Buying Five Star Google Reviews: Should You Do It?
As more consumers look to reviews to when deciding a business or product, your business could be quickly pushed to the side if you have too many negative reviews or if you do not have enough reviews in general. To solve this issue, some business owners have resorted to hiring people to write fake reviews or offering rewards to their customers that write positive reviews, especially on top review platforms such as Google or Yelp.
However, while it may be tempting to boost your online reputation by using unethical means, buying reviews can backfire in so many ways, and here’s why:
The FTC will fine you
Fake reviews are illegal under Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act. The FTC considers fraudulent reviews to be false or deceptive advertising, which is against the law for several reasons.
- The reviews aren’t based on actual customer experiences.
- They mislead consumers because the content of the review is false.
- They encourage people to buy something they otherwise wouldn’t, which financially defrauds the customer.
Incentivized reviews are also illegal unless the company or individual giving the review clearly states that he or she has received compensation or another form of incentive for the review and that his or her statement is true and accurate.
The FTC is serious about allegations of consumer fraud and if you’re caught buying or incentivizing reviews by the organization, you could end up paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines.
Reviewers might mention your incentive in their reviews
Incentivizing people to write positive reviews is a type of bribery. In writing the review, the reviewer could reveal their incentive for the review. This not only destroys any hope you have of gaining your consumers’ trust, but will also notify Google that it’s rules are being violated and could draw the attention of the FTC.
People will notice your reviews are fake
More than 80% of people reported reading fake reviews in 2019. Showing consumers can easily spot fake reviews. Some common red flags include:
- Reviewer isn’t active on Google Maps
- Vast majority of the person’s reviews are negative
- Reviewer focuses on a single industry (because he or she is targeting competitors)
- Reviewer posts multiple reviews at the same time
- Duplicate reviews from different accounts
- Reviews contain few or no concrete details
Another problem with mostly having only positive reviews is that it makes all your reviews look suspicious. In fact, 95% of people doubt your reviews are real or think you’re censoring bad reviews if they don’t see any bad ratings. Showcasing all your reviews shows that you aren’t hiding anything or trying to deceive anyone.
You will lose valuable feedback about your business
One overlooked consequence of spamming your business profile with fake reviews is not getting to read your customers’ honest feedback. For example, your business might have problems that you aren’t aware of, but you’ll never learn about them if you discourage negative, and possibly constructive, reviews.
Think of negative reviews as free usability testing for your business processes. How will you know what’s working and what’s not if you don’t solicit negative reviews along with the positive?
Google will delete your reviews
Google’s content policy specifically prohibits fake reviews.
“Your content should reflect your genuine experience at the location and should not be posted just to manipulate a place’s ratings. Don’t post fake content, don’t post the same content multiple times, and don’t post content for the same place from multiple accounts.”
Google also
states if your business profile features fake reviews, it will remove them from your profile.
“Reviews are automatically processed to detect inappropriate content like fake reviews and spam. We may take down reviews that are flagged in order to comply with Google policies or legal obligations.”
Don't risk your company's reputation and future by taking that shortcut.
There's a better way.
So What Should You Do To Get Reviews?
Get reviews the ethical way: provide good service and treat your customers well. People value online reviews, and they like sharing their opinions with the world. Because of this, your customers are going to write reviews about you, whether they are positive or negative. You might as well maximize the opportunity.
Ask for feedback immediately after a transaction
Nearly 80% of people will leave a review when asked. So, don’t be shy about asking, whether you are interacting online or face to face.
Respond to all your reviews
Responding to all reviews is a great opportunity to engage with your customers. Doing so shows that you care what your customers think and are open to feedback about your business, which encourages others to write reviews.
Address customer pain points
The best way to garner more positive reviews is to thoroughly impress customers in every interaction they have with your business. To do so, you need to identify and solve their issues and make customer satisfaction part of your company’s culture.
Automate the process
You can maximize the number of real, positive reviews that you earn by using an automated system like Get More Reviews. By sending out a sentiment check, such as a 5 star review, thumbs up/thumbs down, or smiley/frown face, to your customers, it identifies the people who have had a positive experience with you and directs them to the review site of your choice. Dissatisfied customers are directed back to you!
It's an automated system that makes it incredibly easy to rack up positive reviews the right way. Not only does this give you a better chance of getting that Google review after doing business with your customers, but you will also be able to send reminders, increasing the chance for a review.