On a crisp, November evening, roofers with GoldenRite Roofing were hard at work on a house in Collinsville.

Chances are, the homeowner checked out some online reviews before ever signing the contract.

As a small business, we really rely heavily on reviews, Harrison Mendez, the founder and owner of GoldenRite Roofing, said.

According to a study by YouGov, 78% of Americans check reviews before doing business. 44% say they contribute to those reviews.

Google is the clear leader in online reviews. A Google search of GoldenRite roofing yields 155 reviews, averaging 5 stars, although, for a brief period, the reviews were more bleak.

One of the guys just sent me a text message and said, hey, we just got five bad, negative reviews. Back to back to back to back, Mendez said.

None of those rev

See Full Page