Top 13 Trustpilot Alternatives Your Business Should Be Using

Title

Top 13 Trustpilot Alternatives Your Business Should Be Using

Date

Nov 18, 2024

Description

From review management to reputation building, these 13 Trustpilot alternatives provide tools to elevate your business performance

Status

Current Column

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When it comes to the best customer feedback tools, Trustpilot is a popular choice. But is it the right choice for you? While Trustpilot has many benefits, some businesses may find it does not fully meet their needs. In this case, Trustpilot alternatives can provide similar features and capabilities that may better suit your business. In this article, we’ll look at some of the top Trustpilot alternatives for businesses, including Testimonial...

What is Trustpilot, How Does It Work & How Did It Get Started

Trustpilot is a Denmark-based company launched by entrepreneur Peter Holten Mühlmann in 2007. Its goal is to provide a rating system for retailers and service providers to help would-be customers make better shopping decisions and enable businesses to improve their customer experience. As of Sept. 13, 2024, it has become one of the largest online review services in the world, with more than 300 million reviews of 1.17 million websites.

How Does Trustpilot Work?

Any consumer with a Trustpilot profile can leave a star rating for businesses from which they’ve purchased or had a service experience. The platform uses those individual ratings to calculate a cumulative TrustScore, from 1 to 5. A 5 equals “excellent,” while a 1 indicates a “bad” experience.

Understanding How Trustpilot's TrustScore Algorithm Works

However, the TrustScore isn’t simply an average of all existing reviews for the business. The company’s algorithm is affected by:

Time span: More recent reviews are weighted more strongly than older ones.

Frequency: The more frequently companies collect their reviews, the more consistent their TrustScore will be.

Bayesian average: Companies with few reviews are more likely to see large fluctuations in their score. To counteract this, Trustpilot includes seven reviews with a 3.5-star rating to stabilize the overall score. When the business acquires more reviews, these initial 3.5-star ratings begin to have a smaller effect on the TrustScore.5

In addition to the star rating, customers can enter comments about their experience with the company, from the quality of its products to their experience with order fulfillment or customer service.

Pros & Cons of Using Trustpilot for Reviews

Using Trustpilot for reviews has its advantages and drawbacks, reflecting its utility as a review platform and its challenges in maintaining credibility.

The Pros of Using Trustpilot for Reviews

Broad Visibility and Reach

Trustpilot is one of the most widely recognized review platforms globally. It offers businesses a significant platform to showcase customer feedback and build credibility. Positive reviews can improve brand perception and attract potential customers.

Improved Consumer Trust

Displaying Trustpilot reviews on websites and in marketing materials signals transparency and reliability, which can enhance customer trust in your business.

SEO Benefits

Trustpilot reviews contribute to search engine optimization (SEO). Businesses can rank higher in search results due to user-generated content, which is highly valued by search engines.

Actionable Feedback

Reviews provide businesses with direct insights into customer experiences. This feedback can help identify areas of improvement or highlight strengths.

Integration Options

Trustpilot offers widgets and APIs that businesses can integrate into their websites. These widgets showcase real-time reviews and boost social proof directly on the businesses' platforms.

The Cons of Using Trustpilot for Reviews

Susceptibility to Fake Reviews

Despite its anti-fraud measures, Trustpilot faces challenges in eliminating fake reviews. Some businesses or individuals manipulate reviews to inflate ratings or sabotage competitors artificially.

Cost for Advanced Features

While basic Trustpilot usage is free, premium features require a subscription, which may not be feasible for smaller businesses such as:

Analytics

Review management tools

Branding options

Negative Reviews and Brand Impact

Negative or fraudulent reviews can harm a business’s reputation, and resolving disputes through Trustpilot's processes can be time-consuming and challenging.

Perceived Lack of Neutrality

Trustpilot has faced criticism for allegedly allowing businesses to flag negative reviews disproportionately. Although efforts have been made to increase transparency, this perception persists among some users.

Consumer Awareness of Fake Reviews

Reports about fake or manipulated reviews on Trustpilot can make some consumers skeptical of the platform, potentially diminishing the credibility of genuine positive reviews.

If you’re looking for Trustpilot alternatives, consider Testimonial. Our testimonial software simplifies the process of building trust and credibility for businesses.

What Makes A Good Review

How to Respond to A Negative Review

Why is Customer Feedback Important

Where to Put Testimonials on Website

Top 13 Trustpilot Alternatives Your Business Should Be Using

1. Testimonial.to: A Seamless Solution for Businesses to Collect Customer Feedback

Testimonial.to makes it easy for businesses to collect customer feedback and display them on their websites. The software aims to help companies build trust and credibility with their customers.

It allows users to:

Create testimonial collection pages

Automate requests for feedback

Showcase responses to boost conversions

2. Yelp: The Go-To for Local Businesses

Yelp is one of the most well-known online directories, with 184 million reviews across their platform. Some search engines such as Bing and Yahoo have eliminated their review feature and integrated Yelp reviews into their platforms. Users can view reviews in different ways, like by highest rating or through the unique “Yelp Sort” feature, which lists reviews by specific quality factors such as relevancy and distance.

To leave a review, users must set up a Yelp account, which they can do for free. The minimum character count for Yelp reviews is 5,000, but the maximum is 5,000. Users are given a 30-day period to update an old review.

Managing Reviews and Engaging Customers on Yelp

Yelp has strict policies to ensure reviews are authentic and accurately reflect the customer’s experience, and anyone can report reviews they believe violate these policies. Business owners can also create free Yelp accounts and update their profiles with:

Contact information

Business details

Photos

They can publicly respond to positive and negative reviews or handle disputes over private messaging.

Utilizing Yelp's Reporting and Booking Features for Better Customer Engagement

Yelp’s reporting feature displays data such as number of reviews received per month and what users do after visiting the page, like visiting the business’s website. Suppose you own a business that requires reservations and appointments.

In that case, Yelp offers a booking option that can be integrated into your Yelp page, making it more straightforward for customers who want to visit you.

Leveraging Yelp's Paid Features and Educational Resources for Enhanced Visibility

There are also paid options for businesses wanting to go the extra mile to establish their online presence. Advertising campaigns help boost listings to the top of search results, although they are marked as “Sponsored Results.” Yelp provides several video clips designed to help business owners utilize the platform.

For example, here is a video of a business owner explaining how to respond to Yelp reviews. Here is another that teaches business owners how to update their profiles. These resources may benefit business owners hoping to get the most out of their Yelp page.

Facebook has 2.5 billion active monthly users, making it one of the most popular social media sites. While initially designed as a social networking site, Facebook has also gained popularity among businesses. It provides a ton of potential for direct customer feedback and engagement through:

Recommendations

Posts

Comments

Understanding Facebook Business Reviews: Features and Limitations

Business owners can create free pages specific to their business. Facebook’s feature is a little different than other business review websites. Only people with a Facebook profile can leave reviews, and instead of a rating scale, customers answer the question, “Do you recommend this business?”

After selecting yes or no, they can add comments, photos, and even tag the employees they worked with, if they also have a Facebook page. Posts have a character limit of 63,206. Who knows how they came up with that number. Email us if you know! Any Facebook user can leave a review or comment, and it’s not uncommon for businesses to receive unfounded feedback.

Best Practices for Responding to Reviews on Facebook: Maintaining Professionalism and Managing Public Conversations

Business owners should remain professional no matter how absurd a comment or review may seem. It’s essential to be tactful when engaging with customers on Facebook since it is such a public and highly-used network, where threaded conversations are the norm.

It’s common for anonymous Facebook users to support an upset customer in an argument with a business. It’s important not to let these threads spiral out of control. While particularly absurd reviews and comments can be reported, Facebook will only remove them if they violate their content policy.

Leveraging Facebook Business Pages: Features, Tools, and Tips for Effective Customer Engagement

Beyond reviews and comments, Facebook has a lot to offer both small local businesses and large companies. Business owners can flesh out:

Their pages with contact information

A list of services offered

Photos

Videos and more

To help businesses reach prospective customers, Facebook offers:

An appointment booking feature

Direct messaging

Targeted advertisements

For more in-depth information on how to set up a Facebook Business page, please review our guide.

4. Angie's List: A Directory for Home Services

Angie’s List offers listings for local businesses in the United States. It is a popular site among home service providers, but it currently features listings for more than 720 services. Certain industries aren’t allowed to post their information on Angie’s List, including:

Lawyers

Restaurants

Large utility companies

Schools

Hotels

Airlines

Setting up a listing is free and simple; business owners and service providers simply create an account and fill out the required information.

Angie’s List Membership Tiers: Benefits and Features for Consumers

Consumers who want to use Angie’s List must join, and they can choose between several different options.

The free “Green” membership offers:

Access to service providers
Ratings
Verified reviews

The “Silver” and “Gold” memberships offer:

Have access to unique support tools, like access to the Angie’s List customer service team.
They can help users compare prices, book appointments, and find a provider.

Members also have the option to post reviews. According to their site, the five million Angie’s List members submit more than 60,000 reviews monthly.

Angie’s List Grading System: Understanding the A-F Rating and Its Impact on Business Reputation

This site grades on an A-F scale rather than the standard star rating. While Angie’s List keeps user data and contact information confidential, reviewers’ names are included with their reviews.

This policy ensures that reviews come from actual customers who are posting about genuine experiences. Angie’s List also takes steps to ensure authenticity by background-checking the businesses that advertise with it.

Angie’s List Super Service Award and the Role of the Complaint Resolution Team in Managing Customer Feedback

Providers must also pass a background check to win the Super Service Award. A badge on their profile indicating high levels of service. Beyond the usual review feature, Angie’s List has a complaint resolution team to help users and businesses resolve their issues.

When a negative review is posted, the team informs the business owner. Once the issue is resolved, the old review is sent back to the user so that they can update their feedback. If the issue is not resolved, the original review remains posted.

5. Better Business Bureau (BBB)

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) is a nonprofit organization that evaluates business operations against a set of “best practices” for how businesses should treat customers. According to their website, their mission is to advance marketplace trust.

BBB Business Listings: How to Claim and Enhance Your Profile for Maximum Credibility

The BBB never endorses businesses or products and doesn’t offer paid advertising options, as that would lead to an unbiased display of information. Business owners must apply to have a listing on the BBB.

Once the listing is created, owners can claim their business profile and add additional information.

BBB Accreditation and Ratings: Understanding How Complaints and Resolutions Impact Your Business’s Reputation

Businesses become accredited when their practices meet the standards set forth by the BBB. They also receive a rating on an A-F scale. Anyone can post a review on a BBB page, rating the business from one to five stars. A full history of past complaints and whether they have been resolved are listed publicly. These complaints influence a business’s accreditation status.

6. G2: Reviews for Software and Business Services

You’ve likely seen their logo on thousands of websites as a business owner. Let me give you some interesting numbers: More than 90 million people use G2 every year, some of whom are employees at all Fortune 500 companies. Customers left 500,000 reviews in 2023.

There are over 160,000 products and services from 130,000 vendors. Isn’t it impressive? If you’re an online business, you need to use G2. It is one of the largest and most popular review sites. Some popular brands you probably know (like HubSpot or ActiveCampaign) use G2 to collect thousands of testimonials.

7. Capterra: A Review Site for Business Software

Capterra is a platform dedicated to reviewing business software and services. To select the best option for their needs, users can find information on:

Many software categories and services

Read user reviews

Compare features

As of 2024, over 10745 companies worldwide use Capterra for online review management. And guess what, you can also add these Capterra reviews to your site. Apart from showing ratings and reviews, consumers can also compare tools and popular alternatives to make a purchasing decision using Capterra.

8. Merchant Circle: A Local Business Directory

Merchant Circle is a listing site designed to help potential customers find the best local option by comparing price quotes for specific services. Currently, it has 100 million users and around 2 million business listings. The highest rating arranges search results and most frequently viewed.

Both users and non-users can rate and review businesses. In addition, reviewers can privately message a merchant instead of posting their review publicly. MerchantCircle offers paid features such as marketing and analytic data and the ability to claim listings across other web listings, providing more uniform search results for consumers.

9. Superpages: Another Online Directory

Superpages is another online directory with search results organized by:

Relevance

Ratings

Distance

Businesses and reviews are categorized by specialty, such as:

Professional services

Local contractors

Healthcare providers

A Superpages profile is free for consumers, and anyone with a profile can leave a review for a business.

Superpages Business Listings: Free Features vs. Paid Marketing Solutions for Enhanced Visibility

There is a minimum character count of 100, with the option to add photos as well. While business profiles are free, Superpages also offers paid features. A tool allows business owners to screen for listing errors across multiple sites and then update any incorrect information. Their marketing solutions include additional SEO and SEM tools and social media advertising.

10. Manta: A Listing Site for Small Businesses

Manta’s slogan is “The Place For Small Businesses.” They claim to be a listing site for mom-and-pop shops and other local businesses. Business owners can create and customize their listings for free. Manta also offers paid marketing features through which businesses can:

Run advertisements on Manta

Build and design a website

Claim listings across the web

Search results are organized by keywords first and then rating. Ratings out of five stars are displayed on business profiles. Any person can leave a review and return to edit or update their comments anytime.

11. Foursquare: A Unique Review Site

Foursquare is a social networking app and website designed to help users find businesses. As of January 2019, Foursquare had 55 million active users. Any user can create a listing, only business owners can claim these listings to become the authorized page manager. In addition, there are options for chain establishments to manage their locations individually or as one brand.

How Foursquare’s Check-In Feature and Unique Rating System Drive Engagement and Reviews

FourSquare may be best known for its unique “check-in” feature. The site offers incentives for users to check in or digitally declare that they’ve visited a location, encouraging them to be more active online and leave more reviews.

Foursquare's rating and review feature is based on a 1-10 number scale. Businesses are assigned a rating, not only from average customer ratings, but based on an algorithm that accounts for direct feedback on the app and likes and dislikes from other social sites.

How Foursquare’s “Tips” Feature Enhances Customer Engagement and Information Accuracy

Users can view the rating once they are on a business page, where they will also find more detailed information about what Foursquare calls “Tips.” Tips are both positive and negative comments that users post after their visit. Other users can then vote on whether they agree with the tip. For example, if a user posts a tip that says “great cafe, free wifi,” but the cafe owner recently got rid of the free wifi, another user can downvote this tip and state that the information is outdated.

12. TripAdvisor: The Travel Review Site

TripAdvisor is a review site best-suited for businesses that attract tourists, including:

Restaurants

Entertainment venues

Museums

Transportation companies

Hotels

Other lodging accommodations

There are currently 6.5 million accommodation listings and around 350 million reviews on TripAdvisor, making it easy for customers to learn about previous guest experiences while planning a trip.

TripAdvisor Listings: Free Business Profiles and How to Maximize Visibility

The website is translated into 28 languages. Official representatives of travel businesses can create listings for free. These listings appear on the TripAdvisor directory and on other travel websites.

There are four listing categories to choose from:

Hotels

Restaurants

Attractions

Vacation rentals

Any internet user can leave a review on TripAdvisor. Reviews are on a five-point scale, one point meaning terrible and five points meaning excellent. Reviewers are also prompted to list what time of the year they were traveling and what type of trip it was, such as a business trip or a family vacation.

Enhancing Your TripAdvisor Profile: How to Encourage Detailed Reviews and Photos from Customers

After the initial information is provided, reviewers are prompted to add photos and details, such as how well they slept and what extra amenities were offered. Those using TripAdvisor as a research tool have the option to compare businesses by rating and price quotes.

13. City Search: A Local City Guide

CitySearch serves as a local guide for dining, entertainment, retail, travel, and professional services in the United States. Their online directory has a search tool that allows users to research a type of business in a specific location. Search results are always determined by keyword and distance. CitySearch uses publicly available information to create their listings, which business owners can claim.

CitySearch for Business Owners: Managing Your Profile and Leveraging the "Best Of" List for Recognition

Business owners can also choose to set up their own profiles. Once claimed or created, profiles can only be updated and edited by verified owners to ensure that all the information is valid. Any person can post a review on a business’s page, no membership required, using CitySearch’s thumbs up/thumbs down rating feature.

Not only can users leave reviews, but once a year, they can vote on the “Best Of” list. The list highlights businesses in specific categories, such as “kid-friendly restaurants” and “high-end hair salons.”

Enhancing Visibility: CitySearch’s Integration of Reviews from Other Platforms and Content Moderation Policies

To provide potential buyers with extra insight, CitySearch integrates reviews from other websites into its platform. While it has strict review content guidelines regarding spam and potential conflicts of interest, it can only remove reviews that have been posted through its platform.

Local Business Reviews

Benefits of Online Reviews

Review Management System

Customer Reviews On Website

How to Respond to Positive Reviews

Importance of Customer Feedback

14 Effective Ways To Collect More Reviews From Your Customers

1. Use a Testimonial Management Tool Like Testimonial.to

Testimonial management tools simplify collecting and displaying customer reviews, boosting credibility and conversion rates. Testimonial.to is an example of such software.

It allows businesses to collect and showcase customer testimonials featuring: efficiently

Both video and text options

An embeddable wall of love widget

Third-party review imports

A clever email assistant and more

Using testimonial software like this can help improve the speed and appeal of your online reputation management efforts.

2. Ask for Reviews

Sometimes, all it takes to get more reviews is to ask. This is especially true for small businesses. You can do this in person during sales or online after a purchase. For online reviews, you can encourage customers to leave a quick rating or review with a pop-up that appears after they purchase. These should be brief and limited to one or two questions.

You can also use email surveys and social media to ask for reviews. These should also be quick and easy to complete. Plenty of today’s tools allow you to send review invitations to customers by text or email. Grade.us, Trustpilot, and ReviewTrackers are a few that offer this service. Besides requesting reviews for you, some services track your reviews across multiple platforms in one convenient place. If you want a review management platform to help you acquire and manage your online reviews, check out our Podium review.

3. Respond to Negative Reviews

Once you have active review platform accounts, you must respond to all positive and negative reviews. It may be tempting to ignore negative reviews, but this can diminish trust with current and potential customers. Unaddressed negative reviews might signal to customers that you don’t value their opinions or experience.

On the other hand, tactfully addressing negative reviews can demonstrate your commitment to your customers and defuse and de-escalate situations. Sometimes, you have the opportunity to win customers over again.

When you garner positive reviews, don’t be afraid to show them off. You can share positive reviews on your website and social media accounts to increase their visibility. This shows that you have a positive reputation and can remind other happy customers to follow suit and write about their great experiences.

5. Review Your Customers Positively

Some successfully gain customer reviews by being proactive and reviewing their customers first. This is not an option for all businesses. If you use a platform that allows it, such as Airbnb or Uber, you can leave positive customer reviews in hopes that the customer will reciprocate.

6. Offer Incentives

Businesses can benefit from incentivizing reviews, but not in the way you might be thinking. You can create an employee review program that rewards employees for receiving positive customer reviews. This incentivizes your employees to ask customers for reviews and incentivizes customers to leave reviews to help their favorite employees earn rewards.

You shouldn’t incentivize customers to leave reviews (e.g., giving customers discounts in exchange for reviews). Offering customer rewards for leaving a review is against Google’s (and most other platforms’) guidelines. This skews the reviews you get and leads to distrust, not to mention that your reviews could be deleted if the review platform gets wind of your tactics.

7. Train Your Customer Service Reps

Make sure everyone has been trained on how to treat customers right. Offering great customer service is the best way to bring in positive reviews. People are likelier to talk about things or experiences they dislike, so having top-tier training is also important to avoid negative reviews.

Make sure all employees know how to talk to customers and handle escalated situations. This will help generate positive reviews while mitigating negative ones.

8. Host Events to Meet Customers

Putting a face to your name can be a valuable way to connect with your audience, especially for small businesses that depend on their local community for success. Think of events or activities you can host to engage, entertain and show appreciation to customers. Hosting events can help build your brand and make customers feel connected to you. When you build that personal connection, tell them how much a positive review could help your business.

Social media is an invaluable tool when it comes to building your business’s reputation, especially platforms like:

Facebook

TikTok

Instagram

Twitter

To realize that value, you can’t simply have social media accounts; you need to be active. Your customers are already on social media, sharing their opinions and experiences with friends and family, and you can capitalize on that. When you engage with your customers on social platforms, you can also encourage them to review your product or service on these platforms.

10. Do Your Job Right

It can sometimes speak for itself when you offer a great product or service. Focus on honing your craft to create your best product or service. When customers notice that you provide a valuable, high-quality product or service, they are likelier to leave positive reviews.

11. Follow Up on Recent Purchases or Interactions

Don’t leave your customers to the wind after they purchase or interact with your business. Instead, allow them to immediately connect with your company through surveys, social media, and more. Increase customer engagement by:

Automating these follow-up messages

Quickly responding to comments and questions

Using AI agents for 24/7 support

12. Simplify the Review Process

Show you appreciate your customers’ business and time by simplifying how and where they can leave reviews. You’re less likely to receive positive reviews—or feedback of any kind—if the review process is complicated.

Here’s how to make it easy for clients:

Link review site pages in social media bios and email newsletters.

Set up messaging software so customers can leave reviews directly through their preferred channels.

Meet customers where they are by being available on various sites, channels, and mediums.

Make links clickable and guarantee they lead to the correct pages.

Respect the time and energy clients spend leaving detailed, helpful feedback, whether you’re:

Requesting reviews about your social media customer service

A specific product or something else

13. Include a Call-to-Action on Physical Materials in Each Order

If you include paper invoices or other marketing materials in your shipments, you can create and include a call-to-action with a QR code. Then, use WPForms to create a mobile review form to capture reviews. When the customer uses the QR code from their phone, they’re taken to the form and can submit a review.

14. Be on Review Platforms

It can be difficult for customers to leave you reviews if your business doesn’t have an online presence. For this reason, it’s essential to have active accounts on review platforms so customers can review you. Some of the most common review platforms are:

Yelp

Facebook

Google

Better Business Bureau

Build a Wall of Love for Free Today with Testimonial

Testimonial simplifies the process of building trust and credibility for businesses. Our testimonial software allows easy collection and display of authentic client testimonials, featuring:

Video and text options

An embeddable "wall of love" widget

A clever Email Assistant

Third-party review imports.

This is ideal for:

Content creators

Agencies

eCommerce

SaaS companies

Testimonial helps boost your credibility and conversion rates by showcasing real customer experiences. Build a wall of love for free today with Testimonial.