Special offer
John Meussner, #MortgageMadeEasy Fair Oaks, CA 484-680-4852 (Mortgages in AZ, CA, CO, DE, FL, GA, IN, MD, MN, MT, NC, NJ, NV, OK, OR, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WI)

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Rainmaker
1,369,034
Jay Thompson
Zillow - Seattle, WA

John Meussner - great question!

It's hard to say what is the "best" site to have reviews on. Purely from a traffic perspective, Zillow dominates in virtually every market, and a reasonable argument could be made for "more traffic = more potential exposure."

But, just because more people go to Zillow than everywhere else doesn't mean everyone goes to Zillow. When Zillow acquired Trulia, we found about half went to both sites, but the other half went to either Trulia OR Zillow -- but not both.

Ideally, you'd want reviews on multiple sites to capture the highest potential audience. Zillow, Trulia, Google, Yelp are probably the biggest players. They all have their positives and negatives though.

At some point, and I don't know when, Zillow and Trulia reviews will likely be "integrated" meaning that a single review will show up on both sites. That will help with this dilemma.

To get reviews, we (Zillow Group) have found that people are more inclined to leave a review on a site they are familiar with. So if someone uses Zillow, but not Trulia, they are far more likley to leave a review on Zillow -- probably because they are familiar with it. Have a client that is a "Yelper"? Ask them to leave a review on Yelp. 

If I were still running a brokerage, I'd probably suggest to my agents, "focus on getting reviews on Zillow. But add in other sites as possible."

So there's kind of a non-answer answer for you... 

 

Edited to add: Michael Thornton  made a good point in his answe with this: "Do you think that anybody would actually put something bad about themselves on their website?"

Probably not. Which is why having reviews hosted on a "neutral site" is important. I think it's fine to add your reviews to your site, but if you do that, I'd link back to where they were originally posted. Consumers are pretty sharp, and some will completely discount reviews on your own site. Knowing that you can't "unpublish" a bad review on a site like Yelp, Zillow or Google adds to the validity of all your reviews on that site. 

 

 

 

Apr 08, 2015 09:13 AM
Rainmaker
2,817,671
Debbie Gartner
The Flooring Girl - White Plains, NY
The Flooring Girl & Blog Stylist -Dynamo Marketers

I would say get reviews in as many places as possible including Z and T.  But, also, try to get on google reviews and yelp.  And, here on AR profile there is a spot, and should be on your own website.

Also, try to get on Angie's List and Linked In.  And, FB while you're at it. 

BTW, I have gotten many leads from yelp (and of course, tons from Angie's List.

Apr 08, 2015 10:31 AM
Rainmaker
4,800,082
Gabe Sanders
Real Estate of Florida specializing in Martin County Residential Homes, Condos and Land Sales - Stuart, FL
Stuart Florida Real Estate

On my website and here on Active Rain.

Sep 07, 2018 06:48 AM
Rainer
67,369
Evelyn M Epperson
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage - Johns Creek, GA
A Tradition Of [Excellence, Trust & Service]

Facebook, my website & realtor.com

Apr 14, 2015 06:33 AM
Rainmaker
2,538,633
Joe Petrowsky
Mortgage Consultant, Right Trac Financial Group, Inc. NMLS # 2709 - Manchester, CT
Your Mortgage Consultant for Life

The simple answer, everywhere that I am allowed to put them. Fortunately I have a lot of them on Linkedin and always get comments from folks that have checked me out, for sure they make a difference.

Apr 08, 2015 07:29 PM
Rainmaker
2,759,812
TeamCHI - Complete Home Inspections, Inc.
Complete Home Inspections, Inc. - Brentwood, TN
Home Inspectons - Nashville, TN area - 615.661.029

 I often think that testimonials are way overrated. Do you think that anybody would actually put something bad about themselves on their website?

Apr 08, 2015 07:08 PM
Rainmaker
5,772,575
Ron and Alexandra Seigel
Napa Consultants - Carpinteria, CA
Luxury Real Estate Branding, Marketing & Strategy

John,

How about your website, that is a good place to have them, then on Linked-In would be another great place...A

Apr 08, 2015 03:18 PM
Rainmaker
2,443,250
Evelyn Johnston
Friends & Neighbors Real Estate - Elkhart, IN
The People You Know, Like and Trust!

There is a place here in ActiveRain to put them.  I also have them on my website, my realtor.com profile, and yelp.

Apr 08, 2015 01:05 PM
Rainmaker
4,319,419
Praful Thakkar
LAER Realty Partners - Andover, MA
Andover, MA: Andover Luxury Homes For Sale

John Meussner Z & T have their own guidelines - and you may have to request the testimonials through their links - to best of my knowledge.

And of course, more the merrier.

Apr 08, 2015 12:09 PM
Rainmaker
4,434,127
Gita Bantwal
RE/MAX Centre Realtors - Warwick, PA
REALTOR,ABR,CRS,SRES,GRI - Bucks County & Philadel

I hope someone will answer this question. I have not posted any on active rain . I will do what you do and copy and paste. thank you.

Apr 08, 2015 08:16 AM