Quick answer
The useful version
Google is a sensible starting point for many local businesses, but customers may use other review sites too. Choose additional platforms based on where your customers actually research and what your team can keep accurate—not a fixed platform count.
Key takeaways
What the survey can—and cannot—tell you
BrightLocal reports that 97% of consumers in its 2026 survey read local business reviews and that respondents used an average of six review sites. Its stated methodology was a representative panel of 1,002 U.S. adults through SurveyMonkey. This is a commercial research firm's survey of consumer behavior, not a guarantee about your industry's buyers, a ranking factor study, or proof that every platform creates leads.
Start with where your customers already look
Ask recent customers how they compared providers and which sites they trust for your kind of service. Review the public profiles that appear when you search your main service and area. If customers regularly mention one industry-specific or local platform, it may deserve attention. If they do not use a site and it takes effort to maintain, there may be little value in adding it just to have another profile.
A simple way to prioritize platforms
For each candidate platform, note whether customers use it, whether it fits the business category, whether the profile is accurate, how reviews are collected there, whether the business can respond, and whether anyone on the team can maintain it. Keep Google and the website accurate, then choose at most one or two additional platforms that have a clear customer reason. Revisit the choice when customer feedback or referral patterns change.
Reviews on your website serve a different role
Testimonials and reviews displayed on your own website can help explain the customer experience, but they are not a substitute for a profile on a third-party platform where customers are researching. Ask permission before reusing a customer's words or image, preserve the meaning of the feedback, and identify the source honestly. Do not mark up copied reviews as if they were reviews collected directly on your own site.
Keep review requests fair and manageable
Google allows businesses to ask customers for genuine reviews but prohibits incentives for reviews and selective solicitation designed to obtain only positive feedback. Use a simple, neutral request after a real customer experience, and do not require a high rating or a particular platform. If you operate across several sites, decide who will watch each one and how the team will handle a complaint before asking for more review activity.
Choose consistency over platform count
A smaller set of accurate, monitored profiles is more workable than scattered pages with old hours or unanswered issues. Start with the sites customers identify, confirm that each profile represents the real business, and set a lightweight check-in. Measure referral visits and inquiries where available; do not infer that a platform improved local rankings just because a listing exists.
The challenge
A broad survey can show that people use reviews, but it cannot tell every business which platforms its own customers trust.
The practical move
Ask customers where they compare providers, check the profiles that surface for your category, and maintain a small set of useful, accurate platforms.
Try it yourself
A quick self-check
Keep reading
Useful references
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