October 28, 2026
Before someone calls a plumber, a roofer or a bakery they’ve never used, they want to know one thing: did this go well for people like me? Reviews answer that faster than anything you can write about yourself.
Most small businesses already have good reviews. They just live somewhere else, on a map listing or a review site, and the website says nothing. Bringing a few of them home is one of the easiest improvements you can make. It’s also one where doing it the right way matters.
Why reviews belong on your own site
Your website is where people go to decide. They’ve found you, they’re looking at your services, and they’re wondering whether to pick up the phone. A short line from a real customer, right there, does work that a paragraph of your own description can’t.
- It’s a stranger vouching for you, not you vouching for yourself
- It answers the quiet questions: did they show up on time, was the price fair, did they clean up
- It keeps people on your page instead of sending them off to compare you with the next listing
You don’t need dozens. Three or four good ones, in the right places, go a long way.
Quote them exactly, or don’t quote them
This is the part people get wrong with good intentions. A review has a typo, or rambles, or mentions a hiccup, and it’s tempting to tidy it up. Don’t.
- Copy the words exactly as the customer wrote them
- Show the name the way it appears on the original review, often a first name and last initial
- Show the date it was posted
- Say where it came from, and link to it if you can
If a review is too long, pick a different one rather than rewriting it. If you want to show part of a long review, keep the words you use exactly as written and make sure the shortened version doesn’t change what the person meant.
And never write one yourself, combine two into one, or invent a customer to fill a gap. A visitor can usually tell, and there are now clear federal rules about it.
What the FTC’s reviews rule says
The Federal Trade Commission’s Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials (16 CFR Part 465) went into effect on October 21, 2024. The FTC says the rule lets courts impose civil penalties for knowing violations. Among other things, it covers:
- Fake or false reviews and testimonials. Writing, creating or selling reviews that misrepresent who the reviewer is, whether they actually used the business, or what their experience was.
- Buying reviews with a required slant. Offering money or other incentives in exchange for reviews that say something positive, or something negative about a competitor.
- Undisclosed insider reviews. Reviews or testimonials from owners, managers, employees or their family without clearly disclosing the relationship, in the cases the rule describes.
- Review suppression. Using groundless legal threats, intimidation or false public accusations to keep a review from being posted or get it taken down. It also covers presenting the reviews on your site as all or most of what you received when negative ones are being hidden because they’re negative.
- Fake review sites and fake social influence. Running a site that claims to be independent when it’s controlled by the business, and buying or selling fake followers or views.
The FTC’s own plain-language guide is The Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule: Questions and Answers, and the full text is on the eCFR. This is a summary, not legal advice. If you have a specific situation, read the source or ask a lawyer.
For most honest businesses the practical version is short: show real reviews from real customers, don’t pay for praise, and don’t hide the unhappy ones while pretending you’re showing everything.
Where to put them
Reviews work hardest right where someone is making up their mind.
- Near the call button. One short review beside or just under your phone number or Contact button. That’s the moment of hesitation, and a real voice helps.
- On each service page. A drain-cleaning review on the drain-cleaning page. A review that matches the job someone is reading about is worth more than a general one.
- Not hidden on a separate page. A reviews page is fine to have, but few visitors click through to it. Put the best ones where people already are.
Keep the design quiet. The customer’s words, their name and the date, set clearly. No spinning carousels or flashing stars. On a phone, one review at a time, easy to read, is plenty.
Keep them current
A wall of reviews from five years ago raises a question you don’t want: what happened since? Fresh reviews tell people you’re still here and still doing good work.
- Every few months, check your listings for new reviews worth sharing
- Swap an older quote for a newer one, and keep the date showing
- Ask happy customers to leave a review, and ask everyone the same way, not only the ones you expect to be glowing
- If a review you quoted is edited or deleted at the source, update or remove it on your site
Put a reminder on the calendar. Ten minutes a quarter keeps this from going stale.
The short version
Pick a few real reviews. Quote them word for word, with the name and date. Put them near your call button and on the pages for the services they describe. Refresh them a few times a year. Never write, buy or bury them.
Done that way, reviews are one of the most honest things on your site, and one of the most persuasive.
If people can’t reach you easily once they’re convinced, the reviews don’t help much. See Your contact form is asking too much.