Always a window of opportunity but let the buyer beware!

@Dennis
I doubt that the client is totally innocent but he may or may not be aware that he is breaking the law.

@Chris
Anybody that uses deception to get an SMB’s business is fair game. Whether that is Yelp or Roland. I did think long and hard about calling out the client more overtly and decided that a no follow link would be the most appropriate way for everyone to fully understand how this system was implemented.

@Darren

I agree that there is no reason to spend this kind of money but I assume that the businesses that “fall” for it, might have some larceny in their hearts as well.

Roland, in pitching me, was quite clear as to how they worked. Clearly the businesses that buy in, understand that and view it as “value”. That perhaps is a bigger tragedy.

Whilst it’s certainly true that there are algorithms that are being created to stop this I think it will always be a case where some people are able to trick them and get away with fake reviews. It’s madenning.

In the book industry for example John Locke was caught buying fake reviews but it didn’t hurt his sales rank one bit and even now he has thousands of reviews of his books that remain on there. It’s almost as if because he was just a good seller he was too big to fail.

$300/month. $3600/year. Using someone or one’s at fivrr that gets you about 720 reviews…which is a lot for most entitities.

Oh jeez. Scam after scam after scam. And expensive too.

BTW: I was looking in depth at reviews on G+ for a business with which we compete. I’m sure an earlier group of them were “designed by a marketing firm”. Every single one is terse, well written, and the read as a body of reviews they address every concern a buyer might have…each one tackling a different concern.

Many months (moons) passed. They are generating them again. Recently they published one that had more marketing elements all around it. They added some commentary in that one “of several” that just can’t be true.

but they are getting them out there. Clearly there are ways to ‘spam” google’s review filter.

…and so scammers like this guy will get business. Alas.

Thanks for addressing this.

LOL at the comments.

Mike is the top leader in this industry and is an advocate for ethical best practices in local search. So that’s his only agenda. He needs no defending, because HIS reputation is as high as you can get.

However YOUR reputation is not helped by the comments you are making here pretending to be JACKIE and Barbara.

“…and it is only being sent to the clients of the business… Once they gather the reviews, they submit it to online local directories with the permission of the reviewer.”

The point is, even if real customers, the way you are doing it is a violation of Google’s guidelines and is not allowed. Also prohibited on many other review sites as well.

Hey Mike, Great Article,
And timely too. I caught on to the whole “padded review phenom” about a year ago. I didn’t find out that it had an official name until yesterday. And I didn’t realize that it was an INDUSTRY until today. I believe that anyone who creates feedback or reviews for (or against) a business that is not based on an honest assesment of their personal experience should be censored. If they are doing it in return of payment, they should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. I think everyone pretty much knows that you can’t believe everything you read on-line. However, that being said, most people tend to believe the in the authenticity of the reviews they read when it comes from a “member” of an on-line community that they belong to or frequent for reviews. A couple of un earned resteruant reviews on yelp might give you heartburn. But what a lot of these “Reputation Management” Service Providers” (RMSP) do (according to their promos) can be far more dangerous. A consumer that finds a negative remark or two on a business or a professional service they are thinking of hiring will usually take a harder look at the people or company in question. A good Company or Individual probably won’t need or use this kind of service, because they understand that a customer with a complaint is a potential customer for life and the best advertising they could hope to buy. But they (RMSP’s) are stacking the deck so much in their client’s favor, that the average person, even doing a fairly dilligent search may never see that the business or individual they thinking of using may very well be incompetent or even represent a threat to their person or property. This is because one of the services many RMSP provide is flooding the first pages of search engines with positive reviews, adverts and press releases, effectively burying the companies true track record. If its not “the Eastsides Best Chimachunga” , you take a couple alka-seltzers and call it good. But if it’s a contractor, mover , real estate agent, attorney or engineer the consequenses can be devastating.
Case in Point- I have family that suffered a house fire. One of the “restoration professionals” that showed while the house was burning took full advantage of the fact that they were in shock, offering them sympathy and guidance along with fancy color brochures touting their “50 Years of Experience” and “Solid Reputation” as an “Industry Leader”.

I did a web search the first night they were in a hotel and dug fairly deep.
The few negatives that did surface were for distant franchises and even they paled by comparison to the 4 and 5 star reviews, diamond certification and even local news stories about these “good guys”.

Of course, after they lost trashed or stole my kin’s home and posessions, they disappeared. But not before also taking nearly all of the Insurance Settlement. The homeowners are still without a home nearly a year later and are facing financial ruin. When these criminals started showing their true colors, I attempted to find out if they had done this to others, in part, to see about bringing them to justice. It was the result of months of in depth searching that happened me to come across “Reputation Managers” and this blog. Though I have learned a lot about this particular company and the industry to which they belong in general, accurate information has been extremely difficult to find even though I know what to look for. Had we been able to get the opinions of some of their former clients before we hired them, instead of after, we would not have hired them.

I can only surmise that this company spends an enormous amount of money on “Reputation Management and Protection”. I am wondering if you might know of any techniques for circumventing the methods they might be using to conceal their activities? I would appreciate it.

Thanks, Ursus.

I have something else I would like to ask but I am not sure it is appropriate to post here. IDK if you can PM me or not.