An Uberall-The Transparency Company study has revealed that fake online reviews are a growing issue for brands and consumers alike.
About 67% of consumers are concerned about review fraud, even if most people fail to identify fake reviews. The study of four million reviews across 19 popular local businesses categories in the US revealed that 70% of customers prefer Google for local business reviews.
At 10.7%, Google also had the highest average percentage of fake reviews across business categories. Yelp (7.1%), Tripadvisor (5.2%) and Facebook (4.9%) follow Google.
Especially since nearly 90% of online customers refer to reviews before making a purchase, ensuring high-quality and positive reviews is crucial for businesses. Brands should use machine learning and AI tools to cut down on the fraud review menace. Similarly, verification systems can be helpful to check if actual customers are reviewing the businesses.
[3 minute read]
