a five-star review is out, and so is sending the happy customers to Google and the unhappy ones to a private form. Our posts on [review gating](https://webleveling.com/blog/is-review-gating-allowed/) and on [offering a discount for a review](https://webleveling.com/blog/can-you-offer-customers-a-discount-for-a-review/) cover those two cases in full. For a simple, allowed way to ask, [a Google review QR code](https://webleveling.com/blog/google-review-qr-code/) and [how to get more reviews](https://webleveling.com/blog/how-to-get-more-reviews/) show the steps.

![A desk calendar open to a month view with a few squares circled in pencil, next to a closed laptop.](https://webleveling.com/blog/which-review-sites-matter-for-your-business/quarterly-review-check-desk-calendar.jpg)

A quarterly check is enough for the sites you only claim and monitor.

## Should I do this myself or pay someone?

For one or two simple profiles, do it yourself. The ten-minute audit, a free claim on the right sites and a reply routine need no subscription. You may not need a large multi-site plan at all.

Help starts to pay off when the work grows: several locations, duplicate listings, a profile controlled by a former employee or vendor, policy disputes, review replies piling up, or no way to tell which site sends you customers. If you want to weigh that choice, see [doing it yourself versus hiring help](https://webleveling.com/blog/diy-reputation-management-vs-hiring-help/). Whoever you hire should recommend Google and your trade's one or two sites rather than every directory, list platform fees apart from their own fees, leave you as the owner of every account, and report calls and bookings, not only review counts.

**Quiz: Which review sites should you manage?**

1. What is the first review site a local business should claim and keep accurate?
   - Whichever directory emails you first
   - Google Business Profile **(correct answer)**
   - A paid directory with the most listings
   - Every site that shows your name
2. A site tells you your profile is unclaimed and offers a paid plan. What is the sensible first step?
   - Buy the plan so the profile is visible
   - Claim the profile if it matters in your trade, fix the details, then judge the plan by the calls or bookings it brings **(correct answer)**
   - Ignore the profile forever
   - Offer customers a discount to review it
3. Which request is allowed under Google's rules?
   - Offering a discount for a five-star review
   - Asking only your happiest customers to review you
   - Sending customers a direct link or QR code to leave a review **(correct answer)**
   - Paying someone to post reviews

## Frequently Asked Questions About best review sites for small business

**Do I need every review site?**

No. Actively manage Google and the one or two sites your trade's customers use. Claim and check the rest once a quarter.

**Do I need Yelp if I have Google reviews?**

It depends on your trade. Yelp matters more for restaurants, auto repair and some home services. Claiming your Yelp page is free, and Yelp's business guidance says businesses should not ask customers to post reviews there.

**Is claiming a listing the same as advertising?**

No. Yelp, Healthgrades and Tripadvisor offer free claiming or profile options separate from paid promotion.

**Can I offer a discount for a review?**

No. The FTC prohibits incentives tied to positive or negative sentiment, and Google prohibits incentives for reviews.

**Do I need a perfect rating?**

No. Accurate information, steady reviews, recent customer experiences and professional replies work together, and a fair criticism can stay on your page.

**Should I pay for Angi, Houzz, Avvo or Zocdoc?**

Look at the real fees, the leads or bookings you can count, and the cancellation terms before you buy. Claiming a profile does not require a paid plan.

## What This Means for You

Pick Google first, then one or two sites your trade's customers use, and treat the rest as listings to claim and check on a schedule. Know each site's rule on asking for reviews, never pay for sentiment, and keep claiming separate from buying a plan.

Start with the ten-minute audit. Sort what you find, claim the few that matter, fix the details, and set a quarterly reminder. If the audit turns up one or two simple profiles, you can handle it yourself. If it turns up duplicate listings, lost access or recurring policy problems, that is when help earns its fee.

If you want a second set of eyes, [Web Leveling](https://webleveling.com/) can sort your listings with you, and our [online reputation](https://webleveling.com/services/online-reputation/) service covers claims, replies and reporting. [Send us your list and what you want fixed](https://webleveling.com/contact/), and we will tell you which sites deserve your time and which do not. We work with small and medium businesses across the country and overseas.

## Terms

Review site words in this post

Tap a term to see what it means.

**Business Profile.** A business's free listing on Google Search and Maps, formerly Google My Business.

**Claiming.** Verifying you own a listing so you can edit its details and reply to reviews.

**Review gating.** Sending only happy customers to a public review site and unhappy ones elsewhere, which Google prohibits.

**Prominence.** One of Google's local ranking factors, which can include review count and review score.

**Directory.** A site that lists businesses, often by trade or place, with ratings or reviews.

**Incentive.** Anything of value offered in exchange for a review, such as a discount or gift.

- [Anonymous Google Review: Can You Find Out Who Left It?](https://webleveling.com/blog/find-out-who-left-an-anonymous-google-review/): Got an anonymous Google review you can't match to a customer? See what Google shows, how to report it, how to reply, and when a lawyer makes sense.
- [Review extortion scam: what to do in your first hour](https://webleveling.com/blog/review-extortion-scams/): A review extortion scam demands money to stop fake one-star reviews. Do not pay. Save the evidence, file Google's extortion report, and protect your profile.
- [How Many Google Reviews Do You Need? Set a Real Target](https://webleveling.com/blog/how-many-google-reviews-does-a-business-need/): There is no fixed number of Google reviews you need. Compare your three closest competitors, set a 90-day target, and decide if paying for help is worth it.