Reposting (copying and pasting) reviews from popular websites such as Google Local, Yelp, and Avvo may Duplicated Online Reviewsseem like a good idea. After all, someone went out of his way to review your goods or services, and he posted to a reputable site, so why not use their words to your advantage?

Here are four good reasons that our team does not recommend reposting online reviews:

  1. Poor user experience. When a potential client, patient, or customer reads the same review on multiple sites (your website, on Google, and your Facebook page), it provides them with a bad reader experience. The more places the reader finds the review, the less likely she is to view it as authentic.
  2. Permission repercussions. You should never repost a reviewer’s comment from another site to your own website without asking the reviewer’s permission first. Ever. This violates the writer’s rights and is just plain shady.
  3. Review removal. If you repost a review, even with permission from the reviewer, the original review could be taken down. Why? Because review sites have stringent and ever-changing terms-of-use-policies and guidelines. This makes reposting reviews a bit too risky for our liking.
  4. Duplicate content issues. Google and all other search engines frown upon duplicate content. When you repost a review, you must rewrite it verbatim, which is, of course, duplicate content. In some instances, it has been found that a reposted review gets the original review page—from Yelp or Google—taken out of search results. And this is the last thing you want to happen.

Instead of Reposting Reviews, Utilize Unique Testimonials

If you’d like to harness the power of reviews on your website without reposting reviews from elsewhere, we recommend using a form of reviews on your own website: testimonials. These testimonials lend credibility to your business and can be a powerful converter. Also, asking for testimonials is a fantastic way to start a conversation with a satisfied customer or client about reviewing your business on an independent review site.

Is Your Law Firm Or Medical Practice Website Getting Enough Exposure? Foster Web Marketing Can Help With Our Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Services  

Are you concerned that your website isn't pulling in enough traffic to keep you swimming in leads? Do you need help with SEO for your legal or medical website? If so, Foster Web Marketing can help! Please contact us online or call our office directly at 866.497.6199 to schedule your free consultation with our experienced marketing team. We have been helping clients throughout the United States and internationally since 1998 and are confident we can help you not only reach, but exceed your goals.

Tom Foster
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Founder|Owner, Speaker, Creator of DSS, World of Marketing Podcast Host, EOS Implementor