This is a message going out to whomever resides in the ether of Googleland.
I have recently seen a proliferation of fake “Local guides”. You know those people, the suddenly post 38 reviews on one day, many without a comment giving random star values. It’s great for the businesses that are lucky enough to get the 4 & 5 stars, but what about the few that get the 1 & 2 ratings?
Google has no method & procedure, nor any interest in dealing with this. But at least the fake “Local guide” is propelled to stardom in no time and feels happy sitting at home on their 12 yr old drugstore brand laptop, reveling in their new “Local guide” ranking.
Am I the only one feeling this, and is there a means for Google to handle this? While we are all finger pointing at Facebook for their “Fake News”, let’s post a few anonymous and fake reviews on Google - to help potential customers make educated decisions, of course.
Thanks for your post. I will definitely make use of this information you have provided.
I have noted many listings that receive 1 or 2 star reviews with no write ups. If someone, acting as a “Local guide” is doing a proper job, there should be facts with the bad reviews, but also with the good!
This issue came to a head yesterday as a friend’s business has been closed for renovations (a couple beachfront cabins in the Philippines) for the last 2 months and yesterday a “Local guide” posted a one star review with no write up. I reached out to Google My Business and they responded that nothing could be done as this review did not “violate the policies”. This inflamed me to the point of bringing it up on Local Guides Connect.
I will take the advice in the linked post and move forward.
In addition, don’t forget when responding to others make sure to tag them (by writing @ before their names) in a post so they can receive notifications that you are communicating with them.