Starting a business? Running an online marketplace? This is a quick PSA to say: Don’t Pay for Reviews.
I know, I bet this sounds like common sense advice, but for some, the temptation may come knocking. Don’t compensate anyone to leave you a positive review. If you get any emails or offers to boost your reviews, you’re better off ignoring it. People who purchase reviews may initially get what they pay for, but the consequences will only ever come to haunt the buyer:
- Customers will figure it out. People are smart and will notice something is off, and then the business reputation will suffer.
- Websites have policies against paid reviews, and will levy punishments when they catch on. Amazon might remove listings or restrict a manipulated account. Yelp will put a warning label on pages with paid reviews. Google and Facebook will just terminate accounts using “fake engagement”. And appeals often go unanswered.
- The worst-case scenario would be if a business catches the attention of the FTC. While rare, no one would have a good time, answering to a government watchdog about deceptive business practices.
TL; DR: You are welcome to solicit reviews from your clients. Just don’t pay for them, or offer anything of value in exchange for reviews.
