In recent years, digital commerce has taken a big place in everyday life. It has been recorded that nearly 40 million French people shop online and that 83% of Americans do research online before going to a store. They also consult Google reviews to be more reassured about the quality of a product. As a result, customer reviews play an important role in the image of a brand or a company. Because of the importance of customer reviews, some buy them. However, this causes problems. Find out why you shouldn’t buy Google reviews. It is possible to buy reviews on google but it is still dangerous for your business. Find out how to manage your online reputation with Fast Reviews
The negative effects of buying customer reviews
Obtaining customer reviews on a Google My Business page improves your position on the search engine. If you do not collect the maximum number of reviews, it is not recommended to buy them, because you can be sanctioned by Google. You may also be answerable for your actions in court while seeing your brand image tarnished.
Google penalties for fake reviews
The practice of posting fake reviews is reprimanded by Google. Indeed, the publication of a comment that serves to manipulate the ratings of a place is prohibited. This will mislead other users. To sanction these false opinions, Google will delete them without sending notifications beforehand. Thus, as soon as it detects them, it will erase them. You will lose your money for buying these fake reviews. Moreover, these will not even be displayed.
In the event that you have made a large purchase of your reviews, Google may suspend your Google My Business listing. As a result, your income may drop and you will have to fight to get your page back.
Legal sanctions for buying reviews
Not only sanctioned by Google, the law also punishes the purchase of reviews. According to article L. 111–7–2 of the Consumer Code, all review managers must communicate the procedures for checking the reliability of the feedback published as well as the reasons which motivated the refusal of a publication to consumers. . Any misleading publication is therefore prohibited.
There is also the AFNOR NF Z74-501 standard which governs the regulation of customer reviews and the NF ISO 20488 standard to make online reviews more reliable. Thus, any misleading commercial practice is liable to a fine of €300,000. The leader could also receive a sentence of up to 2 years in prison.
Having a website is not enough to be visible in the digital world. Your site still needs to have good SEO through good content and positive customer reviews. These customer reviews are very important to improve the image of your company. Indeed, these are the impressions that a customer leaves on the internet about the service or product of a company. They serve as a showcase of the quality of a company for other Internet users. Today, nearly 95% of shoppers look at Google reviews before ordering. Discover in a few lines the importance of customer reviews.
To gain visibility
Google reviews allow you to gain more visibility. Indeed, thanks to the enriched extracts, these opinions will be put forward. This will increase your rankings in Google’s search engine results. Your site will be more attractive.
To improve SEO referencing
Google reviews allow you to optimize your SEO referencing. Indeed, the opinions and comments left by customers are reviewed and then indexed by the Google robot. If the reviews indicate the quality of your service and the quality of the customer experience, you will gain space in the search results.
To optimize the e-reputation of your company
Most consumers look at the opinions of other consumers before buying a product or requesting a service. Thanks to these reviews, customers can get an idea of the quality of services and products as well as the reputation of the company in question. Thus, positive reviews will give a good impression to potential buyers. In the same way, your business will have more added value.
To establish a relationship of trust between customers and the company
Google reviews are the impressions left by customers who have purchased from your business. By responding to these reviews, a relationship of trust is established between you and your customers. Reviews also build trust with Google. Thus, thanks to positive opinions, Google will certify your credibility and recommend you on search engines.
To boost turnover
Customer reviews are very important to encourage customers to make a purchase. Positive reviews will spread like word-of-mouth and will reassure undecided customers and encourage them to take action. Be aware that one in 4 customers passes to the purchase after consulting Google reviews. It is, therefore, a good option to increase turnover.
For some time now, people have been posting reviews on various platforms. These google reviews are of paramount importance for companies that abound on the web. Each positive or negative opinion takes pride of place on the web, so much so that some structures have made it their ultimate weapon. Nowadays, Google reviews are even used for SEO methods. These are elements that influence Internet users in their decisions.
That said, if you want to get better SEO, good advertising on the web, you have suitable solutions for that.
Why is it important to control your online reputation?
For retailers, the answer is obvious: negative reviews, especially if they go unanswered, hurt store performance.
Indeed, consumers consult online reviews before going to the store. Most importantly, they compare Google ratings of competing outlets. Thus, a lower rating than your local competitors can result in a drop in point-of-sale traffic of up to 58%. These are the figures that emerged from our WizVille/EasyPanel study on customer reviews.
In summary, having too many bad customer reviews on Google My Business is bad for your business.
You, therefore, have everything to gain by raising the bar by regaining control of your e-reputation. But, precisely, this is where it gets complicated because the control of e-reputation presents a paradox: is it really possible to control the image that others have and broadcast on your company?
