(Update 1/4/16: There’s a list of all review sites here. Of course, it includes the industry-specific sites listed in this post, but it also lists places you can get reviews regardless of your industry.)
“Niche” review sites are underrated. You’re crazy not to get reviews there.
Sites like Avvo, DealerRater, and HealthGrades (to name well-known examples) tend to rank well in Google’s organic results, especially these days. Getting reviews on those sites is the best “barnacle” SEO technique there is.
Also, the people who go to those industry-specific sites and see your listing are farther along in the “buying” process. They generally know what they need and are just looking for who should provide it.
OK, now that I’ve convinced you, the question is: what are your options?
What review sites are specific to your type of business?
I’ve compiled a list. Here’s what I’ve got so far:
(Oh, and here’s the spreadsheet – where I have a column that lets you sort the review sites by what type of business they specialize in.)
AllTherapist.com
AGFG.com.au
ApartmentRatings.com
ApartmentReviews.net
AutoBody-Review.com
AutoMD.com
Avvo.com
BarShots.com
BedandBreakfast.com
BestCarFinder.com
BestPlumbers.com
Booking.com
CampusExplorer.com
CarDealerCheck.com
CarFolks.com
Caring.com
Cars.com
CarTalk.com
ChoiceHotels.com
CiteHealth.com
DealerRater.com
DemandForce.com
DentistDig.com
Doctor.com
DoctorOogle.com
DoctorsDig.com
DriverSide.com
Edmunds.com
Education.com
EquallyWed.com
Expedia.com
Firmoo.com
Fixr.com
ForeLinksters.com
GigSalad.com
GolfCourseRanking.com
GolfHub.com
GolfLink.com
GolfNow.com
GolfReview.com
GreatSchools.org
HappyCow.net
HealthGrades.com
HolidayCheck.com
HomeAdvisor.com
HomeOwnersCircle.com
HomeStars.com
HomeTownRoofingContractors.com
HotelClub.com
HotelsCombined.com
Houzz.com
LateRooms.com
LawFirmDirectory.org
LawyerRatingz.com
Lawyers.com
Lawzam.com
LocalGranite.com
LuxuriousLandscapes.com
Martindale.com
MechanicAdvisor.com
Menuism.com
MenuPages.com
MyTravelGuide.com
Networx.com
NursingHomeSite.com
OpenTable.com
Orbitz.com
OurParents.com
PublicGolfCourses.net
RateMDs.com
RealSelf.com
RepairPal.com
SelfStorageFinders.com
SeniorAdvisor.com
SeniorHomes.com
SmileReminder.com
SpaFinder.com
SpaHunter.com
SpareFoot.com
StorageQuote.com
StorageSam.com
SureCritic.com
TheKnot.com
TradeCritic.com.au
TripAdvisor.com
Trulia.com
UrbanSpoon.com
USBankLocations.com
VirtualTourist.com
Vitals.com
WeddingBee.com
WeddingWire.com
Wellness.com
Zagat.com
Zillow.com
ZocDoc.com
Once you dig into your industry, you might be surprised. I’m surprised at how many golf sites I found, and how few relatively attorney directories actually let clients post reviews.
And who knew Click and Clack allow reviews on CarTalk.com?
But I hope you found at least a couple that you didn’t know about, where you can get reviews from customers.
By the way, on most if not all of these sites, you can also get a citation.
Thanks to the following people for contributing sites:
Jon Hall of Grade.us for reminding me about Martindale.com.
Mike Blumenthal for telling me about LawyerRatingz.com and RealSelf.com. Check out his GetFiveStars review tool.
Christina Black of ViveVirtual for reminding me about AllTherapist.com.
Gary Smith of Pixel Dust Weddings for telling me about EquallyWed.com, as well as some wedding review sites that were just feeders I had on the list.
Margaret Ornsby of More Customers More Sales for the two Australian sites.
Dan Hiestand of Chico Car Care for SureCritic.com and DriverSide.com.
Brian Rys of Swingset Solutions for PatientFusion.com.
—
Do you know of any industry-specific sites that should be on the list? Let me know of them and you’ll make it into the “Credits” section 🙂
Nice list, Phil! I’ll be looking into some of these. Since you mention the dearth of lawyer directories in specific, I thought I might point you to Martindale.com which is, I believe, one and the same with Lawyers.com but has its own footprint.
Thanks, Jon! Can’t believe I forgot Martindale.com.
Hi Phil
Thank you for the list
Are any of your list available for the UK?
For UK accountants try these (NOTE: some are paid directories)
http://www.local-accountants-uk.co.uk
http://www.find-uk-accountant.co.uk/
http://www.switchmyaccountant.com
http://www.getaccountant.co.uk
http://www.choose-your-accountant.co.uk
http://www.accountantlocal.co.uk
http://www.searchaccountant.co.uk
http://www.find-uk-accountant.co.uk
http://www.unbiased.co.uk
Cheers Hayden
Thanks, Hayden. Do all of those sites allow reviews?
As for my list: most sites are US-specific.
You sure make my job easier with these types of posts… thanks Phil 🙂
Sure thing, Andy!
Oops
I missed the point, sorry Phil
This is what comes of just scanning the text and doing a myriad of other things as well
🙂
Using this as a sugue, if you resell products from notable brands. They often have a “where can you buy this product” type dealer search on their site. Never a bad idea to make sure that the NAP info those suppliers list on their site for you is correct.
True, Daniel.
Hi Phil
It appears that (aside from my duplicated site), most do not accept reviews. The notable exception is
https://www.choose-your-accountant.co.uk.
This is really odd, that lots of directories setup and accept anyone who says they are a _________ (accountants in this case) then offer them up as bona fide ________ (accountants)
Is there some sort of directory accreditation organisation that over sees these?
Thanks, Hayden. Yeah, that site looks a little iffy. I also can’t seem to find a simple page of directory results, where I can see which accountants have reviews, and from which I can do my due-diligence 🙂
Great list Phil. Thanks. So many industries, so many review sites. So my question is…which show up well in serps for which phrases and markets???
Boy: We value reviews. For one of our smb’s w/ a lot of customers, and a lot of dependence on the web about 20% of the buyers have told us that reviews were important. We’ve managed to query customers, about why they buy, and have had in depth questions about reviews. Roughly about 20% of our customers use reviews as a Major source for buying from us. Which review sites do they reference??? The ones that pop up at the top of the serps.
Of course that can change over time.
That depends mostly on the query. For example, Avvo may not rank well for a broad search, but might rank near the top if you search by name for a lawyer who’s got reviews there.
But whether some industry-specific review sites rank better in some cities / regions…damn, that’s tough. It’s an excellent question. I sure don’t know the answer. You and I both know how some general review sites (e.g. Kudzu) tend to rank better in different parts of the country. But I don’t know whether there’s the same amount of variation when you get down to these “niche” sites.
Great info as always! Thanks Phil!
Dou itashimashite, Frank.
Here are some more for you Phil –
Australia
Australian Good Food Guide – restaurants
Eatability – primarily restaurants
Dimmi – restaurants
Trade Critic – tradesmen (not well used)
OneFlare – SABs, mostly centred around trades. (Is it too general for this list?)
Global
Skytrax – air travel
Zicasson – travel agency
What Clinic – health
Thanks, Margaret! I’ve added a couple of those.
Awesome post and spreadsheet! Including it in our weekly friday reload series.
You’re also very nice for not putting it behind an optin 😉
Thanks, Daniel. You should still get my emails, though. You’ll love ’em 🙂
Hi Phil, I realize this is a bit late but I was referring to your list again and I recalled that I review my awesome eye doctor on PatientFusion – https://www.patientfusion.com/doctor/michelle-fraser-12832 – and you can leave them anonymously if you want. The site has other function as well (manage records, schedule appts, etc) but the reviews are a big part of each doctor’s profile. My doctor sends an email after our appt with a follow-up message and a link to her page. Just wondered if you were familiar with the site for medical professionals.
Great post as always, thanks.
Thanks, Brian. Updated!