Brightlocal released a new report analyses 15 years of data on consumer censorship behavior. The results show that the way people do research and purchase from local businesses has changed.
This is about study What this means for marketers.
Historical Trends
The report tracks the popularity of online reviews. It noted that from 2015 to 2016, local business research rose, which was 77% among adults in the United States.
This trend peaked in 2020 during the 19020 pandemic, when 59% of consumers said they were studying local businesses almost every day.
Since then, the number of consumers studying local businesses has steadily declined.
Traditional comment indicators are not very important
Nowadays, consumers are less important to traditional review metrics:
- Fewer consumers expect perfect five-star ratings.
- People don’t care about recent reviews with 2018-2020 reviews.
- Star ratings are still important, but more and more customers see it as a “vanity metric” rather than an accurate business quality metric.
The report states:
“This strengthens consumers’ more understanding of the challenges of maintaining high ratings, and it’s not a realistic indicator of quality as a standalone factor.”
Consumers are willing to write comments
Consumers may not care much about the comments when deciding what to buy but are still willing to write them.
Over the past five years, almost three-quarters of adults in the United States have written an online review.
Furthermore, data suggest that consumers are more willing to write reviews even in the past year.
The report states:
“For business owners, it shows that consumers are willing to write a post despite the challenges of keeping consistent new reviews. It’s to give them a strong reason (aka memorable experience) and grab them at the right time.”
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Platform Preferences
Screenshot from: Brightlocal.com/research/consumer-reviews-historical-trends/, March 2025.Google continues to be the preferred review platform, but research shows movement between other platforms:
- From 2020 to 2025, Facebook has declined in terms of use and trust.
- As a trusted source of comments, Yelp remains stable.
- Platforms like YouTube, local news media and social media are more influential in helping consumers make decisions.
The report shows that the difference between the “traditional” and “alternative” review platforms is less relevant, raising a question:
“Do consumers really care about the definition of a comment platform?”
Screenshot from: Brightlocal.com/research/consumer-reviews-historical-trends/, March 2025.I’m sharing a personal anecdote here: I tend to do a lot of local business research on YouTube and Tiktok.
I’m traveling abroad this month and I’ve used a combination of two platforms to decide which hotel I want to book, the exact type of room I want to book and the restaurant I want to eat while I’m there.
As the report points out, I feel that the experiences I share on YouTube and Tiktok are a more authentic representation of what I have experienced as a consumer. Although they don’t have a standardized audit system, the video provides all the information needed to make an informed decision.
What does this mean for marketers
While emerging and star ratings are important for local visibility, they no longer tell the entire story to their clients.
Brightlocal’s research provides marketers with these gains:
- Visible on various platforms, not just censoring websites.
- Respond to customer feedback, not just for high ratings.
- Use your business identity, such as Google business profiles, to connect with socially conscious consumers.
- Adapt to the changing “censorship platform” idea.
- Request a comment. Customers are willing to write them, so please don’t hesitate.
See full Report.
Featured Image: ImageFlow/shutterstock
