Google is starting to clamp down on businesses with a fake Google review profile. You’ve been warned!
Online reviews, particularly Google reviews, are a key element to a successful local SEO strategy. However, as with all SEO techniques there is the correct way of doing things and then there’s the dodgy way, so-called “black hat” techniques. When it comes to reviews, some unethical SEO companies mass-produce fake reviews for their customers in an attempt to boost rankings. Be warned, Google is now cracking down on this!
The importance of Google reviews
Online reviews are important. For customers searching for a new pest control company who can’t get a recommendation from a friend, online reviews are a key part of the decision-making process. For a local business, customers feel confident in choosing a business once they have between 20-50 Google reviews, as long as they have a high average rating. They don’t all have to be 5-star reviews (we’ll come back to this), but as long as the average is 4.5 and above, you should be in good shape.
Best practice for Google reviews is to gradually build up reviews over time and importantly, make sure you reply to reviews and ensure you have current reviews (within the last three months). This kind of review profile demonstrates to Google that you are an active, well-run business.
Fake reviews – black hat SEO
However, some SEO companies try to game the system, to boost the local pack performance of their customers. They essentially create or buy fake reviews, with or without their customer’s knowledge. They simply create hundreds of Google accounts with the sole purpose of using these accounts to submit reviews for their customers’ businesses. Not surprisingly these are often all 5-star reviews!
This technique has certainly delivered success in the past, even though it is clearly against Google guidelines. The problem with this activity, and indeed any black hat technique, is that although they can deliver great short-term results, sometimes even for longer periods, there is always the risk that it can all come crashing down overnight. If Google decides there is some mischief at play, there can be a catastrophic loss of rankings overnight and potential Google penalties, with potentially business-ending loss of rankings.
Spotting companies with a fake Google review profile
Google will probably have a number of tools to determine a fake review, but how can you spot a company with a potentially fake review profile? Well as any pest control business that manages their own reviews will know, it’s not easy to get a review. It can take several years to get 200 or more reviews. So, any local business that appears to accumulate reviews too quickly or in sudden dumps, or local businesses that have 1000 or more reviews, would certainly look suspicious. Additionally, it really isn’t believable that a business only gets 5-star reviews, certainly for a business that has been operating for several years, even a good business. The stats say this is just very unlikely.
Google’s clampdown on fake reviews – starting in the UK
In the UK, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has been negotiating with Google to ensure that it actually polices its own policies and acts when businesses are clearly creating fake reviews. The aim is for consumers to be able to trust Google reviews and use them to make their purchasing decisions.
Google will start to attach warnings to companies found to have artificially boosted their star ratings and will potentially deactivate their review function altogether. Individuals who repeatedly post fake or misleading reviews will be banned from posting. As a regulator, the CMA will monitor Google’s performance in dealing with businesses with unusual review profiles and fake review brokers.
You have been warned!
Latest update: It appears that Google has updated its algorithm and/or review of Google reviews, as Google reviews have been disappearing from a number of pest control business (and indeed businesses around the world)… even genuine reviews. This may be an unintended consequence of their fake review crackdown, so the reviews may re-appear. However, there are a whole range of reasons why a review may get deleted by Google (not just because it’s a fake review), for example if the person who placed the review has closed their Google account. You can’t always control Google, so control what you can – get genuine reviews (with original wording) and reply to all reviews.
