Business Testimonial Sites

One of my clients was interested in using some testimonial sites, and wanted to know what was out there.

Honestly, there are several sites that let you post a business profile and manage testimonials / business ratings. The trick is to hit the main ones (in case someone searches for you) and to use them to build your reputation/goodwill etc - and perhaps your search ranking.

TIP 1: create accounts in about 3-4 sites. You dont need to create and manage accounts in lots of these unless you have LOTS of time. But only let your customers know about 1 or two at a time. That way you can have several testimonials with one site. (Its a good idea to put links to these in your emails and in your website.) As you grow, share the other sites to build them up also. If someone asks for referrals, you can pass them a link with more than one testimonial.

TIP 2: If you sign up for an account with these places, take the time to do it right. Upload relevant pictures, including your logo. Remember - this is part of your BRANDING/MARKETING. Put in contact info AND your website url in the proper places. Put in a good description of your company. Put in a coupon - if they allow such things.

1) http://www.yelp.com
2) http://local.yahoo.com
3) http://www.insiderpages.com
4) http://centralcoast.citysearch.com
5) http://www.trustlink.org (affiliated with BBB)
6) http://www.merchantcircle.com

If you are in the food or travel business there are specific referral sites related to these activities. That way if someone is interested in traveling, he/she can do a search on what there is to do/eat and plan an iternerary - based on the reputation of the business.