Fake Reviews: How Big a Problem Exactly?

You’ve undoubtedly heard it many times: Roughly 90% of customers read online reviews before buying – online or off. Nearly as many people also report they “trust online reviews as much as recommendations from friends and family.” But should they? There’s so much review manipulation happening. And it’s why fake reviews are a growing problem, despite some improvement in review policing by the major platforms.

Uberall partnered with The Transparency Company to analyze four million reviews on the top U.S. local review platforms: Google, Yelp, Facebook and Tripadvisor. Thye looked at 19 popular local service categories, in the top 19 US media markets. We selected verticals such as dentists, marketing agencies, contractors, locksmiths, hotels, restaurants, lawyers and others to reflect a mix of familiar and high-profile verticals. Check out The State of Online Review Fraud. (email wall )