How To Spot Fake Google Reviews?

Google reviews is a great platform that is designed to benefit users from real life experiences of other users. Google reviews can be useful when there is a need to gain information about any business, shop, restaurant, hotel, hospital school, tourist destination and various other places. However, as Google reviews has gained prominence, it is now facing challenges in terms of fake reviews being posted by paid reviewers. If you went to a 4-5 star rated restaurant and did not find the food as appetizing as described in Google reviews, it is possible that some of the reviews may be fake.

We are sure that Google is tracking reviews and removing spam wherever relevant. However, it may not be possible even for Google to trace each and every fake review being posted. In such a situation, it makes us wonder how reliable are google reviews. And what can we do to spot fake google reviews? For that, here’s what you can do to spot fake google reviews.

Length of reviews – People providing fake google reviews may not be getting paid top dollars. So, usually the review content will be limited to just a single line or few words. Some fake reviews may also be totally out of context. This can be an indication of fake google reviews. However, there are other factors too that need to be considered.

Check negative and newest reviews first – To really know about bad experiences associated with an entity, you need to read negative reviews first as well as newest reviews. You will notice that negative reviews are often quite detailed with all the relevant information.

Check reviewer’s profile – You can click on the reviewer’s profile to know their review history. In case of paid or fake reviews, you will notice that many reviewers have blocked access to their other reviews. This is done deliberately to hide their tracks. Such reviewers will have posted fake reviews for various other entities, which is why they block access to their review history. The message you will see in their profile section is “This user hasn’t written any reviews yet or has chosen not to display them.” If you see such a message, the review has a high chance of being fake.

Frequency and location of reviews – Some fake reviewers forget to block their review history. In such cases, you can see how often they post reviews. If you see multiple reviews in a single day, it may indicate towards fake reviews. The suspicion is even greater if the reviews cover entities in different cities and locations, all within a small time period. Also watch out for reviews that are posted from location other than the location of the entity being reviewed.

It is to note that not all google reviews are fake. The above things can apply to genuine reviewers as well. There will be also cases where rivals or customers may post negative reviews without any proper reason. You have to consider multiple clues to understand which google reviews are potentially fake and which are genuine. We hope google too will improve its system, or else google reviews will completely lose their relevance.