Whether you’re a business owner trying to maintain your business’ online reputation or you’re a consumer trying to get the 411 on a product or service, it pays to know how to tell the real reviews from the fake ones.
Fake reviews are not always easy to spot.
Reviews are a powerful thing. They give businesses feedback that they can use to better serve their clients, and they give consumers information that helps them make purchasing decisions and figure out which companies to hire. However, this is only true of real reviews, and unfortunately, fake reviews are more common than you might think. In fact, in February, the FTC brought the first successful case challenging fake paid reviews.
Fake reviews aren’t helpful to anyone, and when you’re searching for a good or service online, or you’re trying to determine where your business stands online, it’s important to be able to tell the difference between a legitimate review and a fake review.
How to Tell if a Review is Fake
#1. Pay attention to the timing.
In general, if a higher than average amount of reviews has been published at one time, it’s a red flag that at least some of those reviews aren’t real. There are, of course, exceptions, like after a product has launched, the day after Black Friday or the day after Christmas. However, in most cases, if a lot of reviews have been published at one time for one business or product, it’s because there has been a targeted campaign to add artificial reviews.
Another thing to consider with the timing of a review is when the product or service being reviewed was launched. If there are a ton of five-star reviews for a product or a service that hasn’t even been released yet, they likely aren’t authentic.
#2. Check the username.
No matter what review platform you’re posting on, your review is attached to your profile, which is generally your first and last name, particularly on sites like Google and Facebook. One of the easiest ways to spot a fake review is by simply checking out the individual who wrote it. If the username is “John Smith” or “Jane Doe,” there’s a good chance it’s not legitimate.
#3. Check the profile picture.
Not every legitimate review will have a profile picture or an avatar attached to it, and a lack of image isn’t always going to be a red flag that a review is fake. However, a lot of times, fake reviewers aren’t from the United States, and when they pull an image from the internet to use as their profile pictures, they often will accidentally select an image of a celebrity.
#4. Keep an eye out for verified purchases.
According to a study by Fakespot, 30 percent of Amazon reviews are unreliable or fake, and an estimated 52 percent of reviews on Walmart.com are inauthentic. However, both Amazon and Walmart.com have given their clients an easy way to tell the difference between fake reviews and real ones — by making it clear which reviewers actually purchased the product. When you’re reading reviews on sites like Amazon and Walmart.com, it’s important to look for that “verified purchase” badge.
#5. Check the spelling and grammar.
Your 10th grade English teacher probably isn’t proofreading your reviews, and no one expects perfection. However, because a lot of fake reviews come from people overseas whose first language isn’t English, poor spelling or grammar could be a red flag that a review is fake.
We’re not talking about a missing comma or a misspelled word or two. Watch out for words used in the completely wrong context or big spelling and grammar errors that the average American wouldn’t make.
#6. Be wary of repeat words or phrases.
A lot of times, fake reviewers are paid to present products or services in a certain way, to use specific words or phrases to describe them or to help a page rank for certain long-tail keywords. That’s why, when you’re reading reviews, it’s important to be mindful about any words or phrases that are repetitive throughout the review.
#7. Steer clear of reviews that use a lot of industry lingo.
If a company is trying to make themselves look good by writing their own reviews, they may accidentally use industry lingo that can give them away. By “industry lingo,” we mean words or phrases used by professionals in the industry but are rarely — if ever — uttered by customers.
#8. Watch out for overly negative reviews.
While people do legitimately have bad experiences with different businesses, an overly negative review in all caps or with 15 exclamation points can be a sign that the review is inauthentic. This is especially true if the review attempts to push a different product or service on the reader as an alternative.
#9. Look at the reviewer’s profile.
One great way to tell a fake review from a real one is to do some research into the person who left the review. On many review sites, you can check out the other reviews the individual has left on the site, which can give you a lot of insight into whether or not the review you’re reading is real.
Most people aren’t all that active when it comes to writing reviews, and it’s normal if they’ve only posted one or two, or at the most, a handful of reviews throughout the year. However, if you’ve noticed that the person in question has published 20 reviews in a day, there’s a good chance those reviews aren’t real.
#10. Check out the business or product’s other reviews.
Reading some of the other reviews on a product or business can help you determine if the review in question is real or not. For example, if a business has 400 reviews that are mostly five-stars, then it’s important to look closely at the one or two one-star reviews they have. No one is perfect, and no business can please every customer, but it’s smart to take one-off reviews like that with a grain of salt. Even if they aren’t fake, they clearly also aren’t indicative of the kind of service most people can expect from that business.
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So whether you’re a consumer looking to make better, more informed purchasing decisions or a business owner who wants more control over your online reputation, Top Rated Local can help. Sign your business up today for free, or browse businesses online to find the right option for your needs.
