AI search makes hosting your own reviews, and then getting them to Google, more important than ever

Trustpilot's recent results brought AI firmly into the reviews spotlight. Read this from Proactive Investors...

Regular readers may be mildly surprised to hear that we agree with every word. 

Let's now look at a ChatGPT local search; the kind of search millions make every day:

Bear with us, because this is important, very important. What do we see in the grey box right next to 'One of the highest-rated locally (around 4.9* with hundreds of reviews)'? That's right: a grey box with the word 'Winkworth'. So what, precisely, does that mean? Where is ChatGPT sourcing - or in search parlance, 'surfacing' - the reviews that make up the business's impressive 4.9* rating? From Google? No. From another review site (Trustpilot, even?). No. The score is based on the business's own reviews, hosted on its own website.

...all gathered using HelpHound. Oh! And don't worry, we've always had conventional search covered...

Leading in natural/organic local search, with the score, stars and number of reviews hosted on its own website showing prominently underneath

...and yes, however many consumers automatically assume those 776 reviews, the score, and the stars are from Google, they are not. We repeat: they are also sourced directly from the reviews on the business's own website. They are Winkworth's own reviews. Again, gathered using HelpHound.

Don't discount Google reviews. We certainly don't; they are the ultimate goal for almost all of our clients. Here is the client's Google Knowledge Panel.

...seen by everyone who searches for the business's name and location. Find almost any one of those 607 individual reviews, and there is a better than even chance that it found its way to Google thanks to a repost request initiated by HelpHound.

The client's review on the business's own website...

For anyone thinking 'How many people actually read the reviews on the business's website?', there's a clue here in the 'X people found this review helpful', in this case 'X' being '5'. We estimate that for every 'like', something in the region of ten people read the review without bothering to 'like' it. And what kind of person bothers to a) read the reviews and b) click on 'Helpful'? Yes. Exactly. Someone who is seriously considering using this business.

Then copied, at HelpHound's invitation, to Google...

All bases covered. Now and for the future.

 

Further reading

• The ultimate secret of our, and our clients', success with reviews: moderation. Every single review is read before publication. Simple errors of spelling and grammar are corrected, and if there is any evidence at all of factually inaccurate comments or a statement that might reasonably be expected to mislead a reader, we engage with all parties concerned to give them the chance to correct the review pre-publication. Whilst this only happens on average 7 times for every 100 reviews, it is an essential safety mechanism for everyone concerned. It is this that gives businesses the confidence to invite reviews in the first place, whilst maintaining compliance with the law (the CMA regulations). 

The only other options for high-value professional businesses are a) to cherry-pick 'happy' customers to invite to write a review (against the law in the UK) or b) to ignore reviews altogether (and thus miss out on their power to drive new business, whilst at the same time remaining vulnerable to unmoderated negative reviews).