Do you read reviews before going to a restaurant? Beware, there are fake ones.

Madrid / BarcelonaDo you use Google reviews before going to a restaurant? Does Tripadvisor influence your decisions? If so, Yeah, you'll probably be interested to know that there are fake ones out there, and that Google has rolled up its sleeves to hunt them down and eliminate them.

In the Barcelona restaurant world, there's long been a rumor that some people buy positive five-star reviews. Xavier Bosch wrote in this newspaper an article titled Extortion in restaurants. He explained the practice we're describing. He had visited restaurants—which don't want to talk about it openly—and according to the journalist, "they've all received proposals like this: 'You pay me 200 euros a month and I'll give you 20 positive reviews on Tripadvisor.'" "In this world, there are all kinds of rates and packages that guarantee you'll improve, more or less quickly, in the ratings rankings," Bosch continues. "There are also those who offer it to you 'legally,' from a marketing agency with their CIF, VAT, and all, and there are those who do it clandestinely."

It doesn't take much for some restaurateurs to share emails they receive from companies that offer these services. However, these are geared toward Google. One of them is called Reviews Company and offers the basic package, which costs $95 and includes five reviews, between 50 and 100 words, written from verified accounts, delivered consistently over time (they don't post them all at once because that would be too suspicious), and with a guarantee of visibility above others (they choose the keywords). For $185, they'll give you 10. The company states that it has an address in Ithaca, New York. Another company offers the same. Social Blade, based in Philadelphia, offers 50 for $635.25, after applying a discount. Delivery is one per day. In the text, to encourage restaurateurs to hire their services, they say "build trust effortlessly." It's curious that they talk about trust when what they're offering is a shortcut.

I look for restaurateurs who have bought reviews, and the result won't surprise anyone. "No one will admit they've paid," more than one restaurateur tells me. "But do you know anyone who has?" They answer yes. "Would you tell me the name?" They answer no. But they all agree that they are a minority who do it and that if Google catches you, they could take down your account. Google itself confirms this practice.

Buying Instagram followers is a practice that has been widespread among influencers who wanted to pass off an ox as a fat beast. But since a liar is caught faster than a lame person, we quickly learned to detect fraud. Someone with 20,000 followers can't have 10 likes on a photo. So theengagement –as the experts say– shows us a deception with very short legs. Here it is a little more difficult, but I manage to get the experts to give me three clues. If a place has thousands of reviews and a short lifespan, we're suspicious. If it has thousands of reviews but a very high average, like 4.9, so is the case. Due to volume, it's easy for the average to drop slightly. They then warn of a third element to consider. When the target audience is tourists, fraud is more likely to appear. The reason? Since they're not local, the only tool they have to search for is Google. Plus, they tend to search in the same areas and for the same restaurant profile. An example would be searching for "brunch Barcelona." They are the perfect victims.

And what does Google say?

Combating fraud is a priority for Google. "Google thrives on its reputation," says Joan Martín, CEO of the online marketing company Marficom. That's why, he tells me, it's harder for them to apply artificial intelligence. Because we accept that ChatGPT makes mistakes, but not so much that Google does. However, it's through Gemini, its AI tool, that Google is catching offenders.

Ian Leader, director of product management and user-generated content, has just published the figures and the actions they're taking. In 2024, the tech giant has removed more than 240 million reviews that didn't comply with Google's policy. Many of them haven't even been published thanks to its improved detection system. They've removed or blocked more than 12 million fake business profiles (used to scam people) and have placed restrictions on more than 900,000 accounts that repeatedly violate policies.

"An honest five-star review is a fantastic way for customers to show their appreciation, but some businesses try to game the system by buying fake reviews from people who haven't even visited their property; this is strictly prohibited by our policies," Leader says in the report. It adds that thanks to AI, they are better at detecting "this type of dishonest behavior" and that they pursue them "even months after the original posting." It also reports that they have begun launching alerts in the United States, the United Kingdom, and India to report if they have removed suspicious five-star reviews. These warnings will be expanded globally starting this May.

Other ways to get reviews

However, he explains to me that a restaurateur who has very popular establishments on their own merits, that it's not just about those who "do the pirate," but that there are other ways to force a review, and this also needs to be taken into account. For example, offering a free sip in exchange for someone writing one. Or the possibility of spinning a roulette wheel with prizes. There are also restaurateurs who pressure employees to ask diners for reviews. They have QR codes to make it easier and insist on their name, so you'll verify it.

There is, of course, the option of paying Google to better position your business when someone searches for specific words. For example, "Barcelona pizza." But according to digital marketing expert Joan Martín, "you'll never stop seeing organic searches." "Of course there are ads; Google thrives on this, but it won't just show you ads. The algorithm is getting better all the time," he says. He reminds us, as an expert, that restaurateurs should always respond to negative comments from diners. This, for example, also improves your position.

The practice of responding to comments varies depending on the restaurant, and it's true that it's a significant investment of time. Most restaurateurs I've spoken to haven't been able to remove a one-star review like "we didn't eat because it was full." For Martín, the best thing to do is report the comment and respond if they don't delete it.

Daniel Arbós, head of institutional and industry relations at TheFork, explains that only someone who has been to the restaurant can leave a review on their booking engine. Since they can guarantee that the person has eaten, they don't delete comments. It's the customer's opinion. But they encourage restaurateurs to respond. "It's important to manage comments, whether good or bad," he says, although he acknowledges that it involves "a lot of work" and that some restaurant groups have just one person to manage all the channels. With smaller companies, he says an hour a week would be enough. At TheFork, the more comments you have and the better reviews, the better your ranking within the app. He also remembers that comments can help detect errors in the dining room or kitchen. In fact, it's a very useful tool, as several restaurateurs have acknowledged, to see what isn't working and fix it.