Fake Review or Real?
Did you know that 70% of customers visit review sites before making a purchase? We all know that having testimonials and positive customer reviews helps your business and boosts your search rankings, but what if you don’t have enough reviews on Google or Yelp? Couldn’t you just have a few friends and family write fake (yet glowing) reviews for you – or pay a service to do it? If you think no one will know, think again. Watch this quick YouTube video to help you spot fake reviews in an instant!
Are Online Reviews Dependable?
Fake reviews hurt your business as well as your image and Both Amazon and Yelp use algorithms to filter out suspicious posts, according to Boston University’s Georgios Zervas. He estimates that about one in four of all reviews are fakes. No wonder Mintel Research found that 57% of users are suspicious of online reviews that are all positive. In fact, 49% believe companies pay for positive reviews. To put a stop to this and regain credibility Amazon sued more than 1,000 paid reviewers for false reviews since 2015, according to the Seattle Times, and the trend is growing,
Other Ways Fake Reviews Hurt Your Business
But there’s more…another type of fake review can wreak even more havoc on your business reputation. These are negative reviews purposely written by disgruntled (ex-) employees or competitors aimed to damage your reputation and hurt your business. Experts are in agreement that the best way to deal with reviews like these is to flag and report the post and asked that it be removed from the third-party site. If the fake review has the potential to do permanent damage to your bottom line, you may want to disable the review function altogether while you resolve the issue. Be sure to update your online audience about what is happening and when a resolution has been met.
Keep it Real
Now that you know fake reviews hurt your business, our advice is to keep your integrity intact by encouraging authentic reviews – from satisfied customers to disgruntled ones. Potential customers will get a chance to see how well you respond to problems and it’s a great way to demonstrate incredible customer service in a transparent manner. Be sure to engage in a positive fashion because after all business is based on relationships and having real online reviews from real customers is a great way to start and keep a conversation going. Your future customers will thank you for it, so don’t let fake reviews hurt your business.
Do you believe most reviews are fake or have a review horror story to share? Post your experience below!
Not proud to admit it, but I have bought fake reviews in the past. This article has helped me realize how buying fake reviews is harmful for my business.
One can easily tell if a review is fake. I mean come on, your product just came out yesterday and you already have a ton of positive reviews? Focus on quality and customer service, people. EARN the positive review!
I buy a lot of things online, but now you’ve opened my eyes to the practice of fake reviews. How can I really trust that what I’m buying is legit when the user reviews are not? I have to be more careful.
When reading reviews online, it never occured to me that what I’m reading could be fake. How naive I was. People go to such lengths to cheat others. It’s a shame….
I do not completely agree with the conclusion of your article. It’s harmless! Small businesss owners have to do whatever they can to compete, and adding a few fake reviews to help them get some traction doesn’t hurt anyone.. I think 90% of business owners out there do it.
Lissette, that is unethical. I do get your point, but this kind of thing should not be encouraged. One person doing it leads to another person doing it and so on. Why not focus on quality content and strong marketing to get peoples’ attention?
Sometimes customers are ungrateful, no matter how happy they are, and they refuse to write a review. What am I supposed to do when most of my customers can’t be bothered to leave something nice on Google no matter how hard I work for them? Nothing except fake reviews. #truefact
I don’t believe it!! Fake reviews have boosted my sales by 200%
Hello Kiley, You are doing something that will ultimately harm you. If your product/service isn’t truly valuable, fake reviews will get you nowhere.