8 Tips On How To Spot & Prevent A Fake Review

When selecting a restaurant to grab dinner at or hiring a brand new contractor to do repairs on your house, the first stop for many of us is to go online and look at past online reviews from other customers to see how their experience was.

Online reviews have made a true revolution in the way that many of us purchase both products and services. Over 93% of all consumers say online reviews have impacted their purchasing decisions. Unfortunately, many online reviews are not what they appear to be. The truth is that fake reviews are all over the internet.

Popular review sites such as Yelp, TrustPilot, Google, and Facebook are littered with low-quality or fraudulent reviews. An official report by the World Economic Forum found that the rate of fake reviews is around the 4% mark.

Fraudulent reviews pose a problem to many businesses and consumers alike. At PeerDive, our online review experts have put together everything you need to know about how to spot and prevent a fake review.

How Fake Reviews Negatively Impact Businesses

Faking online reviews mislead customers and lead to a loss of trust. When customers are unhappy, it changes the perception of the company and their buying behavior. Having fake reviews on your business listing can bring a business or product rationing up or down in an unfair manner. Not only can having fake reviews posted about your business hurt your brand reputation, but they can create a loss of consumer trust that will lead to a decline in sales.

One reason fake reviews are so prevalent is that there is no shortage of online fake reviews services. You can easily purchase hundreds of fake reviews online for a cheap price. This only creates a larger division and an environment of customer mistrust about a business.

How To Spot A Fake Review

#1) Use of Extremely Negative or Extremely Positive Emotions

A review that is either 100% positive or negative could be a sign that the user's intentions are not genuine. Reviews that sound over the top, almost unbelievable, could be a signal that the business paid another user to write that review for them. Giving a five-star rating without any specifics as to what they liked about the business could also be a sign that something is off about that review.

On the contrary, a one-star review provides little information. A polarizing one-star review could be left by the competition to bring down a business's ratings. Always take a closer look at the specifics of what these negative reviews are saying to see if they are legitimate or not.

#2) The Use of Perfect Language

If you notice a review posted with a proper introduction line, a conclusion, and a pitch recommendation, chances are that the review is fake. Online review services will use a template when writing these online reviews. They will almost sound "too perfect" as if they were written by a computer. Look for unusual language in these reviews, as it could be a sign that the review has been outsourced by a third party.

Another glaring sign that the review is fake is if it costs out only the product advantages. A fake review will try to defend any disadvantages that most other users might say about a product. This is a tell-tale sign that the review was outsourced to a third-party provider. Prevent Fake Reviews

#3) The Overuse of Strategic Keywords

Google and other large search engines use reviews as part of a business's SEO ranking. If you notice a review that contains an overuse of keywords relevant to the business, chances are that the review is fake. Online paid platforms will try to dump as many keywords as possible in these reviews in the hopes that the business will rank higher on those particular keywords. The review's language will sound unnatural for a human to write.

Phrases such as" I highly recommend this product," "Buy this product online today," "Best details about the product available here," or "Wait no more and buy it online today" is a tell-tale sign that the review is fake.

#4) Links At The End Of A Review

If you notice a link posted at the event of a review, that is an immediate sign that the review is trying to promote a specific page or product through a review. For example, the owner typically posts this review to promote a specific product/service to their customer database.

A real review might discuss what they purchased, but chances are they would never add a hyperlink to their review.

#5) Mention of The Competition

Some competitors might use reviews to bring down a business while trying to promote their own. If you see phrases such as, I tried this product, hated it, and promptly bought the {insert competitor product here}, and I LOVE it! Go buy it here now for 20% off!" Chances are that a competitor's business posted the review.

This horrible link-building tactic hurts the business and decreases the credibility of the competitor business leaving these reviews. This type of review should immediately be flagged for fraud on the search engine it was posed to. How to Spot a Fake Review

#6) Look At The Profile of The Reviewer

If you are suspicious of a review being fraudulent, the reviewer's profile is the first place to look. If you can get information about the person who posted the review, you can identify the red flags to determine if this profile is being paid to write reviews. You want to look for things such as a large number of past positive reviews written, copy-paste language in the reviews they are posting, the profile name (i.e., did they use a celebrity name or a foreign name not typically used), or lack of other online activity.

Comparing past reviews, they are written can give you a better idea of what type of profile you are dealing with.

#7) Repeat Brand Mentions

Just like with the keywords, a review that over-mentions the brand can be a sign that they are using a bot or paid service to leave these reviews. Reviews that mention the brand name multiple times and have a "marketing" feel to them is a red flag that real customers did not actually write these reviews.

#8) Reviews Written In All Caps

Reviews with a low ranking that are written in all caps, use terrible grammar, swear frequently, or put multiple exclamation points at the end of every sentence is a sign that the review is fake. These reviews are glaringly obvious when compared to real online reviews. Reviews will try to post this type of review to grab the attention of anyone trying to read it.

Whether it is a competitor leaving this review or a paid online service, we would not recommend taking these online reviews seriously.

Have An Issue With Fake Reviews?

Having an issue with customers or competitors leaving fake reviews about you? PeerDive can help. PeerDive is a popular online directory created exclusively for businesses to leave and view reviews on individuals before offering their products and or services. PeerDive was created to help local businesses and their communities make the most informed decision on who they want to do business with.

Help prevent fake reviews by discovering PeerDive today.

8 Tips On How To Spot & Prevent A Fake Review | From The Experts