A landscaping company asked us: “Should I focus on getting Google reviews, Yelp reviews, or Facebook reviews? I don’t have time for all three.”
The answer is straightforward: Google. It’s not even close.
The Numbers
BrightLocal’s 2025 Consumer Review Survey tells the story:
- 87% of consumers used Google to evaluate local businesses in 2024
- 48% used Yelp
- 46% used Facebook
- Only 19% used the Better Business Bureau
Google is the dominant review platform by a wide margin. More importantly, Google reviews directly affect your search ranking — Yelp and Facebook reviews don’t.
Why Google Reviews Win
1. They Affect Your Ranking
Google’s local search algorithm weighs review signals — quantity, quality, recency, and response rate — as a top-3 ranking factor. According to Whitespark’s 2024 Local Search Ranking Factors study, review signals account for about 17% of local pack ranking.
More Google reviews = higher ranking = more visibility = more calls. Yelp and Facebook reviews don’t have this effect.
2. They’re Visible at the Moment of Decision
When someone searches “plumber near me,” Google reviews appear right in the search results — star rating, review count, and snippets. The customer sees your reviews before they click anything.
Yelp and Facebook reviews require the customer to navigate to a different platform. Most don’t bother.
3. They Feed AI Search
ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google’s own AI Overviews reference Google reviews when recommending businesses. Your Yelp reviews don’t show up in AI search results. Your Google reviews do.
When Yelp Still Matters
Yelp isn’t useless — it matters for specific industries:
- Restaurants and food services: Yelp is still a primary discovery platform
- Home services in major metros: Some customers check Yelp as a second source
- Auto repair: Yelp has a dedicated auto category with strong traffic
If you’re in these industries, maintain a basic Yelp presence: claim your listing, respond to reviews, keep info updated. But don’t prioritize getting Yelp reviews over Google reviews.
For most local service businesses (plumbing, HVAC, roofing, electrical, landscaping), Yelp drives minimal leads compared to Google.
When Facebook Still Matters
Facebook recommendations matter in a different way — they’re social proof within a customer’s network. When someone posts “need a good electrician” in a neighborhood Facebook group, recommendations with links carry weight.
But you can’t optimize for Facebook recommendations the way you can optimize for Google reviews. They’re organic word-of-mouth, not a searchable database.
Keep your Facebook page active and respond to recommendations, but don’t invest significant time in generating Facebook reviews specifically.
The Priority Order
For local service businesses, here’s where to invest your review-generation effort:
- Google (80% of effort): Ask every customer for a Google review. This is where the ROI is.
- Industry-specific directories (15%): HomeAdvisor/Angi for home services, Healthgrades for healthcare, etc. These feed AI search signals.
- Yelp/Facebook (5%): Maintain presence, respond to reviews, but don’t actively push for them.
The One Exception
If you already have 100+ Google reviews and a strong rating, it might be worth diversifying. Having strong reviews across multiple platforms creates what SEOs call “review diversity” — it reinforces trust signals across the web.
But for the vast majority of local businesses, they’re nowhere near that point. If you have fewer than 50 Google reviews, that’s your only priority.
Get Started
Ask your next 10 customers for a Google review. Text them the link within an hour of completing the job. That’s the whole strategy.
Want to see your current review count and how it compares? Free audit here.