Is SiteJabber legit? SiteJabber is a real review platform that has operated since 2007, but in November 2024 the FTC charged that it inflated business ratings with reviews collected before customers had received what they bought. The company settled without admitting or denying the charges, and the FTC approved a final order in January 2025. In March 2026 the site renamed itself SmartCustomer.
So the short answer: the company is legitimate, and many reviews on it come from real buyers. But according to the FTC, some star ratings shown there were inflated, and the label on each review tells you more than the star average does.
Who runs SiteJabber?
SiteJabber was founded in 2007 by Michael Lai, Jeremy Gin and Rodney Gin, and was first developed with a National Science Foundation grant, according to Wikipedia. The FTC complaint names the operator as GGL Projects, Inc., a California corporation doing business as Sitejabber.
Two renames matter. In 2023 the business-facing review tools were relaunched under the name Jabio (Wikipedia). Then on March 6, 2026, the company announced that "Sitejabber is now SmartCustomer." Today sitejabber.com redirects to smartcustomer.com (checked October 6, 2026), and the SmartCustomer About page lists the same three co-founders.
SmartCustomer says it has 25M+ buyer reviews and 140K+ reviewed businesses, and calls itself an official Google Review Partner (About page). Those are the company's own figures.
The FTC case against SiteJabber
On November 6, 2024, the FTC charged that Sitejabber "deceived consumers by misrepresenting that ratings and reviews it published came from customers who experienced the reviewed product or service, artificially inflating average ratings and review counts." The Commission voted 5-0.
What the FTC alleged
The core issue was timing. According to the complaint, SiteJabber's "Instant Feedback Survey" appeared on the order confirmation page, right after checkout. It asked shoppers to "rate your overall shopping experience so far." Those answers were published as reviews on SiteJabber.com and counted in the business's star rating.
At that moment the customer had not received anything. The complaint says the main disclosure was hard-to-find mouseover text explaining that a "Verified site experience" review was written "before the product or service was delivered."
The complaint gives three examples, with the client names redacted:
- An online furniture retailer showed 83,153 reviews averaging 4.72 stars. Over 98% were point-of-sale reviews. Without them, the profile would have shown 1,443 reviews and 2.19 stars.
- A custom window coverings retailer showed 101,956 reviews averaging 4.81 stars. Point-of-sale reviews made up 99.2%. Without them: 836 reviews and 3.98 stars.
- An online fashion retailer showed 27,966 reviews averaging 4.4 stars. Point-of-sale reviews made up 81%. Without them: 3.3 stars.
The complaint also says these inflated ratings showed up in Google search results. A second tool, "Instant Feedback Product Reviews," asked shoppers at checkout questions like "Why did you choose the [product] today?" Clients could then display those answers on their own sites as product reviews. For scale, the complaint says over 130,000 businesses had profile pages on SiteJabber.com.
What SiteJabber changed before the order
The complaint also records changes made in early 2024, in response to the FTC investigation. SiteJabber moved point-of-sale ratings off the main profile pages of online retailers into a separate "Instant Feedback" tab. It stopped offering the checkout product review tool and removed those product reviews from its profile pages.
What the final order requires
The FTC approved the final order on January 3, 2025, again by a 5-0 vote, after a public comment period. The final order bars the company from:
- Claiming that an average rating, a review count or any single review reflects customers who had actually received or experienced the product or service, when it doesn't.
- Making, or helping anyone else make, any misrepresentation about ratings or reviews it collects, moderates or displays.
- Giving clients the means to pass off checkout-time reviews as reviews from customers who had received their purchase.
The order also requires a sworn compliance report after one year, 10 years of recordkeeping, and FTC compliance monitoring. It terminates 20 years after issuance. In the consent agreement, the company "neither admits nor denies" the allegations.
Neither FTC release mentions a payment, and the order's provisions don't include one. The FTC's November release notes that each future violation of a final consent order can bring a civil penalty of up to $51,744.
How SiteJabber reviews are collected now
SmartCustomer's review collection page sorts each review into one of four labels, based on how the review was requested:
| Label | How it starts | Marked verified? |
|---|---|---|
| No Invitation | A consumer comes to the site on their own | Yes, with valid proof of purchase (required since February 2026) |
| Automated Invitation | The business's automated tools send a request after a transaction | Yes |
| Manual Invitation | The business invites a customer by hand | No |
| Unconfirmed Invitation | Likely requested outside SmartCustomer's system | No |
For Automated Invitation reviews, SmartCustomer says it "may verify" that a submission matches a customer email address or transaction record "provided through the business's customer database." The verified label on invited reviews rests on records the business supplies.
Reviewers can also verify their identity through Persona, an identity verification service. And verification is not fact-checking: SmartCustomer "does not independently fact-check every statement, opinion, or claim made within a review."
The Review Integrity Policy bans review gating, incentives for business reviews, insider reviews and pressure on reviewers to change negative reviews. A business with a confirmed violation gets a public warning on its profile. After three confirmed violations, SmartCustomer removes the business's rating and adds a permanent banner.
The star rating is not a plain average. In a reply posted on Trustpilot, SmartCustomer explained that 50% of the rating is based on all reviews, 25% on the last 12 months and 25% on the last 30 days.
What users say about SiteJabber
On Reddit. In an r/Entrepreneur thread asking whether Sitejabber is a good review site, opinions split. Several commenters called it their go-to for reviews of online shops that don't appear on Yelp. Others were harsh. One anonymous commenter who said they were a former employee alleged fake reviews and pressure on companies to pay. Another said positive reviews were never approved, even with a receipt. A third argued that all review sites sell businesses tools to bury bad reviews under good ones. None of these claims are verified; they are opinions from anonymous accounts.
On Trustpilot. As of October 6, 2026, the SmartCustomer page on Trustpilot shows a "Bad" rating of 1.6 out of 5. Recent reviews there include complaints from businesses about rating changes, disputed reviews and sales calls, and complaints from reviewers whose reviews didn't appear or who disliked the new proof-of-purchase step. Several reviews on the page are about other shops entirely, posted to the wrong profile. That is a reminder that one headline score, on any platform, can mix very different things.
How to read SiteJabber reviews sensibly
If you're a shopper
- Check the label before the stars. "No Invitation" with proof of purchase and "Automated Invitation" are marked verified. "Manual Invitation" and "Unconfirmed Invitation" are not.
- Look at dates. A quarter of the rating comes from the last 30 days (SmartCustomer), so a recent burst of reviews can move it fast.
- Read the 1-star and 2-star reviews. Look for repeated, specific problems with delivery, refunds or product quality.
- Distrust a huge count with a near-perfect score. In the FTC complaint, 99.2% of one 101,956-review profile came from checkout surveys.
- Cross-check. Compare with Google reviews, the BBB and Reddit before a large purchase. If something feels off, run the text through a fake review checker.
If your business is listed
- Assume you have a profile. Anyone can write a review without an invitation, per the Review Integrity Policy.
- Respond in public, calmly. SmartCustomer's own guidance is to engage professionally and keep collecting fresh feedback.
- Don't gate or incentivize. Confirmed violations are published on your profile, and three remove your rating (policy). The FTC's rule on fake reviews and testimonials applies to your business as well. Our summary of fake review laws and the FTC covers the basics.
- Flag reviews through the dashboard. The policy says appeals are typically reviewed within 10 business days. Reviews are not removed just for being negative.
- Don't expect payment to change moderation. In a reply on Trustpilot, SmartCustomer stated that paying for its premium tools "does not change in any way our moderation policies."
Is SiteJabber legit? Our verdict
Yes, as a company. SiteJabber, now SmartCustomer, is a long-running review platform with real users, published policies and a moderation process.
But the FTC case is a real mark against how some of its ratings were built. By the FTC's account, profiles with tens of thousands of reviews were mostly checkout surveys, and some retailers' ratings looked far better than their post-delivery reviews alone would support. The company changed those practices in early 2024 and is under a 20-year order. Since February 2026, reviews submitted without an invitation need proof of purchase.
The practical takeaway: treat a SiteJabber or SmartCustomer star rating as a starting point. The review label, the date and the detail in the text tell you more.
Where purchase-verified reviews fit
The FTC case came down to two questions every review system has to answer: who gets asked, and when. Signed Reviews takes a narrow approach. It invites only customers whose charge was imported from the merchant's own Stripe account, and each review is cryptographically signed. If you're comparing options, see our SiteJabber alternative page. For a broader guide on how to check if reviews are fake, or to test a specific review, try the fake review checker.
FAQ: is SiteJabber legit?
Is SiteJabber a scam?
No. SiteJabber is a real company founded in 2007, now operating as SmartCustomer. The FTC alleged in 2024 that it inflated ratings with checkout-time reviews, and a final order in January 2025 bars it from misrepresenting ratings and reviews. The company neither admitted nor denied the charges. The case targeted specific rating practices; it did not claim the site itself was a scam.
Is SiteJabber the same as SmartCustomer?
Yes. The company announced on March 6, 2026 that Sitejabber is now SmartCustomer, and sitejabber.com now redirects to smartcustomer.com.
Did the FTC fine SiteJabber?
Neither FTC press release mentions a payment, and the final order does not include one. It imposes conduct rules, compliance reports and recordkeeping for 20 years. Future violations can bring civil penalties.
What does "verified" mean on SiteJabber?
It depends on the label. Reviews submitted without an invitation are verified with proof of purchase. Reviews from the business's automated invitations are marked verified based on customer records the business provides. Manual and unconfirmed invitations are not marked verified. SmartCustomer says verification does not mean every claim in a review is fact-checked (source).
Every review tied to a real Stripe payment
Signed Reviews attaches a cryptographic signature to each review, linked to a completed transaction. Free to start: unlimited self-service reviews, 10 automated invitations, no credit card.
Start free → How verification works