Collecting reviews on steroids

[Jon Hall]

Thanks, Linda!

And just to follow up with Andy the OP's original line of questions about SMS and review solutions, Grade.us did launch SMS with beta users earlier this week, and I invite him (and anyone interested) to join

 

[Tim Colling]

Regarding the stars in the SERPs: Is it in the business owners' interest to build so much visibility in a page they rent, not own? Personally, I like to see businesses get their own sites ranking with stars in the SERPs, e.g. https://www.google.com/search?q=richard crosby dentist reviews

Amen. This is a problem in my market niche in a couple of ways.

One example is a company called 1-800-HOMECARE that rents that number out on a territory-based model to local homecare companies. The problem is, if you stop using them, any investment that you've made in them just adds value to their brand, not your brand.

Another example is a company in the eldercare space that creates "sites" for technically unsophisticated eldercare professionals by adding them to a directory of such professionals in a templated format that somewhat hides the fact that they're just pages in a directory site. The giveaway is that in the page footers, there is a legend that says that the "site" is "sponsored" by the eldercare professional (not owned). Their client's don't realize that they are paying for a listing in a directory, which can be deleted if the company stops paying the monthly charges.

 

[JoshuaMackens]

Regarding the stars in the SERPs: Is it in the business owners' interest to build so much visibility in a page they rent, not own? Personally, I like to see businesses get their own sites ranking with stars in the SERPs, e.g. https://www.google.com/search?q=richard crosby dentist reviews

I would just use Grade.Us or Fivestars myself but the service they provide doesn't necessitate a heavy investment from the business. It won't break their business if it's ever taken away from them and is a simple brand enforcer when a branded search is done.

I think it's pretty slick.

Again, I wouldn't pay for it solely but it still has value.