As review platforms go, both Trustpilot and ReviewSolicitors are well known within the legal industry and both with good standing. The function of the two tools are identical at face value, the purpose of this article is to probe deeper and see what lies underneath.
We intend to identify the differing properties of both platforms in this article, helping choose the best site for you based on your law firm’s needs.
Why Should I have Reviews on My Website?
Before we go into the benefits of each platform, it’s important to establish what gives these platforms their value – the power of having reviews on your website.
By displaying reviews on your website, you will not only boost your SEO, but you will also allow your website visitors to see some reassuring measures of the quality of your firm. This type of peer verification is a great way to give first-time visitors confidence in your firm’s credibility.
What Do Both Platforms Offer?
Whilst Trustpilot covers pretty much every industry and has more users, ReviewSolicitors as the name implies covers just the legal sector. If we look beyond this, into the function of each website itself, we can see technical and performance differences between them.
Integration onto your website
Both Trustpilot and ReviewSolicitors offer simple solutions to get a review widget up on your homepage. Meaning increased visibility of your past success and your users not having to go hunting for your reviews.
External communications
Trustpilot allows you to imbed your review widget onto emails or newsletters, meaning you can share this with any prospects or customers that you’re in direct contact with.
ReviewSolicitors will automatically share positive reviews to your Twitter feed. This is great for grabbing the attention of those who may not have considered your firm previously.
Your company page on the platform
Both platforms will host a ‘company page’, storing all of your reviews and giving you the option to add as much detail about your firm as you like.
A great feature of ReviewSolicitors is the breakdown it allows, going into the finer detail of creating individual solicitors’ pages that sit under the umbrella of the firm. This assists in the ’find a solicitor’ feature where potential clients can find information on specific professionals.
What’s the Best Way to Manage my Reviews?
Increasing reviews
Trustpilot allows you to set up automatic review invitation emails. These can be sent from an email address within your firm and you can add personalisation. This should, in theory, increase your volume of reviews.
Visibility
Both websites will rank when someone searches for your firm on Google, meaning both have great visibility, as well as both products allowing you to integrate your reviews onto your website homepage. Our external communications section above references the extra visibility that both platforms offer.
So, Which Platform is Best, or Should I Give Both a Try?
As you can see above, there are multiple pros and cons for both options. The reality is, it’s all about your needs. Both will help your SEO. Trustpilot and ReviewSolicitors both offer support, with ReviewSolicitors including an account management package.
Do you need a simple-to-use platform, that allows you to integrate your reviews onto your website as well as any external communications?
You need Trustpilot.
Do you need a platform that allows you to create individual Solicitor profiles, as well as streamlining all positive reviews to your social feed and website?
You need Review Solicitors.
Now That I Have the Platform, What Should I Do?
In terms of day-to-day management. There is one important thing to remember. Engage. If you get a positive review, reply. If you get a negative review, reply. Google loves to see that you’re interacting with those who leave you reviews and so do the people who leave them, especially the negative ones.
Replying to a negative review can feel daunting. But, acknowledging that person's experience, and saying that you will look to improve the issues they faced, will not only be good SEO wise, but customers who view this review will see that you’re proactive about any mistakes made.
Conclusion
If your budget stretches to it, why not use both? You might only choose to embed one of them on your website rather than clutter it up. But you do not control where your prospective clients might look for reviews and Trustpilot being the ‘gorilla’ in terms of the number of users that might be your choice. But if you think that ReviewSolicitors ‘niche’ approach is more suited to your style of firm, then it’s still an excellent product.
Bottom line. Neither is head and shoulders better than the other.
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