Google is helping fake CBD review sites rank higher.
The next time you search reviews for products online including CBD, Google may be giving you fake results.
Search Engine Optimization
SEO or Search Engine Optimization is a constantly evolving and volatile field. Google the largest search engine in the world has had its problems in recent years. In 2016 the search engine delisted Pay Day Loan companies listings.
Now it seems fake review sites are ranking high in the search engine. The problem is that these sites are giving great reviews to certain products and false negative reviews to the competition. This practice is rewarding scammers and content affiliate farms by ranking them based on keywords and content rather than actual products.
Ranking on the first page of Google organically is a way to increase a companies credibility, drive traffic, and sales. What happens when the websites details are hidden and fake review sites are listing higher than legitimate sites.
Google do not let anyone know the algorithm they use to list sites. There is a billion dollar business in just getting ranked in Google. SEO and SEM experts have online discussion about how to rank and what criteria Google is looking for.
In the online marketing world there is always Blackhat techniques, these are techniques used that are not industry defined and considered a bad practice. Think of all the spam emails you get and the robocalls as black hat. Whitehat is using best practices as a way to market products and services that stays clear of any unscrupulous activity.
Google is rewarding bad practices.
By allowing fake review sites to rank higher, especially in the CBD world, Google has let their guard down and let scammers raise for keywords and look legitimate.
If you are looking at review sites on Google or Youtube, please remember that the majority of these sites are affiliate sites, that is, they get a percentage of the profits of you click and buy on one of their links. There is nothing wrong with Affiliate sites, they are important and help build brands and businesses while helping people earn money.
How can legit companies compete when Google rewards bad actors
There have been many references to the issues with Google and its ranking system for review sites mentions of SEO journal and Webmaster forums going back to 2013. Indeed Amazon has had fake reviews on its site by sellers switching great reviewed cheap products for more expensive alternatives. A case where a company selling Apple watch chargers with 200 5 star reviews was flagged when it was found that the reviews were for another finger toy they had listed and swapped out.
CBD Review sites getting dirty how to trust Google
One of the most destructive patterns that will arise though Google not addressing this massive issue is many CBD products will receive bad reviews and negative feedback or just loose sales based on content farms. Will Google address the issue in time or shall it reward bad behavior and help to rank fake review sites over legitimate CBD sites and products.
Report fake review sites to Google
Reporting suspect reviews to Google Small Business support should be your next port of call if your initial flagging did not work. The response you get from flagging a review shouldn’t take more than a week. If, after this time, the review is still there, it’s time to contact Google My Business. You can do this by following these steps.
- Log into your Google My Business page here: https://www.google.com/business/
- Navigate to the Reviews section
- Click the home menu, and then select Support
- You can then select a preferred method of contact, either Phone or Email
- You will be asked to fill in a few pieces of information. Attach a screenshot example of the suspect review and offer any further information you feel may be helpful.
- Submit your complaint. You should hear back within 2 working days.