Where should you collect reviews? Google vs Facebook vs Trustpilot

You could chase reviews on a dozen platforms. For almost every local business, that is a mistake. Pick the one your customers actually check and put all your effort there.

Google is the default, and usually the answer

• It is where people look. Someone deciding between two plumbers searches Google, sees the map pack, and compares star ratings and review counts right there.
• Reviews feed local ranking. Google's own signals mean more Google reviews can help you show up more often.
• It is free and it is already set up the moment you have a Google Business Profile.

For a business that serves a local area, Google reviews are worth more than every other platform combined.

Facebook

Useful if your customers are genuinely active in local Facebook groups and your business gets discovered there. Facebook "recommendations" carry less weight in search and are easy to miss. Treat it as a bonus, not a focus.

Trustpilot

Built for online and e-commerce businesses where buyers research a brand before purchasing. If you sell products nationally or online, it can be worth it. For a local trade or service, most customers will never look at your Trustpilot page, so the effort does not pay back.

Industry-specific sites

Sites like Builderscrack, NoCowboys, or hipages in the trades, or booking platforms in hospitality and health, matter when your leads actually come through them. If a platform sends you real work, get reviews there too. If it does not, skip it.

The "post everywhere" problem

Some tools promise to push a review to multiple platforms at once. This does not really work. Every platform requires the reviewer to be signed in as themselves and to submit the review directly. You cannot post on a customer's behalf. So "review everywhere" in practice means asking one customer to do the same task three times, and most will do it zero times.

A simple rule

Ask every customer for a Google review. If a second platform genuinely drives your leads, ask for that one too, in a separate message, later. Do not split one request across several platforms.

Whichever platform, the same rules apply

• Offer the review option to every customer, not just the happy ones.
• Do not incentivise.
• Let the customer write and post it themselves.