3 Reasons Why You Shouldn't Buy Google Reviews
Posted: Tue Dec 03, 2024 10:49 am
3 Reasons Why You Shouldn't Buy Google Reviews
Recent statistics have shown that Google processes around 81%-91% of global internet searches. This staggering figure is reason enough to get as many positive reviews for your business on the platform as possible.
Google reviews are becoming more important to the success of businesses, especially for local businesses, because that rating is the first thing customers will see when they are searching for a product or service. There you are, in front of everyone else, listed alongside your competition. And if you have received several bad reviews, chances are customers will reject you immediately.
Google itself has also said that businesses that have good quality reviews kazakhstan phone number list and respond to their customers regularly will rank higher in search results.
So, if having reviews is so important, should you risk buying them to boost your numbers? The short answer? No. Absolutely not. And, in case we haven’t been clear enough, no, do not buy Google reviews !
Below we will explain three reasons why you should not buy Google reviews and also give you some warnings about the risks you are exposing yourself to if you do so.
3 Reasons Why You Shouldn't Buy Google Reviews
1. They have no authenticity
Fake reviews are generally very easy to spot. Paid reviews are particularly suspect due to the type of language used. These disreputable companies that sell online reviews often use templates, which allow them to copy and paste thousands of reviews per day in an effort to maximize their profits.
These templates are often filled with keywords and spaces to add the company name multiple times, in order to improve results. However, these reviews come across as dishonest, talking about the product in general terms, without offering any real reason for why they have given a five-star rating.
Another way to recognize how fake reviews are is to check the profile of the person who left the review. They probably have hundreds of reviews in their name, many of them published in the same day. Or, on the contrary, the profile could have only one review because the user has created a new account for each one.
Or if you have “paid” your customers for reviews by offering them, for example, money or a product in exchange for the review, it may happen that the customer mentions this in their review, which can make you look like a dishonest company. Even if your customers genuinely loved your product, no one will believe them if they see that you have offered them an incentive.
Consequences
A normal customer can spot these reviews from afar, and when they do, it will lead to a loss of trust. If you have a large number of obviously fake reviews, customers will not believe in your product or you and will move on.
They have the opposite effect of “social proof” – instead of encouraging people to use your services, they will cause general rejection.
2. You will never know your strengths and weaknesses
Paying for reviews is like living with your head in the sand, refusing to acknowledge your weaknesses or play to your strengths. Indeed, businesses need more honest feedback, not less, as this is the only way to be able to implement genuine improvements.
Consequences
Reviews become irrelevant. You will never improve your product or services, which will hurt you in the long run, you are basically wasting money.
You may never resolve the issues or weaknesses. Covering up genuine feedback with hundreds of positive paid reviews will not allow you to see the areas that need improvement.
3. Legally it is a minefield and goes against Google policies.
Paying for reviews is very close to being illegal in many countries. In both the UK and the US, misrepresenting your business or claiming it to be something it is not is illegal and paying for reviews comes very close to this definition.
In the past, both the Competition and Markets Authority in the UK and the Federal Trade Commission in the US have taken action against companies using fake online reviews.
Additionally, paying for reviews violates Google's policies. They state that while it is okay to ask for (genuine) customer reviews, paying for them is a violation of their terms of service.
This also applies in the opposite case, for example, if you decide to badmouth your competition and pay someone to fill them with one-star reviews to make you look better. If you are found out, there will be consequences.
Consequences
You could face civil penalties from trade commissions in your country and even criminal prosecution.
Google may decide to remove reviews if they find that they are fake or paid for. Google does not take kindly to violations of their policies and if they find out that you are not being truthful, your rankings will suffer.
GET CUSTOMER REVIEWS
Collect authentic reviews and embed them on your website
Create a new form
Eri Abisai Hernández Villanueva
Mexico, Fortemus
Trustmary Reviews
Super easy and very fast process to generate feedback forms and of course social proof assets, in addition to having the best price. 100% recommended
Simona
Fano, Casa Rosalpina
Trustmary Reviews
THE FAST RESPONSE
Christian
Trustmary Reviews
Very good work tools and they provide very good relevant information about what I am looking for.
PwcS
Zaragoza, PoweringCar
Trustmary Reviews
Very good integration with our website
So how do you get more Google reviews naturally?
So, now we understand that getting genuine, authentic feedback is the way to go when it comes to Google reviews, and we’ve detailed how and why it works here . But, it can be difficult to get customers to leave a review.
Your customers may have a lot of other things to occupy their time during the day, which may not motivate them to leave a review. Below we've outlined some tips to help you increase those numbers.
1. Simply ask them to leave a review
That's right. It's that simple. Businesses that ask their customers to leave a review tend to have more comments than their competitors and generally have higher ratings. Of course, you have to ask in the right way, choose the right time and you shouldn't be pushy.
If your interaction with a customer is in person – Ask them directly if they would like to leave a review when they get to their home. Offer them a brochure or business card with instructions on how to do so.
If the purchase was made online – Follow up later via email. Depending on the type of product, you may need to wait a few weeks to give them time to use and experience the product.
This time it's okay to follow up with a second email or potentially a third email asking for a review, but if you go over this amount you might come across as pushy. Remember to personalize your email to each customer's case and always be respectful and kind.
Look for mentions on your social media to see if anyone has been talking about you. If someone has been saying good things about you, it might be worth reaching out to them via direct message to ask if they would like to share their experience on Google.
2. Make it easy for the customer to do it
Recent statistics have shown that Google processes around 81%-91% of global internet searches. This staggering figure is reason enough to get as many positive reviews for your business on the platform as possible.
Google reviews are becoming more important to the success of businesses, especially for local businesses, because that rating is the first thing customers will see when they are searching for a product or service. There you are, in front of everyone else, listed alongside your competition. And if you have received several bad reviews, chances are customers will reject you immediately.
Google itself has also said that businesses that have good quality reviews kazakhstan phone number list and respond to their customers regularly will rank higher in search results.
So, if having reviews is so important, should you risk buying them to boost your numbers? The short answer? No. Absolutely not. And, in case we haven’t been clear enough, no, do not buy Google reviews !
Below we will explain three reasons why you should not buy Google reviews and also give you some warnings about the risks you are exposing yourself to if you do so.
3 Reasons Why You Shouldn't Buy Google Reviews
1. They have no authenticity
Fake reviews are generally very easy to spot. Paid reviews are particularly suspect due to the type of language used. These disreputable companies that sell online reviews often use templates, which allow them to copy and paste thousands of reviews per day in an effort to maximize their profits.
These templates are often filled with keywords and spaces to add the company name multiple times, in order to improve results. However, these reviews come across as dishonest, talking about the product in general terms, without offering any real reason for why they have given a five-star rating.
Another way to recognize how fake reviews are is to check the profile of the person who left the review. They probably have hundreds of reviews in their name, many of them published in the same day. Or, on the contrary, the profile could have only one review because the user has created a new account for each one.
Or if you have “paid” your customers for reviews by offering them, for example, money or a product in exchange for the review, it may happen that the customer mentions this in their review, which can make you look like a dishonest company. Even if your customers genuinely loved your product, no one will believe them if they see that you have offered them an incentive.
Consequences
A normal customer can spot these reviews from afar, and when they do, it will lead to a loss of trust. If you have a large number of obviously fake reviews, customers will not believe in your product or you and will move on.
They have the opposite effect of “social proof” – instead of encouraging people to use your services, they will cause general rejection.
2. You will never know your strengths and weaknesses
Paying for reviews is like living with your head in the sand, refusing to acknowledge your weaknesses or play to your strengths. Indeed, businesses need more honest feedback, not less, as this is the only way to be able to implement genuine improvements.
Consequences
Reviews become irrelevant. You will never improve your product or services, which will hurt you in the long run, you are basically wasting money.
You may never resolve the issues or weaknesses. Covering up genuine feedback with hundreds of positive paid reviews will not allow you to see the areas that need improvement.
3. Legally it is a minefield and goes against Google policies.
Paying for reviews is very close to being illegal in many countries. In both the UK and the US, misrepresenting your business or claiming it to be something it is not is illegal and paying for reviews comes very close to this definition.
In the past, both the Competition and Markets Authority in the UK and the Federal Trade Commission in the US have taken action against companies using fake online reviews.
Additionally, paying for reviews violates Google's policies. They state that while it is okay to ask for (genuine) customer reviews, paying for them is a violation of their terms of service.
This also applies in the opposite case, for example, if you decide to badmouth your competition and pay someone to fill them with one-star reviews to make you look better. If you are found out, there will be consequences.
Consequences
You could face civil penalties from trade commissions in your country and even criminal prosecution.
Google may decide to remove reviews if they find that they are fake or paid for. Google does not take kindly to violations of their policies and if they find out that you are not being truthful, your rankings will suffer.
GET CUSTOMER REVIEWS
Collect authentic reviews and embed them on your website
Create a new form
Eri Abisai Hernández Villanueva
Mexico, Fortemus
Trustmary Reviews
Super easy and very fast process to generate feedback forms and of course social proof assets, in addition to having the best price. 100% recommended
Simona
Fano, Casa Rosalpina
Trustmary Reviews
THE FAST RESPONSE
Christian
Trustmary Reviews
Very good work tools and they provide very good relevant information about what I am looking for.
PwcS
Zaragoza, PoweringCar
Trustmary Reviews
Very good integration with our website
So how do you get more Google reviews naturally?
So, now we understand that getting genuine, authentic feedback is the way to go when it comes to Google reviews, and we’ve detailed how and why it works here . But, it can be difficult to get customers to leave a review.
Your customers may have a lot of other things to occupy their time during the day, which may not motivate them to leave a review. Below we've outlined some tips to help you increase those numbers.
1. Simply ask them to leave a review
That's right. It's that simple. Businesses that ask their customers to leave a review tend to have more comments than their competitors and generally have higher ratings. Of course, you have to ask in the right way, choose the right time and you shouldn't be pushy.
If your interaction with a customer is in person – Ask them directly if they would like to leave a review when they get to their home. Offer them a brochure or business card with instructions on how to do so.
If the purchase was made online – Follow up later via email. Depending on the type of product, you may need to wait a few weeks to give them time to use and experience the product.
This time it's okay to follow up with a second email or potentially a third email asking for a review, but if you go over this amount you might come across as pushy. Remember to personalize your email to each customer's case and always be respectful and kind.
Look for mentions on your social media to see if anyone has been talking about you. If someone has been saying good things about you, it might be worth reaching out to them via direct message to ask if they would like to share their experience on Google.
2. Make it easy for the customer to do it