Does My Business Need a Trustpilot?
Reviews are something we’re well accustomed to seeing online. From hotels to video games, the internet has given all of us the power to share our opinions – for better or worse. Though there will always be individuals out there who abuse this power, the majority of us find leaving and reading online reviews extremely helpful – and many of us trust them as much as a recommendation from a friend.
Leaving reviews online would likely have baffled most people in 2007, but not the founders of Trustpilot. They launched their review service the same year the first iPhone was released, clearly recognising the potential value that customer reviews could add to a brand’s website.
Arriving at just the right time, Trustpilot rapidly rose to prominence – and its familiar logo today adorns the homepages of thousands of websites. But is a Trustpilot presence right for your business? And do you need one?
The benefits (and risks)
In answer to the second question, no – plenty of businesses do very well without a Trustpilot account. There are plenty of other ways to showcase the feedback you get from customers, so a Trustpilot certainly isn’t a must-have.
However, it’s easy to put fake reviews on your website manually, and many customers will be wise to this. By contrast, anybody can post a review of your business on Trustpilot. With that in mind, having a great Trustscore rating could benefit your reputation more than simply posting glowing testimonials on your own website – if customers trust the legitimacy of your reviews more, they’re likely to be more willing to get in touch or add products to their basket.
Having an account on Trustpilot has other benefits you may not have considered. For one, it’s free advertising for your business. Potential customers can search for companies directly on the site as well, and if they see an excellent rating they may make a beeline for your contact page or website.
Not only that, but Trustpilot can have significant SEO benefits. Mentions of your business on third-party sites and inbound links from other sites are well-known search engine ranking factors, so you may find that your position on search engine results pages increases a little.
Of course it’s not all sunshine and roses – there are risks associated with opening a Trustpilot account. Receiving fake or malicious reviews is always a possibility, even if you’ve done nothing wrong, and just one harsh review can be enough to put potential customers off.
However, provided you rectify genuine customer complaints and reply to negative reviews promptly, you may find the criticism beneficial to your business in the long run; if it’s constructive, it might allow you to improve and avoid similar incidents from happening again.
