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Online Reviews Part 2: Navigating the World of Paid Fake Reviews

Last week, we discussed the importance of online reviews for your business, both for your bottom line and your reputation. However, it can be time-consuming to persuade customers to post reviews and to continuously monitor the reviews you’ve acquired on different sites. In an effort to circumvent the time commitment, some businesses take a shortcut and pay for positive fake reviews to boost their standing instantly.

We never advise our clients to employ fake online reviews. Aside from the ethical and moral reasons, there are a number of other reasons to forgo paying for positive feedback:

Your business page can be banned, suspended or penalized. Many apps and review platforms actively seek out fake reviews. Yelp will remove reviews it deems suspicious and Amazon has gone so far as filing lawsuits against fake reviewers and the companies that employ them.

Posting fake reviews can catch the attention of the Canadian Competition Bureau. In 2014, Bell employees posted positive reviews of the new Bell Phone App, causing it to skyrocket in Apple’s iTunes App Store. The company was fined 1.25 million dollars by the Canadian Competition Bureau for its deceptive marketing practices.

It can hurt your brand in the long run. One of the most important factors between a customer and business is trust — once that trust is broken, it’s hard to repair. Being exposed for having fake reviews can damage customer loyalty and scare off potential new clients.

So how do you generate positive buzz for your brand? At idig Marketing, we develop and deploy review funnels for our clients. This practice creates organic positive feedback and allows us to address any issues with customer complaints.

If you are contemplating using paid, fake reviews to boost your brand image, STOP and
contact an idig Marketing specialist today.
We’ll work with you to develop a strategy to increase your positive reviews organically.

idig Marketing is a full-service digital strategy and development firm that generates meaningful website traffic and drives high value leads to your organization. By optimizing organic content with paid advertising our custom methodology is adapted to meet your requirements and to exceed your objectives.

 

Read our whole series about online reviews:

Online Reviews Part 1: Importance and Overview of Review Sites

Online Reviews Part 3: Employing a Review Funnel to Generate Positive Response

 

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