How to Make the Best Use of Online Reviews of Products amp Services
How to Make the Best Use of Online Reviews of Products & Services Skip to content
Some retail sites, such as Amazon, have a ratings system built right into their product listings. If you are looking to buy a specific product, check out the reviews of several different vendors while doing your comparison shopping. These reviews can often give you detailed information from real users of a particular product. The downside? Some unscrupulous retailers may delete negative reviews in hopes of selling a product. Reviews may also be poorly moderated, if at all, which allows people to add fake reviews (both good and bad) to a site.
Motley Fool Stock Advisor recommendations have an average return of 397%. For $79 (or just $1.52 per week), join more than 1 million members and don't miss their upcoming stock picks. 30 day money-back guarantee. Sign Up Now Furthermore, there are some companies that actually pay people to write good reviews of their products on e-commerce sites. To spot these reviews, look for posters who don’t have a long history of posting on the site, who praise a product without providing a lot of detail, and who use specific keywords or phrases (such as the full name of a product along with its brand name) multiple times in their review. These posters may be trying to counteract negative reviews or product publicity. 2. Dedicated Review Sites
Sites like Epinions, Yelp, and Angie’s List are made up of consumer reviews. While these sites may make money from advertising, affiliate programs, or user memberships, they aren’t as sales-driven as e-commerce sites. These sites also make significant efforts to attract new visitors and reviewers, so they may be your best source for multiple recent reviews of the same business or product. Investigate how these sites moderate their reviewers and manage their review listings. If a site relies on advertising from reviewed businesses, there is the risk that the site may remove negative reviews in hopes of not upsetting an advertiser. You should also find out whether the site has ways of vetting the quality of a review and whether it is willing to pull reviews (positive or negative) that aren’t legitimate. 3. City Guides
Local city guides also may include user reviews. These sites and reviews can be really handy when visiting or moving to a new town. They are also great if you just want to get to know your own city better, as they may have information about small neighborhood businesses that don’t get a lot of attention from tourists or journalists. With the advent of mega-review sites like Yelp, some of the old city guides have turned into virtual ghost towns, and their reviews may be old. Check the dates on reviews before giving them much credence. 4. Social Media Sites
Many consumers take their complaints and concerns to social media, including Twitter and Facebook. Check out a company’s Facebook page, or search for its name on Twitter to see what consumers have to say about their service or products. Many irate customers turn to social media as a way of getting a company’s attention after efforts to resolve a situation via its customer service department fail. There are some people, however, who go to social media immediately, before even trying to work with a company via phone or email. Unfortunately, public complaints can give the false impression that a company doesn’t care about customer complaints. Read the complaint, as well as any company responses, before passing judgment. 5. Consumer Complaint Sites
Some sites are dedicated entirely to consumer complaints. Unfortunately, these sites are often poorly moderated, and there is no way to determine whether a consumer registering a complaint even attempted to work with the company in question to achieve a resolution. While it can be helpful to read complaint sites to see if the complaints reflect the opinions on more reliable consumer review sites, you should view such sites skeptically. Many complaint sites allow businesses to respond to posted complaints, which can be helpful in understanding both sides of the story. However, you should check to see how a complaint site verifies the identity of those posting as business owners or employees. Otherwise, you may end up reading a series of exchanges between sock puppets. 6. Blogs
Many bloggers review products, and their insights can be invaluable. Reviews written by niche bloggers are often extremely detailed, and may include helpful photographs and tips on using the product or service. Find out a blogger’s product review policies before relying on their recommendation to buy a product or service. Some bloggers participate in affiliate programs, giving them a commission if you purchase a product or service through a link in a review. This may cause a positive bias. Blog posts should disclose whether the blogger received a product for free, has any connection to a business or product under review, accepts paid advertising for the product/businesses, or whether the post contains affiliate links.
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By Lainie Petersen Date September 14, 2021FEATURED PROMOTION
If you’re planning on buying a computer, dining at a restaurant, or hiring a contractor, you’re also probably planning to check out online reviews of the various options beforehand. While this can be a great way of verifying the quality or legitimacy of a product or service, some sites (and the reviews they contain) are better and more accurate than others. It’s important to think critically about the reviews you read – don’t let your excitement about making a purchase compromise your ability to make good decisions. While it can be difficult to determine the legitimacy of a review or review site, there are a number of tips to make the best use of online reviews.How to Use Online Reviews
Select Your Site
There are several different sources for online reviews, and some may meet your needs better than others: 1. E-commerce SitesSome retail sites, such as Amazon, have a ratings system built right into their product listings. If you are looking to buy a specific product, check out the reviews of several different vendors while doing your comparison shopping. These reviews can often give you detailed information from real users of a particular product. The downside? Some unscrupulous retailers may delete negative reviews in hopes of selling a product. Reviews may also be poorly moderated, if at all, which allows people to add fake reviews (both good and bad) to a site.
Motley Fool Stock Advisor recommendations have an average return of 397%. For $79 (or just $1.52 per week), join more than 1 million members and don't miss their upcoming stock picks. 30 day money-back guarantee. Sign Up Now Furthermore, there are some companies that actually pay people to write good reviews of their products on e-commerce sites. To spot these reviews, look for posters who don’t have a long history of posting on the site, who praise a product without providing a lot of detail, and who use specific keywords or phrases (such as the full name of a product along with its brand name) multiple times in their review. These posters may be trying to counteract negative reviews or product publicity. 2. Dedicated Review Sites
Sites like Epinions, Yelp, and Angie’s List are made up of consumer reviews. While these sites may make money from advertising, affiliate programs, or user memberships, they aren’t as sales-driven as e-commerce sites. These sites also make significant efforts to attract new visitors and reviewers, so they may be your best source for multiple recent reviews of the same business or product. Investigate how these sites moderate their reviewers and manage their review listings. If a site relies on advertising from reviewed businesses, there is the risk that the site may remove negative reviews in hopes of not upsetting an advertiser. You should also find out whether the site has ways of vetting the quality of a review and whether it is willing to pull reviews (positive or negative) that aren’t legitimate. 3. City Guides
Local city guides also may include user reviews. These sites and reviews can be really handy when visiting or moving to a new town. They are also great if you just want to get to know your own city better, as they may have information about small neighborhood businesses that don’t get a lot of attention from tourists or journalists. With the advent of mega-review sites like Yelp, some of the old city guides have turned into virtual ghost towns, and their reviews may be old. Check the dates on reviews before giving them much credence. 4. Social Media Sites
Many consumers take their complaints and concerns to social media, including Twitter and Facebook. Check out a company’s Facebook page, or search for its name on Twitter to see what consumers have to say about their service or products. Many irate customers turn to social media as a way of getting a company’s attention after efforts to resolve a situation via its customer service department fail. There are some people, however, who go to social media immediately, before even trying to work with a company via phone or email. Unfortunately, public complaints can give the false impression that a company doesn’t care about customer complaints. Read the complaint, as well as any company responses, before passing judgment. 5. Consumer Complaint Sites
Some sites are dedicated entirely to consumer complaints. Unfortunately, these sites are often poorly moderated, and there is no way to determine whether a consumer registering a complaint even attempted to work with the company in question to achieve a resolution. While it can be helpful to read complaint sites to see if the complaints reflect the opinions on more reliable consumer review sites, you should view such sites skeptically. Many complaint sites allow businesses to respond to posted complaints, which can be helpful in understanding both sides of the story. However, you should check to see how a complaint site verifies the identity of those posting as business owners or employees. Otherwise, you may end up reading a series of exchanges between sock puppets. 6. Blogs
Many bloggers review products, and their insights can be invaluable. Reviews written by niche bloggers are often extremely detailed, and may include helpful photographs and tips on using the product or service. Find out a blogger’s product review policies before relying on their recommendation to buy a product or service. Some bloggers participate in affiliate programs, giving them a commission if you purchase a product or service through a link in a review. This may cause a positive bias. Blog posts should disclose whether the blogger received a product for free, has any connection to a business or product under review, accepts paid advertising for the product/businesses, or whether the post contains affiliate links.