Questions You Should Ask Your Review Provider

Special shoutout to Adam Di Frisco for contributing this section to the SEO & Marketing Guide to FTC Consumer Reviews! 🙏🔥

Software providers in the reputation/review management space such as Birdeye, Podium, Yotpo, and Trustpilot have been put on the hot seat before for some “gray-area” practices. With these new regulations targeting deceptive reviews, scrutinizing and questioning the practices of any third-party review management company you’re working with is a must. Not all providers and services operate equally in terms of compliance and transparency, and with the FTC tightening rules, even seemingly minor oversights can carry significant consequences for your business. As Birdeye says in its reaction to the new rules;

“While we’re here to support you, we can’t ensure you’re using our tools correctly or provide legal advice. As the controller of our tools, you’re ultimately responsible for ensuring compliance and understanding the consequences of non-compliance. Therefore, we encourage you to familiarize yourself with these regulations and make informed decisions.”

Here are some questions you should be asking your software company to make sure you are controlling the tools in a responsible way:

How Does Your Platform Detect Fake Reviews (positive or negative)?

Some providers, like Trustpilot, use advanced fraud detection technology to monitor patterns, which has resulted in the removal of millions of fake reviews. Look for platforms that demonstrate a commitment to keeping reviews genuine and enforce measures against suspicious activity.

What Is Your Stance on Incentivizing Reviews?

Ensure that whatever software you are working with isn’t directly or indirectly incentivizing reviews on your behalf. This will largely be out of the scope of this software, but you even have to be careful when listening to the advice given by these platforms. Yotpo, for example, recommends offering loyalty points, coupons, or features on social media, which you certainly shouldn’t be doing. 

Can You Control Which Reviews Are Displayed?

Review providers, such as Birdeye, allow businesses to choose to display only positive reviews on their sites, but this approach has serious compliance risks. It’s important to ask how your provider’s settings function and to fully understand the implications of filtering reviews in light of the FTC’s stance on transparency.

What Protections Are in Place for Negative Reviews?

The FTC now prohibits using intimidation, false legal threats, or similar tactics to suppress negative feedback. Ask your provider if they have protocols to prevent or report abusive flagging or review manipulation. A reputable provider should help you manage reviews fairly and uphold customer trust.

What Steps Are Taken Against AI-Generated Reviews?

Most of these tools use AI to some degree, but most are only for responding to reviews and not posting. As with other uses of AI, make sure that if you are using AI to respond to reviews, you are manually reviewing them, keeping in mind that AI-generated reviews and responses fall under the same prohibitions as manually-created ones.

The main takeaway here is that it is up to you how you use these tools. Not all of their capabilities will be compliant with the FTC ruling.  Understanding how your review provider operates under these new rules will help you stay compliant, protect your reputation, and keep you out of trouble.

The above is from the article: SEO & Marketing Guide to FTC Consumer Reviews Rules (Version 1.2 🎉 ) added on November 4, 2024.

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