Platform Usage & Reach

• Google

  • Used by 81–87% of consumers to check local business reviews—more than any other platform.

  • Accounts for roughly 73% of all reviews across major platforms.

• Yelp

  • Used by around 44–48% of consumers for reviewing businesses. Usage has declined from 53% in past years.

  • Posting rate: around 22 million new reviews in 2023; total reviews exceed 287 million.

• Facebook

  • Around 40–46% of Americans use Facebook to view business reviews—behind Google and Yelp.

  • About one in three people globally use Facebook for recommendations and reviews.

Trust & Suspicion Levels

• Fake Reviews Awareness (2021)

  • 62% of consumers reported encountering at least one fake review. Yahoo Finance

  • Platform-specific trust issues:

    • Amazon: 52% saw fake reviews

    • Google: 50%

    • Facebook: 37% Yahoo Finance

  • Suspicion levels (“somewhat” or “very suspicious”):

    • Facebook: 70%

    • Amazon: 59%

    • Google: 45% Yahoo Finance

• Fake Review Prevalence Estimates

  • AgilityPR estimates: Google ~10.7%, Yelp ~7.1%, TripAdvisor ~5.2% suspected fake reviews.

  • Invesp survey: 82% of buyers have read fake reviews, 72% say fake reviews are now the norm.

Platform-Specific Reliability & Influences

Google

• Most widely used, with broad reach.

• Lower suspicion compared to Facebook.

• Despite accessibility, criticisms include inflated ratings and fake reviews, as per anecdotal user feedback.

Yelp

• Users often see more effort and detail in reviews.

• However, Yelp’s filtering algorithm frequently hides many reviews (often positive ones)—raising fairness and visibility concerns.

• Studies show early star ratings tend to be inflated (a “warm-start bias”), skewing perception.

• Historical data reveal fake reviews spiked from 6% in 2006 to 32% in 2024. Yelp filters identify ~18–25% of reviews as suspicious.

Facebook

• Less trusted for reviews; higher suspicion than Google.

• Usage is lower but remains significant in social contexts.

• Fake reviews are still noted, though less frequently flagged by consumers. Yahoo Finance

At-a-Glance Comparison

Key Insights

• Google dominates in terms of usage and coverage, but fake reviews and inflated ratings still pose challenges.

• Yelp offers detailed reviews, but underlying filtering and bias can distort perception.

• Facebook is the most distrusted among these for reliability in business reviews.

• Across all platforms, fake reviews remain a major concern, undermining user trust.