Buying reviews, is this a real thing?

[SeoNoob]

Just saw this post from a colleague and I could not believe it. I tried to call the number myself and all I got was a voicemail.

 

[Contractor]

Of course it's real. I remember seeing them for sale on Fiverr and Freelancer a long time ago. Heck, I just got a review from a company trying to sell reviews on Yelp about a week ago, take a look:

I didn't even have to report this review, Yelp automatically found and deleted it. The reviews that they would leave will also be deleted, most likely. Yelp and Google are smart enough to figure it out.

 

[djbaxter]

@SeoNoob you should send that one along to the Leafs. You never know... maybe it will help.

 

[Yan Gilbert]

Yelp and Google are smart enough to figure it out.

Yelp maybe, Google not so much.