Are you a business owner who wants to get genuine reviews but is afraid of scams? Are paid reviews a scam?
Adding Google reviews via paid methods can be tricky and to keep yourself safe from scams you must understand how to add reviews to a Google My Business profile safely and be aware of Google’s policies.
Therefore, you must know how Google identifies genuine reviews and what metrics it checks to add only solicited reviews to your business profile that will not be removed and enhance your search results ranking by adding to your overall rating.
Is A Paid Google Review A Scam?
Write a Google review and get paid—the new Paid Google Review scam story has one common element.
A new trend has emerged online where scammers pretending to be HR executives of local businesses or ecommerce platforms are asking people to add Google reviews to businesses they have never visited and paying them for that.
They lure people to add fake positive and negative reviews for businesses. Such reviews are not just unethical, but they also impact a business’s reputation and lead to huge losses if you send them money or other bank details.
However, if you understand Google’s policies carefully, you can save yourself from such paid Google review scams and instead invest in genuine social media growth service providers to buy genuine Google reviews.
There are ethical ways to gain reviews on Google, but before that, let’s uncover the metrics Google uses to check whether reviews are genuine or not. You can use these metrics to assess the reliability of the platform you wish to purchase your reviews from.
Key Metrics Google Uses To Identify Genuine Reviews
Google uses diverse metrics and signals to evaluate the quality and authenticity of reviews added to various business profiles.
Here’s a breakdown of a few key metrics you must know before you try to increase the review count on your profile via a paid channel:
1. User activity and history
The first factor Google considers to identify genuine reviews is the account activity of users who are adding reviews to your Google My Business profile.
It judges whether the user has added reviews to other business profiles and whether he has a history with other Google services. Accounts with an active history are considered genuine over accounts with no latest activity.
2. IP address and geolocation of user
Google also carefully monitors and tracks the location data associated with the user accounts leaving reviews on your GMB profile.
It considers whether the reviews received on your business profile are consistent with your business’s location and are not added from distant locations or via VPNs to manipulate the review count.
3. Content tone and depth
Another metric Google uses to identify genuine reviews is analyzing the content depth and tone in a Google review.
It uses advanced NLP algorithms(Natural Language Processing) to detect and identify reviews that lack depth and have no product-specific remarks but only genuine comments that can be added on a mass scale.
4. Time and date of reviews
Google also assesses the timing and frequency of reviews that are being added to your business profile over a period of time.
If it suspects a sudden influx of reviews on your profile during a certain period, it will consider it as manipulation and a violation of the review policies.
Google keeps on adding new metrics to identify fake reviews and enhance the user experience. Now let’s understand 3 common situations when Google can consider reviews on your profile as scams.
3 Situations When Google Can Consider A Review A Scam
Many businesses engage in multiple activities with the aim of increasing the number of reviews on their GMB profile. But some methods can do more harm than good, and you must avoid them. Here are a few of them:
1. Review Swapping
Review swapping is a practice where businesses or individuals exchange positive reviews for each other's products, services, or establishments. Google can consider this practice as review manipulation and identify such reviews to be scams and fake.
2. Review Spamming
Review spamming is when many individuals start flooding a business listing with many reviews in a shorter time frame. Since Google’s algorithms can identify such patterns, Google removes those reviews from a GMB profile.
3. Review Automation
Review automation involves using bots or automated systems to generate multiple reviews for a business. Google can easily detect such reviews and label them as fake on the grounds of violating its review policies.
These are just a few situations, but apart from them, there can be many examples where Google identifies reviews generated on your GMB profile as fake.
Therefore, adding reviews via safer methods is necessary if you want to add genuine reviews that can help you improve your profile’s ranking while also abiding by Google’s policies.
5 Safe Methods To Get More Genuine Reviews
The following methods are safe ways to add genuine reviews to your business profile. Also, they are practical, budget-friendly, and effective, and they can even let you pass Google’s review detection tests.
1. Create and share a review link directly
You can generate a unique link to your Google review page and share it with customers for easy access. This will help you collect more genuine reviews from your customers.
2. Display review QR codes
Another method you can try to add more reviews is creating and displaying ‘Leave Us A Review’ cards with QR codes in your business’s physical location or on your business's official website. Your customers can scan the code and easily add their reviews.
3. Send personalized emails
You can also follow up with your customers via personalized review request emails after they have bought something from you. Once they reach home, this review request can prompt them to share their genuine feedback directly with your business.
4. Make more in-person requests
An in-person request is the simplest method to add more genuine reviews. Whenever a customer visits your business in person, ask him politely to share his feedback online. You can hand out your leave us a review card which he can scan later.
5. Offer small incentives and discounts
You can also offer small incentives and discounts on future purchases of those customers who add reviews to your profile after their purchase. However, ensure to provide only those incentives that are not against Google’s policies.
Final Thoughts: Prevent Scams With Genuine Providers
Google Reviews have a larger impact than just boosting your business profile ranking. They enhance your reputation, increase footwalls to your business, and, in the long term, help you win your customers' trust.
Therefore, you must choose safer methods to collect more reviews for your business profile that are not only within Google's guidelines but also budget-friendly.
Many online platforms are providing Google review services and helping businesses generate real and authentic reviews for their business profile from real and active accounts. One such website is BuyReviewz.com, providing location-specific, genuine reviews at competitive prices.
You can try out such genuine providers to prevent paid Google review scams and add only genuine reviews to your business profile.
FAQs
1. How to be safe from paid Google review scams?
To steer clear of paid Google review scams, stick to trusted sources, carefully assess reviews for credibility, and focus on quality rather than quantity. Also, you must report any suspicious behavior to Google promptly.
2. Is it legal to invest in gaining Google reviews?
Yes, but you must invest with an authentic service provider who can help you add genuine reviews tailored to your profile type and provide reviews that can pass Google’s detection tests.
3. Why do businesses buy Google reviews?
Businesses purchase reviews to easily improve their ranking on Google’s local search results. Since gaining Google reviews can take time and consistent effort, they invest and buy genuine reviews instead.
4. Is getting paid for Google reviews a scam?
If someone's offering money for a Google review, it's likely a scam. So always get authentic reviews by asking real customers or using reputable review services for your Google My Business profile.
5. Is gaining Google reviews worth it?
It is totally worth it only when you are buying reviews from a genuine service provider. Those authentic reviews can help you influence your potential customers and win their trust.