Social proof
Social proof is the tendency to judge something by how other people have judged it.
Testimonial vs review
A review is unsolicited feedback left on a platform you do not control, alongside everyone else’s including the critical ones.
Definition
A review is unsolicited feedback left on a platform you do not control, alongside everyone else’s including the critical ones. A testimonial is a positive statement you asked for and chose to publish.
The difference is not the words but who decided they should appear.
What it looks like in practice
“4.2 from 318 reviews on Google, including the eleven one-star ones” is a review set. “Working with them transformed our business — Sarah, Operations Director” on a homepage is a testimonial.
Why it matters
Testimonials are easier to get and less persuasive, precisely because a visitor knows you picked them. Reviews carry weight because you could not. The strongest pages use both: testimonials to say the specific thing you need said, reviews to prove you did not make it up.
Related terms
Social proof · First-party vs third-party reviews · Review slider widget.
The full reviews glossary defines every term used across this site.
Questions
Related terms
First-party vs third-party reviews
First-party reviews live on infrastructure you control — your own website, your own store.
Google Place ID
The unique identifier Google assigns to a place. Find yours below.
User-generated content (UGC)
User-generated content is any content about a brand created by its customers rather than by the brand: reviews, photos, videos, comments, forum posts, social media mentions..