Jay Leonard
Way back in August, I wrote about how some of the most virulently negative reviews on Yelp.com may actually be written by well-intentioned superfans. Whatever you thought of that piece, one clear takeaway was that fake reviews and the people who write them are not okay by anyone’s definition.
Crackdown
Although we all know that fake Yelp reviews are neither encouraged nor acceptable by anyone, the fact remains that an overwhelming number of reviews posted to the site may, in fact, be fraudulent. Even the Yelp overlords recognize it. Last week, a spokesperson from the company told the British Broadcasting Corporation that some 25% of all reviews submitted to the site are flagged as “suspicious” and possibly fake.
Although the fake reviews have always been a nuisance, they have never been illegal. At least, they have never been illegal until now.
The State of New York, led by State Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman, has begun to fight back against the horrors of fake reviews, PCWorld recently reported. As part of the fight, the state signed agreements with 20 or so SEO companies. The agreement made it very clear that posting fake reviews is unacceptable and will be punished harshly. The fines can be as little as $2500 or as much as $350,000.
The Takeaway
As technology changes, it will be easier for sites like Yelp to pick out the fake reviews. Furthermore, it is likely that more states will follow New York’s lead and place some pretty hefty penalties on companies that have built a business around posting fake reviews. Ultimately SEO companies are going to have to find more above-board ways to do their dirty work.
Are you pleased with the penalties being placed on fake reviewers or do you think they may be a little harsh?
This article was written for Business 2 Community by Jay Leonard.
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The sad truth is fake or not, the damage is done. Many people are still not aware that a quarter of these reviews are fake and this does such incredible harm to small businesses. Think of all the restaurants with several bad reviews. The chances of anyone going to those restaurants are not very strong. That’s why companies like Brand.com work with such companies in order to help them regain their online dignity. Learn more about how Brand.com can help you and your business here: http://www.brand.com/blog/brand-com-command-center-glance/
The remarkable fact is that there are plenty of REAL positive reviews out there. Happy customers simply have to be correctly and ethically asked to express themselves. Customers expect to be happy. Providing excellent service is seen as the norm — until you don’t provide it.
An article in the Cincinnati Enquirer (http://tinyurl.com/kn279jk) online edition shows this white hat solution.
Roger