Field notes on being trusted online.
Plain guides for owners, practices and anyone whose name gets searched. Written by people who answer reviews for a living.
How to respond to a negative review (without making it worse)
A practical guide to replying to bad reviews in public: what to say, what to leave out, five real examples and a reply you can adapt in two minutes.
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How to get more Google reviews without breaking the rules
The honest ways to grow your Google review count: when to ask, how to ask, the short link and QR code, and the shortcuts that get reviews removed or worse.
How to spot a fake review and actually get it removed
The signs that a review is fake, the evidence platforms respond to, and a step-by-step process for reporting fake reviews on Google and other sites.
The FTC's fake review rule, explained for small businesses
What the FTC rule on consumer reviews and testimonials bans, who it applies to, what the penalties look like, and a checklist to keep your review habits on the right side of it.
Review gating is banned. Here's what to do instead
What review gating is, why Google and the FTC treat it as a problem, how to tell if your software is doing it, and a better way to catch unhappy customers early.
How AI assistants decide which local businesses to recommend
Nearly half of consumers now ask AI tools for local recommendations. What these assistants seem to rely on, and the practical steps that make your business easier to recommend.
Online reviews for doctors and dentists: replying without breaching privacy
Why healthcare practices have to reply to reviews differently, the HIPAA case that made it real, safe reply wording, and how to ask patients for reviews the right way.
How to remove your personal information from Google and people-search sites
A step-by-step guide to getting your home address, phone number and email out of search results and data broker sites, including Google's free tool and California's new deletion platform.
How fast should you reply to reviews? A realistic answer
Customer expectations for review replies have shifted fast. What the 2026 numbers say, a response-time target a small team can hit, and how to triage when reviews pile up.
What blockchain review verification actually proves (and what it doesn't)
A plain explanation of how review fingerprints, Merkle trees and public timestamps work, what they can prove about a review, and the limits nobody selling them likes to mention.