Don’t fake those reviews
Lifestyle Lift, a Michigan based cosmetic surgery company with 32 centers nationwide has settled a lawsuit brought by the New York Attorney General and will pay $300,000 in penalties for requiring their employees to write fake positive reviews about the company.
Astroturfing as this technique has come to be known is now receiving a critical eye from state attorney generals. Andrew Cuomo, New York’s state attorney general said in regards to the Lifestyle Lift case, that the “attempt to generate business by duping consumers was cynical, manipulative and illegal.”
Reviews on sites like Yelp, Citysearch, Amazon, etc. have become increasingly more important as consumers seek out biased free consumer reviews of products and companies they are thinking of doing business with. Knowing this the temptation for a company to write glowing reviews on their own business or product is becoming ever greater. However, with the Lifestyle Lift settlement companies need to think twice before they write their own reviews, not to mention that consumers are becoming savvier at spotting fake reviews.
Knowing the importance of reviews, especially in the local search market, we are encouraging our clients to seek reviews from existing customers by asking for them for a review and showing them where they can go to write a review.
Speak Your Mind
Tell us what you're thinking...
and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!
