How to recognize fake online moving reviews

So, let’s say you’re trying to find the best cross country movers Arkansas has; in this day and age, what’s the first thing you’re going to do? That’s right – search for them online! Really, the era of the Internet has brought us something incredible; everything you need, available after a simple online query. Naturally, before hiring a moving company, or really anybody else; you’ll read the reviews people have written about them online. But of course, as in real life – you can’t simply trust everybody. So, how do you spot fake online moving reviews? Don’t worry – we’ve got a few tips right here!

The importance of online moving company reviews

There are many moving companies out there, no matter where you are moving to. It’s a big industry and all movers naturally want you to book their service. And whether you are aware of that or not, online reviews play a big role in your decision-making.  Let’s say you are looking to move out of state and are looking for reliable movers. More often than now you will search for something like state to state movers reviews California, for example. That way you can quickly filter through dozens of moving companies without having to visit each website individually. And that’s where fake online moving company reviews come into play. Less than perfect moving companies will employ fraudulent tactics to present themselves as better than they actually are. On the other hand, genuine reviews can really help you make an informed decision. That’s why it’s really important to be able to recognize which reviews are written by real people, and which ones are fake.

Who writes fake online moving reviews?

In order to be better at recognizing fake online moving reviews, you need to know who is behind them. So who is the person writing those reviews? First of all, there are both positive and negative fake reviews. Positive reviews are being written in order to present a moving company in a better light. Small moving companies, as well as those that are just starting, usually write their own fake reviews. It’s done either by owners or their family members or by employees. But, there are also individuals and even companies that offer writing fake online moving company reviews as a service. They employ people from all over the world to make up stories and post them as reviews. Fake negative reviews, on the other hand, are usually being written by jealous competition. At Verified Movers we constantly monitor for all types of fake reviews. We use many different techniques to spot both fake positive and fake negative reviews. Since each entry requires manual approval they never even make it to our website.

Look at the timing

If you want to learn how to discern fake online moving reviews from genuine ones; you should know that it isn’t always easy. Today, digital propaganda and marketing are more important than ever before; which is why many companies opt to use dishonest tactics like astroturfing to attract customers. Don’t worry though; once you’ve spent some time online, you’ll be able to recognize fake reviews much more easily. So, what’s the key here? Well, in most cases – it’s a matter of writing style, but also a lot of details.

For example – there’s one factor that can give away a dishonest or fake review right away; even before you read a lot of its content. And that’s timing! No matter where you’re looking at reviews; there are bound to be many of them. So, take a look at when they were posted; the timing is crucial. If you find that there are a lot of positive reviews written in very quick succession, one after the other; that means you’re probably looking at reviews that someone hired people to write. As you can see, there are things that can give away fake moving reviews without even looking at the words themselves.

Professional methods for recognizing fake online moving reviews

Of course, with digital technology being as advanced as it is today; more professional methods have been developed, for seeing what fake online moving reviews are. Today, there are software options that use the following criteria:

• Setting a scene – While you’re writing a review for, say, some of the best long distance moving companies Delaware can offer; mentioning the location is obviously important. But if people are writing a fake review, they tend to spend too much time on meaningless details; because they haven’t got a lot to go on in reality. So, watch out for people who are painting a picture a bit too much!
• A lot of pronouns – When people are writing a fake review because someone is paying them to; turns out that they worry a lot about appearing to be sincere. So, they mention themselves far more than those who are writing a real review that’s meant to be useful. This is why you’ll find a lot more first-person pronouns in a dishonest review, than in a true one!
• Fewer nouns than verbs – Also, while we’re focusing on the grammar side of things; you’ll spot fake online moving reviews because they’re far less descriptive. In worrying that they’ll get an important detail wrong, people who write dishonest reviews tend to not delve into the specifics. Instead, they focus a lot more on personal stories, and what they did in certain situations. So, you’ll see a lot of verbs, describing actions, more than nouns that can give away something crucial.

Fake reviews are much more sloppy

As you’ve realized by now; fake online moving reviews don’t just appear out of thin air. While there is software out there that can put together a review; in most cases, it’s actually real people who write these as well. But how do you know if someone has written a moving review to help you out; or if they’re getting paid for a job? Once you read a bunch of them, you’ll see that it’s got a lot to do with style. At the end of the day, the quality of the writing will always separate a genuine review from a fake one.

For example – you’ll see that the dishonest reviews are written in a much more sloppy and careless way. Why? Well, because the people who are writing them for a paycheck usually have to produce a lot of them to make money. So, they’re usually much shorter – and they’ve got a lot of spelling and other errors. On the other hand, there are people who are actually writing genuine reviews to help out their peers; you’ll notice that a lot more effort is put into making these.

Overly descriptive reviews are usually a tell-tale sign of fake entries

There’s a lot of psychology that goes into spotting a fake online review. But, one of the most common signals that something is wrong is when a reviewer goes into too much detail. Let’s say you are reading reviews about long distance moving companies Fort Collins. What you would normally see in a review is that it was a long-distance move, and whether or not the movers did a good job. Most people don’t have the need to go into too much detail unless those details are something extraordinary. But, when reading fake online moving reviews, you will often see that people list their items, use destination keywords and call movers by their names.

Too vague reviews should also be double-checked

On the other end of the spectrum are reviews that don’t give any details. They usually occur when fake negative reviews are being posted. You might see a one-star review with no description. You would agree that most people who want to express how displeased they are wouldn’t just post a star rating without an explanation. They would usually write about unexpected moving problems or other troubles that they’ve had with the moving company. So, make sure you take those types of reviews with a grain of salt.

Movers see reviews as free advertising

Online reviews in fact are a form of free advertising. For reliable and trustworthy moving companies they mean more than any paid commercial. But, for movers who offer a poor service, fake online moving reviews are just that, advertising. They usually pay for them and when them to sound as better as possible. For example, if you are looking for long distance moving companies Memphis, you naturally want to search for those keywords. Review writing companies and individuals know that and will include those keywords in their fake reviews. So, in this case, you will often see something like “our long-distance move to Memphis was phenomenal thanks to Joe from XYZ Moving Company”. Another thing to note is that those reviews actually do sound like commercials. So, if it looks like advertising, talks like advertising, it usually is just that – a paid ad. 

Examine the profiles

As you can see, knowing the difference between real and fake online moving reviews are incredibly important. And while we’re on the subject of the people who are writing them; it’s worth actually taking a further look at them. Because, no matter where you’re writing a review online – usually you have to register some kind of profile. Or, at the very least; present some sort of username and possibly a picture.

And herein lies another way you can spot a false review online; by taking a moment to examine the profile of the people writing them. So, what should you be on the lookout for in this case? Well, first of all – watch out for profiles that have no photos. While many people simply don’t like sharing their pictures online, in many cases this is simply a completely fake profile. Also, see what names they’re registered under. There aren’t any strict rules here, but you can simply sense what a fake name is, in many cases.

There are many ways to spot fake online moving reviews

As you can see, there are many things that you should look out for when checking whether a review posted on a website is real or fake. So, make sure you keep your eyes open. If you have the time, visit at least a few review websites and compare reviews. If similar reviews are popping out on multiple sites, then you know what something is up. But when it comes to those reliable and trustworthy moving companies, you will be able to spot genuine reviews and rely on them. They will sound natural and paint the whole picture, not just completely positive or negative sides.