Online shopping has exploded in popularity in the last decade. Consumers use the power of online shopping to get great prices and avoid large crowds. As most entrepreneurs know, there will be bumps along the way when trying to grow and expand an online-based business. Having positive reviews is a great way for an e-commerce site to boost consumer confidence. Using fake reviews to boost the visibility for an e-commerce site is a bad idea for a variety of different reasons. Also, having fake bad reviews written about a company can lead to a variety of problems and a decline in consumer confidence.

Spotting a Fake Review

When consumers are in need of a reputable e-commerce store, they will seek out reviews about the companies they are considering. For consumers who take the time to read these reviews, learning how to spot a fake one is essential. Spotting a fake review is easy when considering the following factors:

• Focus on the Language Being Used – The first thing a consumer needs to take note of when reading an online review is the language used. If the review is excessively negative or positive, it may be fake. Generally, reviews will be rather moderate in their tone and devoid of industry jargon.
• The Emotion Being Conveyed – The overwhelming majority of real reviews will focus more on the value the product adds rather than the laundry list of features it possesses. When a review only lists features of a product and not how the person used it in their daily life, it will usually be a fake.
• Check Out the Reviewer – If a consumer suspects a review is fake, they may want to take the time to dig a bit deeper. Taking the time to look at the online profile of the reviewer can provide a consumer with all of the information needed. If the reviewer has consistently posted the same type of text on a variety of reviews, they are probably being paid to do so.

How to Combat Fake Reviews

One of the best ways to get rid of fake reviews is by holding businesses who use them accountable. If these companies were outed for this horrible business practice, chances are their reputation would take a hit. Powerful search engines like Google use IP tracking to spot fake reviews. If a particular IP address is flagged for fake review violations, then any website using them will be penalized.

Getting Real Reviews and Testimonials

The main reason why some businesses buy fake reviews is due to their inability to get actual testimonials from customers. When learning how to build an e-commerce website, you will need to focus on finding tools that make it easy for customers to leave testimonials. There are a number of things an e-commerce website owner can do to increase the amount of actual reviews and testimonials they get.

The first thing to consider when trying to increase the amount of actual reviews a site gets is how easy it is for customers to leave feedback. If users of an e-commerce site have to hunt too hard for a review form, then they will usually give up in a fairly short amount of time. Making it easier for customers to leave this type of feedback will help to increase the amount of actual reviews a business gets.

Fighting the negative effects of fake reviews is important for both consumers and e-commerce-based businesses. The last thing any business wants is to deceive their customers due to the mistrust this will create.