As covered in my previous column, online reviews have become one of the most powerful tools we’ve ever had to make informed purchases of merchandise and services. From choosing a tradesman, contractor, or restaurant to buying appliances and electronics, user-generated reviews give us visibility into other people’s experiences. They help democratize information and hold businesses accountable in a way that simply wasn’t possible before the Internet.
But online reviews are also comprised by manipulation, deception, and automation. These days a company’s review ratings can make or break it, and managing their reviews has become an industry onto itself. That’s because whenever we’re searching for a new service, such as a plumber, construction company, roofer or appliance repairman, the first thing we do is go to a ratings site and pick the companies with the highest ratings.
A study by an FTC economist found that not all platforms measure business quality equally. On Google, Facebook, and HomeAdvisor, low-quality businesses based on the number of consumer complaints still tended to have relatively high star ratings — on average around 3.5 stars — compared with Yelp and Better Business Bureau scores, where poor businesses showed much lower ratings. Yelp’s review text tended to be longer and more detailed, while nearly half of Google reviews contained fewer than 100 characters, with many having no text at all.
A 2025 industry analysis found that among reviews, roughly 10.7% on Google, and 7.1% on Yelp are fake or manipulated. Smaller but significant rates were found on TripAdvisor and Facebook. And much of this is before the use of AI, a new source of manipulation.
In August 2024, the FTC finalized a new rule that bans the buying or selling of fake reviews, prohibits a business from posting or soliciting reviews from non-customers or insiders, and outlaws suppressing negative feedback or misrepresenting controlled sites as independent review sources. Violators can now face civil penalties, although its unclear how well these rules will be enforced.
Despite the rules, savvy businesses and scammers continue to use a variety of deceptive techniques to manipulate reviews: Some companies offer incentives (discounts, freebies, or cash) in exchange for positive reviews, or pay third-party services to generate the reviews for them.
On several occasions, the sellers of product I purchased on Amazon have contacted me, asking for a review, or asking that I remove a poor review in exchange for a refund or free gift. I’ve not accepted, because it’s unethical and a violation of Amazon’s rule that could lead to the termination of your account. (However, leaving a bad review is one way to get the attention of a seller if you need them to fix a problem.)
Scammers often create clusters of fake reviewer accounts or employ botsto rapidly inflate ratings. These patterns often come with many reviews posted in short bursts or from newly created accounts.
In this example below of a hot new San Diego restaurant, whose ratings have been less than expected, note that the latest cluster of reviews are all new accounts with very few prior reviews (the center number under reviewer’s name), and they were all posted around the same date. Now it may just be a coincidence, but maybe not. When using Yelp, I always change the sort option from Yelp sort to Latest, so I’m seeing the most recent reviews.
Newest First
Companies also use another more extreme method to up their ratings: acquire or rename a struggling business to escape their low review scores, effectively increasing their rating.
I experienced this when calling a plumber I had used for years and found a different company answered called Goettle answered their phone. I checked their reviews before asking them to unclog a bathroom drain. My experience with them was a disaster. They tried trying to convince me to repipe my home, saying the drain stoppage was under the house. (It wasn’t; a secong plumber unclogged it in five minutes.)That’s when I looked more carefully at the dates on Goettle’s reviews and realized that when they purchased the first company, they rolled their reviews into theirs, giving them much higer rating. Checking reviews by date showed the great ones from the acquired company and the bad ones from their current operation. A year later, after receiving many one star reviews, their Yelp page now directs you to another company they bought, using the new name, and that companies stash of good reviews.
I’ve learned that there’s no perfect review platform, but some are generally more trustworthy than others if used carefully:
Yelp: Generally features longer, more detailed reviews with text required alongside star ratings. It also applies automated filters and moderation to diminish low-quality or fake content. Earlier in their history some complained they would more likely remove or highlight reviews based on whether the business had a paid account, but they seem to be better now.
Better Business Bureau: Provides not just ratings but detailed complaint histories and resolution records, giving insight beyond simple stars. Some say it’s no longer objective and is influenced by membership revenue.
Google Reviews: Ubiquitous and convenient, but star ratings alone can be misleading without substantive text. Still Google reviews are much better for international use and, cimbined with Google maps, is a great way to locate the highest rated restaurants and hotels nearby the location you specify.
Industry Specific: For travel, Trip Advisor, and for home service, Angi, HomeAdvisor, Thumbtack, etc.
Check a couple of platforms. If a business has similar praise (or consistent complaints) on Yelp, Google, BBB, and niche sites, that convergence is more meaningful than a single site’s rating.
Look for reviewers with a history of varied, authentic posts. Accounts with one or two reviews — especially all highly positive — are suspicious. On Yelp you can click on the reviewer and see their other reviews and know whether they are constant complainers or balanced and thoughtful.
Be skeptical of extremes. Overwhelming positivity or trashing for a silly reason should raise eyebrows. Balanced reviews that mention strengths and weaknesses tend to be more reliable. ANd if scammers can use AI, so can we. Try asking AI for the best rated option and it often will check several rating sites and return a helpful answer.
Online reviews aren’t perfect, but their today’s best option by offering the insight of many that no salesperson, ad, or label ever could.
