It seems that everyone reads online reviews before buying a product, or working with a company. Are online reviews legitimate, or are companies uploading fake reviews to gain favor? How can you tell a legitimate review from a false review? The advice you can learn is great, and can help you to make a smart purchasing decision. The problem is, one out of three reviews are fake.

Several websites are promoting online reviews for a fee. Companies know the importance of reviews, and several of them are paying companies to post fake reviews for them as it helps to boost their reputation. Some companies are making upwards of $30K a month just to create fake reviews for companies on websites like Amazon.com.

Some of the things you can find that are similar with the false reviews are the way a person emphasizes with a company, or if they have a lot of online reviews with their profile. However, only having a single review can also lead to a concern related to the legitimacy of the review as it can show false profiles are being set up.

Fake online reviews tend to have the words “I” and “We” used in the review often. They are normally vague when it comes to the way they describe the product or service. Companies are using new programs to detect false reviews and other concerns related to false online reviews. These companies want their customers to receive legitimate information before they buy a product. Facebook has already started working on cracking down on the companies that are buying “likes” for their account. These methods will help to cut down on the problems related to fake reviews, helping customers to find the right information they need to make an informed decision.

We had our own issues with fake reviews from a local company in Billings Montana. The owner created fake Facebook profiles and then used those profiles to give Blast Creative bad reviews. In turn, he gave himself,  5 stars. So competitors are doing it with malice to try and drive business to themselves. See the photos.

Regulators in several states are cracking down on fake reviews. Some companies are being fined upwards of $350,000 for fake reviews. This false advertising practice has shown several companies the importance of asking their customers to leave feedback, regardless of if it is positive or negative. The positive element is that you do have the ability to rebuttal any of the reviews that you do feel are not legitimate.

The other thing to notice with a fake online review is that it will focus on boosting the SEO of the company. When you see a review saying something like “The pizza at City Pizza in Denver is the best pizza in Denver. We just love the pizza at City Pizza in Denver.” It is a clear message that this is a fake review and the company is posting it to try and boost their SEO rankings.

There are some websites that verify their reviews. Certain sites will not allow a person to review a product unless they purchased it from their website. This is a great way to know the reviews you read are trustworthy, and not coming from a fake reviewer.

The post Online Reviews-Scam or True appeared first on Website Design and Marketing.