Businesses 'should not fabricate reviews' for SEO purposes

14:45 19th February 2010

Businesses have been warned that it is not a good idea to post fake reviews of their products or services online in order to show their company in a positive light in search engine results pages.

Although it may be tempting for businesses to try to use fabricated reviews to boost their site's search engine optimisation, this digital marketing strategy should be avoided, it has been stated.

Mike Ramsey, the owner of Nifty Marketing, told Search Engine Journal that fake reviews were one of two unforgivable search engine optimisation (SEO) strategies, with the other being to hijack a listing for another company.

"Do not fabricate fake reviews or the local SEO gods will beat you like a red-headed stepchild and drop you from visibility (No offence to any red-headed stepchildren)," he commented.

Mr Ramsey advised businesses to look through the reviews of their products and find a way to contact the people who had left them.

By doing this, a positive relationship between the consumer and a company can be established and a loyal audience built up over time.

Shama Kabani, the author of The Zen of Social Media Marketing, recently told the Sydney Morning Herald that companies could avoid getting bad reviews from consumers by establishing a conversation with them through social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter.ADNFCR-2033-ID-19625589-ADNFCR

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