Advertising on a review site buys placement and extras such as photos and a call button; it cannot remove reviews or change your rating. Judge the offer on placement alone, or decline politely.

The call

The phone rings during the lunch rush or the evening setup. A friendly salesperson from a review or directory site says your page is getting plenty of views, and that businesses like yours are advertising on it.

The offer is a monthly package: your business near the top of the site's searches, no competitors' ads on your page, a slideshow of photographs, a button to call or book.

Sometimes the pitch goes further. Your page has a few unfortunate reviews, advertisers tend to get more attention, and there are ways to make the good reviews more visible.

That last part is where to slow down.

What a package can change

The second is often the most useful item in the package. On a free page, the space beside your reviews can show ads for the place across the street, to someone who was already looking at you.

What it cannot change

Your reviews stay. Your rating stays. Reviews the site's software has filtered or hidden stay filtered or hidden.

The larger review sites say plainly that advertisers and non-advertisers are treated the same, because their value to readers depends on it. A site whose reviews could be bought would not be worth advertising on.

So a hint that paying will help with reviews is either a salesperson's loose phrasing or a pitch that misdescribes the product. Either way, it is not something to pay for.

Why the hint works

Owners care far more about their reviews than about their placement. A bad review feels personal, and an offer that seems to touch it is hard to dismiss.

The link is rarely stated outright, so nothing can be quoted back later. It is implied in a phrase about attention or visibility, on a call, at a busy moment.

That is why the simplest defence is to ask for everything in writing. A claim that cannot survive an email was never part of the offer.

Questions to ask before saying yes

Ask what exactly appears, where, and to whom. Ask the monthly price, the length of the contract, whether it renews automatically and how much notice ends it.

Ask whether a tracking phone number will replace yours on the page. Some packages do this to count calls, and when the contract ends you need your own number back.

Ask what happens to the photographs, video and button when you stop paying. And ask, in writing, whether paying changes anything about your reviews.

A worked example

A cocktail bar with twenty seats on a busy street hears from a review site's sales team every few months. The latest call came on a Friday at six, while the bartenders were cutting citrus.

The caller mentioned a two-star review from the summer, from a guest unhappy about the wait for a table, and said advertisers tended to see their best reviews featured.

The owner asked for the offer by email, including whatever it meant for reviews.

The email described placement, a photo slideshow and the removal of other bars' ads from the page, on a twelve-month contract that renewed automatically. It said nothing about reviews.

She declined by reply and kept the free listing. The half hour the call would have taken went on replying to the summer review instead, briefly and without details about the guest.

The two-star review is still there. So is her reply beneath it, which is the part any reader can see she wrote.

A polite way to say no

Thank the caller, say the business is not adding advertising this year, and ask for a note on the account so the calls stop. If anything changes, you will get in touch.

There is no need to explain or debate, and no need to discuss your reviews with a salesperson. A short, friendly no ends the call faster than a reason does.

If calls keep coming at busy times, ask for offers by email only. Most sales teams will note it.

Callers who are not from the site

Some callers claim a connection to a review site and have none. They offer to remove negative reviews for a fee, or to supply positive ones.

Neither is something a legitimate business should buy. Reviews written by anyone other than real customers break every review site's rules and mislead the people reading them, which is the kind of advertising competition law takes seriously.

Never give card details to an unsolicited caller. If an offer sounds plausible, call the review site back on the number it publishes.

What helps your reviews instead

Claim your free page on the sites that matter in your trade, and keep the hours, address and photographs current.

Reply to reviews, good and bad, briefly and without personal details. Ask happy customers to leave a review where the site's rules allow; some sites discourage asking.

And put the effort where you control the message: your own website, where every word is yours, and your Google listing, which you can keep accurate yourself.

The counter-case

For some businesses the package is worth buying. A bar or restaurant in a busy district, where many visitors choose through one review site, may find placement there pays its way, if the price is fair and the contract short.

The decision is then about placement and its cost, like any advertising. Ask new guests how they found you for a month before and a month during, and judge it on that.

Judge the package as advertising, on placement alone, and never as a way to change your reviews.

When the phone rings

  1. Ask for the offer by email.
  2. Ask in writing whether reviews are affected.
  3. Check the contract length and renewal terms.
  4. Ask whether a tracking number replaces yours.
  5. Never give card details on an unsolicited call.
  6. Decline politely and ask for a note on file.
  7. Reply to your reviews with the time saved.

Step two is the one that settles it. A pitch that hints at better reviews rarely survives being written down, and the written answer shows exactly what the money buys.

Replying to the reviews themselves, without saying too much, is covered in a reply to a review that reveals too much.

Frequently asked questions

Does advertising on a review site affect reviews?

On the larger review sites, no. They state that advertisers and non-advertisers are treated the same, so ratings, reviews and any filtering stay exactly as they were.

What does an advertising package actually buy?

Placement in the site's own results, marked as an ad, competitors' ads removed from your page, extra photos or video, a call or booking button, and reports.

What if the salesperson hints at better reviews?

Ask for that claim in writing. A hint rarely survives being written down, and the written offer shows exactly what the money buys.

What should I check before signing?

The monthly price, contract length, automatic renewal and notice terms, whether a tracking number replaces your own, and what disappears from your page when you stop.

How do I say no politely?

Thank them, say you are not adding advertising this year, ask for a note on your account, and say you will be in touch if that changes.

Can someone remove bad reviews for a fee?

Be wary of anyone who says so. Paying for removed or invented reviews breaks the review sites' rules and misleads customers. Check any caller through the site's published number.

West Coast Media Solutions Inc. provides web design, web development, hosting, digital marketing, and business consulting to organisations across Canada, drawing on more than twenty-five years in the field.

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