Unfortunately, fake reviews are more common than you might think on platforms like Google, Amazon, or Facebook. More than half of consumers surveyed say they are confident they’ve seen fake reviews online… and it’s made them suspicious whenever they read a review.
Fake reviews can tarnish your brand, drive customers away, and lower your search engine rankings. The World Economic Forum (WEF) put a hefty price tag on fake reviews, saying they have a direct impact on $152 billion in global spending.
For brands, making sure they don’t engage in fraudulent reviews or allow fake reviews on their websites is crucial. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently sent notices to more than 700 companies that they could incur civil penalties of up to $43,792 for each violation if they use fake online reviews or deceptive endorsements.
“Fake reviews and other forms of deceptive endorsements cheat consumers and undercut honest businesses,” Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection said in a press release. “Advertisers will pay a price if they engage in these deceptive practices.”
Why Do People Post Fake Reviews?
There are several reasons people post fake reviews. Some of them are malicious in nature or seeking to gain a competitive advantage. For example:
- To hurt a company’s reputation. This might be done by a competitor or a disgruntled former employee in an attempt to discourage potential customers.
- To boost their own business. Others post fake positive reviews to make their own business look good.
- To manipulate rating systems. By posting positive reviews on a product, service, or company, people are hoping to improve star ratings. Others may post negative reviews on competitor’s sites in an attempt to lower their rating.
There are also companies that will pay people to write fake reviews and post them to influence opinions. This is a highly unethical practice that may be illegal in many places.
Other fake reviews may come from customers that are frustrated with a brand. They might exaggerate claims to express their dissatisfaction, hoping to get a response or possibly a refund.
Because prospective customers use reviews to make decisions, some people try to game the system. Adding an extra star on a Yelp review, for example, has been shown to increase revenue by five percent or more. The FTC said one company, Legacy Learning, used deceptive advertising practices by having reviews posted on their behalf by people posing as customers or independent reviewers in exchange for commissions on sales. The FTC estimates it generated more than $5 million in additional revenue. So, you can see why some people are tempted.
Regardless of why people post fake reviews, it’s important that companies take steps to identify and address them. Reviews play a significant role in how people view companies, so reviews need to be real and accurate. Fake reviews — even positive ones — can undermine trust and damage your reputation.
Identifying Fake Reviews
Organizations should spot-check reviews to look for fakes. If someone makes claims that seem too good to be true (or too bad to be true), it’s worth a closer look. For example, if a review for a software platform claims that it was “life-changing” and “reduced their costs by 90% in one week,” it should raise a flag. Likewise, if a review says that the software was the worst piece of software ever invented and it ruined their business, it may be fake.
Here are some of the other ways you can identify fake reviews.
Look for Patterns
Companies that sell fake online reviews often post lots of reviews. To do it quickly, they may use templates or similar patterns. Look for identical wording or formats, or reviews that mention the same product features. Another red flag might be multiple reviews or reviewers using the same verbiage or similar tone.
Look for Uncommon Language
People generally write reviews the way they speak. So, when you see reviews laced with marketing puffery or repeated mentions of a brand with specific details, it might be fake. For example, a review that recommends a particular product using the same language as the company’s marketing should raise concerns.
Analyze Reviewers
If you spot something you think might be fake, check to see if the reviewer has a history of leaving only positive or negative reviews, or if they have left similar reviews for multiple companies. Be wary of someone that posts reviews for a large number of products or has an opinion on multiple competitors. Especially for higher-priced products or services, it’s unlikely that they have bought all of them.
Another warning flag is when people post reviews for local businesses in multiple cities.
Compare with Purchases
Check to see if a reviewer is actually a customer. If they didn’t buy your product, it can be an indication that the review is not legitimate. With Sitejabber, you can flag suspicious reviews and have customers provide additional proof of purchase.
Deploy Review Monitoring Software
Organizations can use AI and natural language processing (NLP) to analyze reviews and identify potential fake reviews. For example, Sitejabber analyzes every review to look for anything suspicious that requires a manual review.
Dealing with Fake Reviews
When companies detect fake reviews, it’s important to deal with them.
The first thing you should do is contact the platform where the reviews appear. Most review platforms have a process in place for handling fake reviews, since they’ll have a vested interest in making sure reviews are real. Sitejabber encourages users to flag anything that looks suspicious.
You can also respond to the fake review and politely refute the claims. When you can provide evidence that the review is fake, or less than honest, it can diminish the impact. This has to be done carefully, however, because your response will be seen by customers and potential customers. The tone and approach you take can impact others. It’s always a good idea to respond to reviews whenever possible. This shows potential customers that you value feedback and are committed to your customers.
Companies should also implement a strategy to monitor and prevent fake reviews, such as using review verification tools.
In some cases, you may also be able to take legal action against a reviewer if a review is defamatory, although this may be an expensive proposition and draw more attention to the fake review than you want.
How Does Sitejabber Prevent Fake Reviews?
Sitejabber takes fake reviews very seriously and implements a series of steps to prevent them. Highly-sophisticated algorithms scan every review to look for warning signs that a review is fake – or example, when the same person writes multiple reviews for the same product. Sitejabber also employs a Review Team that manually spot-checks for fakes.
When users spot something suspicious, they can flag it for manual review as well. Sitejabber actively encourages users to report any potential fakes that somehow get past automated review.
Combat Fake Reviews with Real Reviews
You can also fight fake reviews by making sure you have a significant number of real reviews. Sitejabber helps you proactively collect reviews from real customers. You can:
- Automatically request reviews via email after customers make purchases.
- Invite past customers to leave reviews.
- Let customers write reviews immediately after purchase, before they leave your website.
You can also showcase the best reviews on your website automatically using a variety of widgets backed by Sitejabber, display product reviews at checkout, and publish reviews to social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Learn more about how Sitejabber can manage your reviews and reputation by creating a free account or requesting a demo today.
