What You Need to Know About Fake Google Reviews

What is a Fake Google Review? 

A fake review is simply a review from someone who has never been your customer, has never used your product or service they're reviewing, or has never had interaction with your brand. 

The overwhelming majority of fake reviews contain negative feedback and low star ratings.   

Why Do People Leave Fake Reviews? 

There is no single answer to this question. Fake reviews happen for a variety of reasons. 

Sometimes fake reviews originate from competitors who want to damage your brand, thereby boosting their own business. 

Other times, consumers who have a grudge against your company for whatever reason may create a false review. In some cases, the reviewer perhaps knows someone who claims they had an unpleasant experience with you. Or the reviewer simply doesn’t like or support the services you provide or the way you do business. 

Occasionally, fake reviewers are simply internet trolls who spend their time causing havoc for others. 

And finally, a fake review might just be a mistake, wherein someone tried to review Company A, but they accidentally added the review to Company B. 

How to Spot a Fake Review 

The first (and easiest) way to identify a fake review is to pick out details that don’t match up with your business. If someone complains about their experience at your Cincinatti office, but you only have offices in Cleveland, there’s a good chance the review is fake or, at least, a mistake. 

When you receive a review that doesn’t quite make sense, check your customer database. If you can’t find the reviewer in your record of customers, that’s a red flag. 

You can also identify fake reviews in the way the review itself is written. Vague comments, the use of excessive punctuation (especially exclamation points,) and the frequent use of obvious keywords are telltale signs. 

If a review seems fishy, click on the reviewer's name and take a look at the other reviews they’ve written.  This is a great way to see if the reviewer is leaving similarly worded reviews for other companies, listing similar complaints, or including other questionable content in their reviews. 

A Word About Fake Positive Reviews 

Fake positive reviews do happen, but they’re usually an inside job. Positive reviews can be so beneficial to your business, it’s tempting to innocently ask family and friends to write a review, even if they haven’t used your services.  Don’t make this mistake. A fake review is a fake review—whether it’s positive or negative—and it goes against Google’s Terms of Service. 

What to Do About Fake Reviews 

Nothing will completely solve the problem of fake reviews. But you do have options when it comes to bogus reviews for your company. Here are the steps you can take. 

Respond to the review.

Yes, you should respond, even if it’s fake. The thing about reviews is that the entire internet can see them, so before you take steps to remove the offending review, you need to respond. 

Using your best customer service voice, ask the reviewer if there’s anything you can do to correct their issue or improve their experience. If it’s obvious the reviewer was never your customer, include something like, “We’re not finding you in our customer database.  Please reach out to our customer service team so we can help you.” 

This kind of response not only shows that your company is willing to make things right with its customers, it also signals to readers that the review might be fake. 

Likewise, if the review is an obvious mistake—someone is reviewing lawn care services when your company does kitchen remodeling, for example—respond accordingly.  Something like, “Thanks for your feedback, but it appears you’re reviewing the wrong company. We do kitchen remodeling, not lawn care.” 

Report the review to Google.

The reporting process is simple and Google allows you to track the status of reviews you’ve reported.   

Google’s assessment of the report may take several days, so be patient. Removing the review won’t happen immediately. 

It's important you report every single fake review.  This helps Google identify frequent offenders and take appropriate action, like banning their accounts.

Dealing with Fake Reviews 

Google takes fake reviews seriously, but they rely heavily on the front-end user to identify offenders. That means you should be diligent in reporting fake reviews for your company, even if the reviews aren’t harming your overall rating. 

When it comes to fake reviews, the best defense is a good offense. Be sure you’re providing great service and inviting your customers to leave reviews and ratings.  When you have a stockpile of positive reviews, you’ll be more confident in dealing with a few fake ones.