The Near Memo
Exploring the big stories for the week at the intersection of local business & marketing across the spectrum of search, social and commerce. With Greg Sterling, Mike Blumenthal & David Mihm.
The Near Memo
From Stars to Skepticism: How Reviews Evolved & Why Trust Is Declining - Sammy Paget Interview Part1
01:59 Evolution of Consumer Review Behavior
05:03 Trust in Reviews: A Declining Trend
08:14 The Impact of Fake Reviews and AI
14:18 Alternative Review Platforms and Their Trustworthiness
19:30 Key Findings from the 15-Year Review Study
22:07 Best Practices for Review Solicitation
29:22 Consumer Expectations and Business Responses
In this episode, Greg Sterling, Mike Blumenthal, and guest Sammy Paget from BrightLocal dive deep into 15 years of consumer review research trends. Sammy shares insights from BrightLocal’s long-running consumer review survey, highlighting how online reviews have evolved from novelty to necessity in the purchase journey. But as the role of reviews has grown, so has consumer skepticism.
The trio discusses the sharp drop in review trust, the increasing sophistication of fake reviews—especially those powered by AI—and the paradox that while people trust reviews less, they still rely on them heavily. They also explore the growing use of alternative platforms like local news, YouTube, TikTok, and Reddit as sources of business recommendations. Plus, they examine generational behavior and cultural differences in review reading habits.
Whether you're a local business owner or just fascinated by how we evaluate things online, this segment is packed with context and conversation on how trust and behavior around reviews is shifting—and what that means moving forward.
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