Imagine that you are a business owner, and you receive an email alert advising you that you have received a new review. You click on the email only to discover that the reviewer is not only one of your customers but that the review is fake. While you flag review and wait for Google to …
Yelp should have slapped a consumer alert warning on the Yelp listing for SNS Nails & Spa. SNS got caught, offering a 20% discount in exchange for Yelp and Google reviews. On October 1st, 2020, a Yelp representative advised me that this practice violates its Terms of Service. If this is a violation, why didn’t …
Did employees of Stadium Dental in St Joseph, Michigan, retaliated against one negative complaint by leaving several negative Google reviews? That is the complaint I received from a fellow dentist. The dentist in question alleges that she received three negative reviews after she complained about the services she received from Stadium Dental. Her Google listing …
I have received 3 complaint emails regarding Dan the PC Man in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The first complaint came on March 12th, 2019. I was initially alerted to fraudulent activities regarding Dan the PC Man’s Google reviews. I was unable to find any evidence to prove that the reviews were fake or fraudulent. I have …
I was excited about the release of the Yelp documentary Billion Dollar Bully. I have never bought a digital movie before. I knew I was not going to watch it just one time. I was so right. My first time through was to take it all in. But I had mixed feelings on my first …
I have been binge-watching the old TV series, “The Cleaner.” If you haven’t seen it, it is based on the real-life story of recovered drug addict Warren Boyd and his calling to help people recover from the battle with addiction. Mr. Boyd has a real passion for helping people get clean. There are others who see addiction treatment as a …
Did you happen to catch ReviewFraud on The Today Show or on NBC Nightly News last week, February 27th, 2019? The segment featured fake reviews on Amazon, Facebook, Yelp, and Google. Gadi Schwartz even created a fake Facebook page and purchased fake likes and reviews for his non-existent business. The story aired in every time …
I am a huge fan of cop shows and am currently binge watching Justified. I just finished season one and you if haven’t watch it, I highly recommend it. I finding myself rooting for the main character Raylan Givens and his brand of justice. The first episode starts off Raylan confronting a villain that we …
It was nice to see Google CEO Sundar Pichai testify on Capitol Hill in December. Sadly the committee asked the wrong questions. Pichai needed to be asked about protecting consumers on their platform. Google doesn’t allow businesses to use PO Boxes for their GMB listings, then why are spammers able to continue to create these …
I was having lunch the other day with a colleague in the SEO space and we were talking life, clients marketing, and online reviews. If you know me or following me online you know I have a lot to say about reviews and the need to police it. I don’t discuss politics as that doesn’t …