Buying anything online heavily determines whether the customer can spot fake reviews written for it. These days, online reviews are essential to helping customers make a decision about whether to buy a product. With online shopping becoming the norm, consumers need to have an idea of the quality of a product before spending their money on it.
In fact, studies have shown that online reviews impact 93% of consumer purchasing decisions. Unfortunately, fake reviews have also infiltrated the internet, which is unfair to customers.
How To Spot Fake Reviews
Luckily, there is a way to spot fake reviews and ensure that you don’t get bamboozled. To learn how to tell if reviews are fake or not, keep reading the information below to spot fake reviews.
Types of Fake Reviewers
A big part of knowing how to spot fake reviews is understanding why someone might leave one. There are a few categories of people who use phony feedback to their advantage.
So how can readers spot fake reviews written intentionally to sell a product? Here are a few of them.
Business Owners
Some business owners are not honest. They’ll create fake profiles and leave reviews themselves to generate more customers. That’s right, you might buy an item from a retailer who writes their own commentary just to get more sales.
Lying Customers
Sometimes customers can also exaggerate a negative experience. For instance, if a company doesn’t give them a refund or if something else happens that they don’t like, they’ll lie about the product.
Not only that, but some individuals are professional scammers. They’ll do whatever they need to get a discount or something for free.
Family and Friends
Many fake online reviews come from the loved ones of business owners. They’ll go online and comment positively on a company’s products or services. The problem with this is that the feedback isn’t genuine, and it’s written out of loyalty, not legitimacy.
Vendors
Some companies purchase both positive and negative online reviews from vendors. If a business doesn’t go on its website itself to leave a comment, it will pay an outside source to do it. This practice is cruel and unfair to potential customers.
Former Employees
Disgruntled employees also sometimes write fake reviews. If an ex-employee is upset with a company, they’ll write negative comments in retaliation. Unfortunately, this happens from time to time, which makes getting genuine feedback much harder.
Current Employees
Current employees also leave phony reviews. An employer may instruct their workers to add positive commentary as part of their job. Even if that particular employee doesn’t believe in the product or like it, they’ll do it if their boss asks them to.
Current Customers
Another common practice that business owners do is to have their customers write fake reviews. Many of them offer discounts to consumers if they leave a positive comment about a product or service.
The problem with this is that the customer usually has to leave feedback before they’ve had a chance to use the item.
This is an issue because even if the customer doesn’t have a positive experience, they’ll leave a good review just to get a lower price.
The Problem With Fake Reviews
Fake online reviews are a huge problem, and consumers must wake up. The issue has gotten so out of hand that many people are getting deceived into purchasing or not purchasing an item based on lies.
As previously stated, many consumers heavily depend on online feedback to help them make a decision. However, if they are bombarded with unauthentic opinions about a product, they aren’t able to make sound choices.
Internet shopping is the new norm, and without the luxury of seeing a product before buying it, word of mouth is the next best thing.
What’s the Reason For Fake Online Reviews?
With all of the hypocrisy happening on the internet, you might be thinking, “What’s the purpose of all of this”? Well, there’s power in online reviews. According to studies, 94% of internet shoppers stated that a negative review convinced them not to purchase from a company.
With that said, below are a few reasons why reviews are vital to the success of a business and why it’s caused fake reviews to get out of hand.
Social Proof Creates Purchases: If a consumer can rely on the commentary of another buyer, they’re more willing to spend their money on the same item.
Makes the Business Appear Trustworthy: If a particular company is willing to post reviews for customers to see, then buyers are more likely to spend their money with them because it makes the company seem more trustworthy.
More Visibility: When a company has many reviews, it is ranked higher on search engines. Plenty of comments mean favored algorithms.
If a business ranks higher on search engines like Google and Bing, customers tend to believe that it is more reputable because it is more accessible.
Communication with Businesses: When customers leave comments on review platforms, they expect a response. Many times this is the only way for customers to express themselves, especially if they are disregarded by management or other company employees.
How to Spot Fake Reviews
You may wonder if it’s possible to tell the difference between fake and legitimate online reviews. Well, spotting a bogus review isn’t as hard as you might think, and there are ways to avoid the lies.
Below are the telltale signs of fake reviews:
1. Pay Attention to the Spelling and Grammar
Many times, fake reviews are outsourced. That means a content mill has hired writers to write fake online reviews. But that doesn’t mean that an actual consumer won’t misspell a word or have grammar errors.
However, if the person is hired from another country, the review will likely be written in poor English. Also, real customers will express their opinions about a product in a certain manner. So, if the way the review is written doesn’t seem authentic, then it’s probably not.
2. Try to Find Verified Purchases
Some review websites include verified purchases. If you see an opinion about a product as an unverified purchase, there’s a chance that it’s probably fake. That’s not always the case, but if you’re looking for a legitimate review, it’s an incentive to know that the person actually bought the item.
3. Do a Little Digging
Another great way to spot fake reviews is by looking at the commenter’s profile. There are many professional reviewers on the internet who are given money or free products in exchange for bogus opinions.
When you come across a five-star rating, look at some of the other product critiques that they’ve given. If all their feedback is positive and five stars, their reviews are probably fake.
4. Check Out the Names
As previously stated, offshore companies purchase many fake online reviews in bulk that pay people to write fake product feedback. In this case, the commenters will usually have very standard names on their profiles like John Smith or Jane Smith. If you see that type of name, it’s probably a bogus review.
That’s not to say that an actual customer might not have the name John Smith, but it’s not likely. In addition to standard names, look for profiles titled with numbers and letters only. That’s one of the easiest ways to spot fake reviews.
5. Look for Profile Pictures
Everyone isn’t comfortable with putting up their picture online just to leave a comment about a product. However, a photo attached to an online review is usually legitimate if it’s an actual picture and not a stock photo.
In addition to profile pictures, also look to see if a person has uploaded photos of the product. Many times consumers will show pictures of the item as well.
6. Watch Out for Phrase Repetition
If you’re wondering how to spot fake reviews like a pro, then check for repetitious phrases. As you’re looking through several reviews, check to see if the same words or phrases are used. Many big companies instruct their counterfeit customers to use keywords and other phrases as a way to draw more traffic to a particular product.
7. Lack of Details
Another sign of a phony review is if the feedback is too vague. A person who has actually used a product will have plenty to say about it. If you see a five-star rating that doesn’t provide any specifics, then most likely, it’s a sham. When reading through reviews, rely on the ones that provide enough information to help you make an informed decision.
8. Watch Out for First Person Pronouns
Legitimate critique about an item will include information about the product, not the reviewer. If the feedback you’re reading has many “I” and “me” in the review, it’s probably unreliable. An individual who hasn’t used a product doesn’t know how to describe it.
For instance, a falsified review will probably say basic statements like “I love this product!” and nothing else. On the other hand, a legitimate comment will say, “I love this product because…”.
Not to mention, when a person is truly happy with something they’ve bought, they tend to expound on it and rave about their satisfaction with it.
9. Only Good Feedback
Sometimes a product is incredible and the purchaser has nothing negative to say. However, that’s rare. One of the best ways to spot fake reviews is to see if the commenter only has positive feedback. When most customers receive an item that they are satisfied with, they’ll explain why they like the product and speak about something that they didn’t like.
For example, they may state,” This cabinet looks great in my kitchen, but I thought the color would be different.” Or they might say,” These cabinets are absolutely gorgeous, but the package arrived a day late.” When you notice statements like that, you know that the person is being honest and unbiased.
10. Pay Close Attention to Timing
If you really want to know how to tell if reviews are fake, take a look at the time stamp. When you’re reading through the comments, if a particular person has written several reviews quickly, that’s an indication that they’re a fraud. Especially if all of the comments are completely positive or completely negative.
11. All Negative Commentary
Another issue to pay attention to is negative reviews. Not all fake feedback is positive.
Sometimes a competitor might have bad criticism put on their competition’s website to throw off customers. Take some time to scroll through the commenter’s profile to see what type of reviews they’re leaving overall.
12. Read Reviews on Reputable Sites
A great way to avoid fake online reviews is to read feedback on websites like Trustpilot. This kind of website ensures that you’re getting the best information. It also provides a breakdown of the percentage of excellent reviews compared to the ones that were bad.
13. Talk to Other Reviewers
When you don’t want to make the wrong decision about purchasing a product, contact other reviewers. If it’s a legitimate customer who has bought the item, chances are they’ll respond to you.
However, if it’s a fraudster, you won’t get a reply. Reaching out to other consumers allows you to get more details on the item before making the purchase.
Avoid Cabinet Website Fake Reviews
Hopefully, this information about how to spot fake reviews will help you have a better shopping experience. Look no further if you are searching for a trustworthy online cabinet retailer.
Bestonlinecabinets.com has a variety of cabinet designs for your kitchen. Our inventory also includes other home accessories like sinks, knobs, bathroom vanities, and more.
To read credible, unbiased opinions about our products, feel free to browse through our testimonials. Furthermore, if you have any questions for us call 626-614-8975.
We look forward to helping you give your home a makeover!
