Online reviews are extremely important; we can’t stress that enough. Here’s a list of four top product review platforms for B2C companies. One quick note to bear in mind is that as comprehensive as we tried to make this list, every industry has its niche sites that we did not include. This list focuses on review sites that apply to most businesses in almost any industry.

1) Yelp

Any business can set up a profile with Yelp for free. The reviewing platform is also free for consumers, who can then rate businesses based on a five-star scale and write up reviews. In Yelp, businesses are able to respond to reviewers, although it is recommended that when doing so to be very careful on how you or your business responds since Yelpers are known for being a close community.

Undoubtedly Yelp has become a very helpful reviewing platform for businesses, although it did come under fire a few years ago for allegedly incentivising businesses to advertise with them and in return Yelp would push down any bad reviews the businesses might have had. With time, however, consumers have learned to look at Yelp reviews as a whole and not just focus on one bad review.

2) Google My Business

If you want your business to look more reputable online, go ahead and set up verified accounts with local directories such as Google My Business. What’s awesome about this reviewing platform is that Google’s Pigeon algorithm will use distance and location ranking parameters to provide improved local search results. Google My Business will also optimize the search results associated with your business based on the reviews and the content you can provide such as photos, comments, contact information, etc.

3) Yahoo! Local Listings

Yahoo! still receives 10% of search engine shares. Therefore, setting up your company’s profile on Yahoo! Local Listings is still something definitely worth considering. Yahoo! Local Listings operates very similarly to Google My Business reviews, where users can post reviews based on a five-star rating system.

4) Amazon Customer Reviews

Amazon was one of the pioneer online stores to allow consumers to post reviews on products and to this day it still remains as one of the most important reviewing platforms. Even if the consumer ends up buying a specific product elsewhere, chances are that if the product is reviewed on Amazon, the consumer will take into consideration the review before making a purchasing decision. In Amazon, customer reviews are based on a five-star rating scale, which then is broken down into percentage of reviews per star. Another great aspect of Amazon customer reviews is that the most helpful review and the most recent reviews are also highlighted for easy access.