Yelp doesn't know if a review is truly legitimate or not but they employ algorithms to detect potentially fake reviews and the ones they flag as potentially fake are not factored into the score and hidden at the bottom of the reviews panel. Common triggers include brand new accounts with a single review and no other activity (friends, check-ins, etc.).
In the hotel industry, Tripadvisor has had to deal with the same issue with fraudulent reviews so other competitors have tried to enter the space with the concept of "verified reviews" only from folks who they know have stayed at the hotel. This is similar to Amazon's verified reviews since they tie back to purchase history.
I agree that 'verifying' the reviewer is a great idea. How would you do that? Amazon knows whether or not the reviewer bought the item; the Amazon ecosystem is somewhat closed.
How do those Tripadvisor competitors know who has really stayed in the hotel? How could Yelp do that without drying up the pool of reviewers too much?
I imagine it wouldn't be too difficult to verify a bad review... they hated the experience enough to write about it, I can't imagine scanning a copy of a receipt would be too much additional effort.
Comments
Yelp doesn't know if a review is truly legitimate or not but they employ algorithms to detect potentially fake reviews and the ones they flag as potentially fake are not factored into the score and hidden at the bottom of the reviews panel. Common triggers include brand new accounts with a single review and no other activity (friends, check-ins, etc.).
In the hotel industry, Tripadvisor has had to deal with the same issue with fraudulent reviews so other competitors have tried to enter the space with the concept of "verified reviews" only from folks who they know have stayed at the hotel. This is similar to Amazon's verified reviews since they tie back to purchase history.
I agree that 'verifying' the reviewer is a great idea. How would you do that? Amazon knows whether or not the reviewer bought the item; the Amazon ecosystem is somewhat closed.
How do those Tripadvisor competitors know who has really stayed in the hotel? How could Yelp do that without drying up the pool of reviewers too much?
I imagine it wouldn't be too difficult to verify a bad review... they hated the experience enough to write about it, I can't imagine scanning a copy of a receipt would be too much additional effort.