Guides
Straight answers about online reviews
Each guide answers its question in the first paragraph, then explains. Every guide has a markdown twin for AI engines and agents: add .md to its URL.
For readers
Choosing a business from its reviews, and knowing which reviews to trust.
How to tell if online reviews are fake
Nine signs a review was bought, written by the business, or generated: timing bursts, vague praise, no collection label, and more. What to check instead.
Updated November 13, 2026How to check a contractor's reviews before hiring
A ten-minute check for plumbers, electricians, roofers and other home-services companies: license, insurance, verified reviews, replies, and the questions to ask.
Updated November 13, 2026What a verified review means (and what it does not)
Verified means the platform confirmed the reviewer was a customer, usually through an invitation sent to a real transaction. Here is how that works and its limits.
Updated November 13, 2026How review scores are calculated on RooVello
Why a 4.9 with four reviews ranks below a 4.6 with four hundred: Bayesian averaging, recency weighting, verification weights, and the exact formula.
Updated November 13, 2026Google reviews vs Yelp vs Trustpilot: where to read reviews
The main review sites compared for readers: who can write, what is verified, what gets filtered, how removals work, and where each one is strongest.
Updated November 13, 2026Review platform glossary: verified, gating, imported and more
Plain definitions of the words review sites use: collection method, verification status, review gating, incentivized, imported, insider, pending tag, reason code, appeal.
Updated November 13, 2026
For businesses
Asking for reviews legally, replying well, moving platforms, and what the rules allow.
Trustpilot alternatives for small businesses in 2026
What Trustpilot charges, what you get free elsewhere, and how RooVello, Google, Feefo and Yelp compare on replies, invitations, widgets, contracts and trust.
Updated November 13, 2026Feefo alternatives: open review platforms with verification
Feefo verifies every review but only invited buyers can write. Compare it with RooVello, Trustpilot and Google on openness, verification, price and contract.
Updated November 13, 2026How to ask customers for reviews without breaking the rules
Timing, wording and the law: when to send a review request, what the email may and may not say, why review gating is illegal, and the one-sequence approach that works.
Updated November 13, 2026The FTC fake review rule explained for small businesses
What the FTC's Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials (effective October 21, 2024) bans, who it applies to, the penalties, and how to stay compliant.
Updated November 13, 2026What review gating is and why it is banned
Review gating means asking only happy customers for public reviews. It violates the FTC rule and Google's policy. How to recognize it and what to do instead.
Updated November 13, 2026How to respond to a negative review
A five-part reply that reads well to the next customer: acknowledge, be specific, own it, move it offline, follow through. With examples and what never to write.
Updated November 13, 2026Can a business remove a bad review?
Not directly, on any serious platform. What a business can do (reply, flag with a reason, correct the record), what moderators remove, and what the law says.
Updated November 13, 2026How to bring your Google, Yelp or Feefo reviews to RooVello
Export your own reviews from Google Business Profile, Yelp for Business or Feefo, upload the file, and publish them labeled with their original dates. Free. Trustpilot excluded.
Updated November 13, 2026How to add a review badge to your website
One line of HTML shows your live RooVello score and review count on your site, links to your profile, sets no cookies and tracks nothing. Free.
Updated November 13, 2026