Why real reviews matter more than fake ones

Reviews are the reason many people open NorgeGuide. They help people choose a restaurant, a garage or a hotel. But they only work as long as they are real. Here we explain why, and what we do to keep them real.

What is a fake review?

• a review a business writes about itself, or asks staff and friends to write
• a review a competitor writes to cause harm
• a review that is bought, or written in exchange for gifts or discounts without this being made clear
• text copied from other websites

Why fake reviews harm everyone

• Customers are misled and make the wrong choice.
• Honest businesses lose out to those who cheat.
• When people discover cheating, they stop trusting all reviews, including the good and real ones.

Fake reviews are also illegal. Under the Norwegian Marketing Control Act and the guidance of the Consumer Authority (Forbrukertilsynet), user reviews must be genuine, and paid reviews must be kept apart from ordinary reviews.

How we keep reviews real

• Every review is linked to a Google account. Anonymous reviews are not possible.
• Our moderators read every review before it is published.
• Reviews of your own business, of competitors and paid reviews are not published.
• Positive and negative reviews follow the same rules.

We do not check a receipt or booking for each review. So we cannot guarantee that every author used the service. If you see a review that looks fake, you can report it, see How to complain about an unfair or fake review. All the rules are in Review Moderation.

For businesses: how to get real reviews

• Ask happy customers to write about their own visit, in their own words.
• Do not give gifts or discounts in exchange for good reviews.
• Take criticism seriously and fix what is wrong. People notice over time.

Payment never changes reviews or rankings. We do not remove honest negative reviews for money. Read more in Does payment affect rankings and reviews? and How the Rankings Work.

Related

• How to write a review
• How to complain about an unfair or fake review
• Does payment affect rankings and reviews?
• Review Moderation
• How the Rankings Work

Sources

• Norwegian Marketing Control Act, markedsføringsloven (lovdata.no)
• Forbrukertilsynet: User reviews in marketing, short version, in Norwegian (forbrukertilsynet.no)