How to Buy Reviews? I Why you Shouldn’t Buy Reviews I How to get Reviews Instead? I
It’s important to garner as many google reviews as possible for your company if you want to establish a solid reputation among consumers. Countless studies have shown the impact a Google review can have on purchase decisions for the consumer.
However, buying Google reviews can come at a cost – and not just a financial one.
The temptation to cave in and pay for Google reviews for your business is much greater when you don’t do so well or have many one-star ratings. This is why so many companies these days assist with buying Google reviews, which means they will hire people to post glowing reviews anonymously.
How to buy Google Reviews?
Buying Google reviews is unfortunately easy to do, which means businesses have a simple way to boost their online reputation even if their services aren’t up to par.
If you’re curious about the process of buying Google reviews, it’s as straightforward as conducting a Google search query. All you’d have to do is load up Google or another search engine, type in ‘buy Google reviews’, and then you’ll be presented with a variety of options.
Many companies out there allow you to artificially boost your online reputation, offering up positive Google reviews in exchange for money.
Another popular way to purchase Google reviews is to head to freelance platforms or forums and offer a small sum of money for people to write a review for your business.
Why you Shouldn’t Buy Google Reviews
There are many reasons why you place a lot of importance on getting Google reviews for your company, but buying them isn’t the way to go.
The risks associated with doing so are significant, and unless you are comfortable operating under false pretenses, they aren’t worth it. While it may seem like a shortcut to success, the chances are it will end up doing you more harm than good when all is said and done.
Google’s Guidelines
If you care at all about adhering to the Google Guidelines – which you should – then you’ll know it’s best not to try and cheat the system. If you’re not clear on the guidelines, you should read up on them now.
If you are caught trying to post fake content or using multiple accounts to trick consumers into believing false reviews, then the consequences will be severe.
While sites like Yelp will simply make the consumer aware of fake reviews, Google goes a step further and removes the listing from its website.
Trouble with the FTC
The FTC, which is short for Federal Trade Commission, created an Act that was made to crack down on anyone caught buying Google reviews. That means if you are caught in the act, you’ll not only have your listing removed by Google, but you could also face further disciplinary action from the FTC.
Just to give you an idea of how severe this punishment can be, the FTC once issued an enormous $12.8 million fine for a company guilty of using fake online reviews to boost its reputation in the eyes of its consumers.
While we don’t know your company’s financial health, however good the books look, a hefty fine could put a large dent in its finances.
Dubious Effectiveness
While Google reviews are trusted by many consumers, buying fake ones isn’t guaranteed to pay off. In fact, one of the biggest issues with buying fake reviews is that they are so obviously fake that they can easily be seen through by consumers.
All it takes is a few suspicious-looking reviews for your company to be flagged, and if you have a large customer base, the chances of them being noticed are high.
Plus, you could argue that any positive effect you get from having more reviews for your company is nullified by the lack of real feedback you get from consumers.
With little constructive criticism, how can you expect to improve your product or services?
It can ruin your reputation
If you want your budding business to flourish, then you shouldn’t give in to the temptation to cheat your way to success.
True growth takes time.
While it might be frustrating to make slow progress, deciding to buy Google reviews will not only land you in hot water, but it can also permanently damage your company’s reputation.
It’s true that reviews can be very important for the success of a business, but there are many ways to collect them that don’t involve outright purchasing them.
If you take the immoral option now and buy Google reviews, you’re starting off on the wrong foot, and who knows what further decisions that could lead to – all of which could spell bad news for your company.
If buying Google reviews can do irreparable harm to everything you’ve built up until now, you have to ask yourself: is it really worth the risk?
Consumers can spot a fake review
Consumers aren’t naive.
While many fall prey to marketing tactics when it comes to making purchase decisions, this doesn’t mean you can fool them with fake reviews.
The more discerning customers will see right through any attempt to buy Google reviews, and if this happens, you’d better hope they don’t speak up about it.
Think about it: if you saw a product listed on an online retailer like Amazon and it had fifty five-star reviews, without so much as a single negative comment, would you be suspicious?
Maybe not, but the truth is that buying Google reviews is more common than you might think, so even if you don’t think it will look sketchy, there are many consumers who simply won’t trust that the reviews are legitimate.
If you buy Google reviews from an online company or from an individual, they aren’t likely to say anything bad about the product or service you offer. Yet, entirely positive reviews aren’t all that common, so this can look suspicious.
In some cases, believe it or not, consumers like to see a negative comment here and there just to know that these are real people writing the reviews, and real people tend to find faults with the products they use.
Even if you do manage to fall the majority of customers, the risk isn’t worth it, since you are putting your company’s reputation on the line.
How can you get Google Reviews the right way?
There’s no denying the power of Google reviews to change a business’s fortunes and increase sales dramatically.
But instead of stooping as low as to buy fake reviews, you should earn them the right way.
If you take this approach, not only will you be able to keep your online reputation intact, but you will also be able to take comfort in the fact that you are committing to ethical business practices.
If you care at all about the customer experience, then you have to get Google reviews the right way.
There are several ways to earn Google reviews authentically, and this will yield real feedback from consumers that you can use to improve your business.
- Email Your Way to New Reviews
One of the most reliable ways to get new reviews is to request them through email marketing. If you know when the best time to contact consumers is, then you have a good chance of converting their interest in your product into a positive review. Generally speaking, Saturday is the best day to email the consumer, and the hours of 2-3 pm and 6-7 pm are most fruitful.
In the email, you must keep the message concise. You are writing to convert, so you want to get to the point as quickly as possible while you still have the customer’s attention. To do so, you can incorporate a link to your Google review site and sprinkle in a few CTAs (Call To Action) along the way.
Or you could direct the customer straight to your Google My Business page, where they can leave a review.
- Use Google My Business
Google My Business (GMB) is an excellent tool for acquiring new reviews, and you can make the most of the Marketing Kit to appeal to the consumer.
The Kit has everything you need to convert a consumer’s interest in your product or service into a review, such as stickers, social posts, and posters.
Final Thoughts
While, yes, buying Google reviews seems like a great shortcut to financial success for your business, it can have severe consequences.
That’s why you should rely on your ability to deliver such an outstanding service to the consumer that they have no choice other than to leave a glowing five-star review.
Take the time to read through the reviews customers leave for your business, and respond to them. Learn from the negative ones, and you can even turn them into a positive for your business.
