Archives 2014

Yelp was created to try and help users familiarize themselves with amazing spots in a city they thought they were familiar with. It used the opinions of friends to try and source these recommendations. At a small scale, this worked very well. Reviews were honest and people used the check-in feature to add authenticity. As Yelp scaled, it failed to deal with the underlying of problem of transparency. CEO of Reputation Stars, Pierre Zarokian, understands this problem all to well. Reputation Stars helps businesses develop strategies to fight negative reviews on Yelp.

The State of Yelp

Yelp has added some new features that may help with the authenticity of a review. Users have been able to add photos for some time, but videos will be coming soon. Until then, Yelp still has issues identifying who the real reviewers are. They ran a recent sting operation to weed some of these fakers out, but there is a very real problem that exists with Yelp’s transparency. Business owners aren’t feeling very much more confident after a recent ruling that declared Yelp was free to reorder its reviews.

Yelp doesn’t require check-ins or proof that a transaction actually occurred. Yelp can rearrange reviews the way it sees fit, affecting the reputation of countless businesses without publishing any kind of standards or style guide to help real reviews stick. Businesses are powerless against Yelp too, as the company outs those who incentivize or pay for reviews with an embarrassing banner.

Fighting Yelp

The key to fighting Yelp, says Pierre Zarokian, is to engage customers and get more positive reviews. Stop paying for a temporary fix. This video contains important information businesses need to know about how to fight Yelp.

Read some articles Pierre Zarokian wrote in Search Engine Journal about Yelp here.

Anyone whose web site appears in response to an online search might need ORM. Consumer generated media offers the public an opportunity to express their views. This information can be found in search engine results. The more a product, brand or company is exposed to public attention and scrutiny, the greater the likelihood that someone will want to challenge their reputation. This can include dissatisfied clients, customers and competitors, who may have legitimate complaints, but can also include rumor mongers, and irresponsible, vindictive web site wizards, whose sole purpose is to challenge another website’s integrity.

Consider the search results for the following “name brand” web sites:

* Walmart – 2 of the first 10 Google listings is negative:

* McDonalds – 1 of the first 10 Google listings is negative;

* Coca Cola – 1 of the first 10 listings is negative;

The problem is universal. Thousands of companies like these can have the effect of their web sites neutralized by stories appearing on the search engines. And its not limited to companies. People of high profile are convenient targets; celebrities, high-power business people, government as well as individuals from all walks of life, regardless of gender, national background and social status are being victimized and insulted. If you have a company, a brand name or product, which someone could or did find fault with; or if you have ever been written about in the media in a less than flattering vein, or if you monitor your Google listing and a negative listing appears, you must realize that the negative story will not disappear on its own.

Negative reviews are there to stay and may even multiply until you retain the services of a professional online reputation management professional. Reputation management is vitally important for all organizations. Both on a personal and corporate level, everyone should be concerned about their online image. On a personal level, having a damaged reputation can result in not being eligible for employment. For businesses a bad reputation can mean tremendous financial loss. As a result of a tarnished reputation, businesses have lost millions, have replaced trusted CEO’s, and have even ceased operating within months of negative publicity.

Yelp, the online review database that has become an ubiquitous part of the Web, is being accused of shielding companies who pay premiums from bad reviews. Yelp’s sales team has been using poor reviews as a sales tool, implying that businesses can pay their way out of hot water caused by user reviews. Since 2008, some 2,000 complaints have been filed by businesses and consumers.

Yelp also has several problems with anonymous reviews, and currently faces a court order demanding they reveal the identity of users who posted on their website. Yelp has states in its FAQ that pay to play is out, but 2,000 complaints don’t come out of thin air. Something is wrong, and the CEO of our company, Pierre Zarokian, has the latest news on this recent development from his new article featured on Search Engine Journal.

Yelp is one of the most important destinations on the Web. Its database of user-generated reviews can offer potential shoppers a quality source to vet a business before they shop. But faked reviews are threatening to dilute that landscape, eating away at the purity that a service like Yelp needs in order to be successful. In response, the company has announced new and aggressive steps to remove these false reviews.

The CEO of Yelp, Jeremy Stoppleman, is creating something of a firestorm with the announcement. Companies caught “soliciting” reviews by paying their reviewers will now get a kind of badge that designates their business as one that paid for reviews. This messages comes as a popup that the user cannot avoid clicking on. With Yelp reputation already being such a hot commodity, businesses will need to exercise even more caution when asking for reviews.

Our CEO, Pierre Zarokian, wrote about this change in policy. You can read the entire article at Search Engine Watch.

Pierre Zarokian, CEO of Reputation Stars

Our CEO “Pierre Zarokian” will be speaking about Reputation Management on Feb 19, 2014 in Orange County, CA at an event organized by TechBiz Connection.

Jack Bicer the president of TechBiz Connection stated: “If you are a professional intrigued by today’s evolving world of social media, personal online identities, and online business branding, you need to learn what it means to have an online presence and what this says about you (or your business, brand).  After all, your online reputation IS your reputation.”

For more info, see the official press release here.

A ruling from a Virginia Court of Appeals has rendered anonymous reviews unprotected, at least in Virginia. The popular online review website Yelp is at the center of litigation regarding the legitimacy of anonymous reviews. On one side is Yelp, whose terms of service explicitly ban users from posting faked reviews that are negative or positive. On the other side are the businesses hurt by these reviews.

This landmark case will shape the landscape of online reviews for some time to come. The plaintiff’s case seems to mirror the plight of so many businesses with reputation and image problems. Yelp uses an automated system to deal with spoofed reviews, which it claims is capable of dealing with these fakes. Yet the fact remains that fake reviews have become an industry in and of themselves. While this court ruling does little to improve these conditions, it does set the precedent for future cases.

In a new article for Search Engine Journal, Our CEO Pierre Zarokian explores the ruling and asks the question: will online reviews ever be safe again? Or have the courts made a terrible mistake, relying on outdated case law to render a verdict with far-reaching consequences?