Online business reviews are key to enticing an internet browser to your practice. A recent survey of 1,000 adults showed that almost 90% of internet users read online reviews before purchasing a product or choosing a service.

However, many of the positive reviews may be fake or may be generated by users who are rewarded to write about the business in a positive way. For reviews of Amazon products, there are hundreds of Facebook groups dedicated to reviews by country and by specific product or product type. According to a recent article on msn.com, this behavior is not only unethical but is against both Amazon and Facebook user policies.

Types of Amazon Reviews

The msn.com article listed these 4 review types:

• A legitimate review. These “Verified Purchases” reviews are usually written by those with extreme opinions about the product: they either love it or hate it. The reviewer often describes real-life experiences that confirm actual use.
• A Vine review. Amazon’s “Vine Voices” program invites those reviewers who submit product reviews often and that are of high quality, whether positive or negative. Vine members may receive free products through Amazon from participating vendors. According to Amazon, the product company or Amazon itself are prohibited from influencing, editing or modifying the reviews.
• An incentivized review. While this practice is prohibited on Amazon, there are Facebook groups where shoppers can receive a free product or, in some cases, even money to write a 4 or 5-star review. Amazon works with Facebook to police these groups, and Facebook will close groups that offer incentives for fake reviews.
• A fake review. These reviews contain high ratings, usually do not show “Verified Purchase” and have little detail. Another trick is to post a new and different item on the page of an older product that was well-reviewed but is no longer available. According to Amazon, customers can report suspicious reviews and each one is investigated.

How to Spot a Fake Amazon Review

• Read the text instead of just counting stars. Peruse the reviews themselves and look for those that appear genuine and personal.
• Check a review rating site. Fakespot and ReviewMeta can give you a “review of the reviews.”
• Don’t believe everything you see on product and services sites. Also, star ratings may be inflated even though Amazon and other sites try to highlight legitimate ratings by giving more weight to those reviews that have been identified as helpful by shoppers.

One more point – never use fake reviews on your own website or on online review sites. Instead, check out our Reputation Management System, our legitimate review system that can really give your practice a competitive edge!

Ask Us About Our Comprehensive Digital Marketing Strategy

Blue Orchid Marketing offers custom-written marketing elements designed to increase your bottom line.  We also focus on external marketing by placing your practice on more than 70 local online directories and writing weekly custom blogs and social media posts to ensure your practice is found on internet searches.  That’s more than 40 posts a month … it’s a service you need to stay competitive!

Need a website?  Live chat?  Adwords?  We have the solution!

To learn how our internal marketing solutions can put money in your pocket and our internet presence solutions and websites can help you to attract new patients and clients, please call us at 203-746-5901 – ask for David – or send an email to DavidB@BlueOrchidMarketing.com. We’ll create a package that’s right for you!