Each of us has a story to tell. Milestones are just one small part of ours.
Reaching 1 million unbiased reviews in late 2019 was a significant achievement for G2. A feat several years in the making, it was the culmination of our team’s grit, innovation, and hard work to develop the world’s largest software marketplace.
Just over three years later, G2 did it again. We’re proud to say that we now have over 2 million authentic reviews from real folks, all on one site: G2.com.
Two million is a huge number when you take a second to think about it. If G2 was a city and every review was one person, we’d have a population larger than Miami, Atlanta, Cleveland, and Kansas City combined.
Let’s dig in and reveal some insights behind this achievement to celebrate this latest landmark. This is our journey to 2 million reviews.
Three years isn’t all that much time in the grand scheme of things. As nearly everyone on Earth will tell you, the world has significantly changed since G2 reached 1 million reviews in late 2019.
The pandemic fundamentally uprooted our way of life the world over. Public health was on everyone’s mind, and most people’s daily routines and comforts were stripped away.
Most jobs either transitioned to working from home or adopted new protocols to protect the safety of workers. And digital technology saw faster adoption in a big way.
We all remember that adjustment period, especially those of us who didn’t (and still can’t) remember to go off mute on video calls. Some industries changed overnight as companies moved quickly to find software that was mission-critical and enabled business continuity.
We looked back at the data to see what potential impacts the pandemic might have had on review collection. As it turns out, reviews continued to grow at a consistent pace.
From what we could tell digging through the numbers, there was no indication of the pandemic directly impacting review collection. But the data did tell us one thing: reviews are crucial for software buyers. Despite the world experiencing such dramatic changes, reviews continued to flow in, cementing their influence.
We continued to earn the trust of software buyers by connecting them with the software and tools they need. So while the pandemic led to shifts in countless industries, it’s safe to say that user reviews are here to stay in the world of B2B software.
At our core, we believe in the power of unbiased, authentic reviews from real people. 2 million reviews is a big deal, but the truth is that we prioritize the quality of reviews over quantity. Here are a few reasons buyers have come to trust G2 for researching and evaluating software.
Don’t take our word for it. When we asked some of our power users what keeps them coming back, their comments showed just how much they depend on G2 for their software buying needs.
"I use G2 to keep up with the latest software to optimize our business. There are new things coming out all the time that will help us get better, faster, and stronger as a company."
- Nanci T.
Director of Corporate Marketing, Education, and Engagement
“The reviews help us whittle down which software platforms we will test or inspect further. Getting information directly from peers and colleagues who are in the same industry is exceptional.”
- Norm C.
Senior Account Director
The software world will only continue to grow as technology advances and innovation flourishes. To add more context to the occasion, we wanted to see which emerging software categories saw the most growth in vendors since 2019.
The software landscape is always evolving, so G2 continuously evaluates and creates new categories in our taxonomy. Here are the top five categories that saw the biggest changes in the number of vendors from 2019 to 2022.
1. AWS Marketplace Software: 64 —> 2,598 (+3,959%)
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the world’s largest cloud platform, and its users turn to the AWS Marketplace as a curated digital catalog that makes it easy for organizations to discover, provision, and govern third-party software. As more companies rely on AWS, user reviews are crucial to selecting software vendors through the AWS Marketplace.
2. NFT Platforms: 1 —> 30 (+2,900%)
If you missed the countless headlines and news stories about it, 2021 was the year of the non-fungible token (NFT). This technology took the world by storm alongside the increasing interest in cryptocurrency.
3. Disinformation Detection Tools: 1 —> 28 (+2,700%)
Because the internet has made it so easy to distribute information at scale, disinformation is a growing concern. Accelerated by the pandemic and other factors over the last few years, disinformation detection tools are becoming increasingly important for some organizations.
4. Cloud Computing Platforms: 1 —> 21 (+2,000%)
Worldwide demand and adoption of cloud computing continue to grow as analysts project this market to more than double by 2028. Because of this demand and the associated high costs, reviews are just as important to the buying journey when evaluating the top vendors.
5. Digital Credential Management: 2 —> 28 (+1,300%)
Considering the proliferation of cloud-based solutions and services, it’s no wonder organizations are seeking out software that helps manage digital credentials, badges, and certificates.
In addition to the categories stated previously, two other categories deserve mention when comparing vendor growth from 2019 to 2022.
North America currently represents the largest market for B2B software, but the rest of the world is starting to catch up. More vendors and software companies are sprouting up everywhere, and G2 is excited to serve buyers in all markets.
Let’s explore G2’s expansion into three distinct regions after we first crossed the 1 million review threshold: North America (NA), Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), and Asia-Pacific (APAC).
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By breaking down how review counts by region have changed between 2020 and 2022, the data tells us a few things.
Our successes would not be possible without software vendors. User reviews are fundamental to G2, but so are the sellers who leverage the power of reviews to designate themselves as industry leaders, win more deals, and retain customers for longer.
Our growth is tied to the mutual success of vendors that utilize G2 to its fullest potential. It’s for this reason that we’re continuously exploring new ways that make it easier for users to submit reviews and simultaneously offer solutions for vendors to scale their review collection efforts.
Creating the best experience for reviewers is a delicate balancing act.
On the one hand, you want to source as much relevant feedback from users because their experiences are invaluable to software buyers. On the other, we’re constantly evaluating what roadblocks or friction we can remove to make it easier for users to submit reviews.
From continuous design improvements to releasing new features like Custom Questions, we’re always challenging ourselves to optimize the submission experience.
Automation can be a tremendously effective tool for vendors to ramp up review collection. Having an “always-on” solution is a reliable method of collecting reviews without relying on customer outreach.
One example is the G2 + Pendo integration, which allows users to submit reviews right in the app they’re using. By triggering review requests with a visual overlay at the moments users are most engaged, you’ll have a much better chance at sourcing user feedback.
Suggested reading: Learn how activating the G2 + Pendo integration led to a 150% increase in monthly leads for Truckstop.
One of the fastest ways to scale reviews on a compressed timeline is by leveraging G2 Review Generation campaigns. By partnering with G2, we’ll engage your customers on your behalf to submit reviews.
While some of your most loyal customers will happily leave a review, it’s more likely that you need to prompt them to do so. Additionally, Review Generation campaigns can help create a more consistent flow of reviews throughout the year, potentially boosting your chances of placing higher in seasonal G2 Grid Reports.
Suggested reading: When BoomTown wanted to improve their overall user ratings, G2 Review Generation campaigns were a key ingredient to accomplishing their goals. Read the case study to learn how.
The team at G2 could not be more proud of the work we’ve put in to get to this point, but we know that we operate in a realm of rapid change. The voice of the customer is more important than ever, and we’re thrilled to continue leveraging it to simplify software purchasing worldwide.
Let’s explore some of the more notable learnings we picked up in this behind-the-scenes look at the journey to 2 million reviews on G2.
It’s been an amazing journey, but we aren’t done here. We’ll clink our glasses for now, but we’re excited to meet you at the next milestone.
Be a part of the next million. Submit a review today and help other buyers evaluate which software best fits their needs.
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