Do you trust testimonials on sales pages?

anwebservices Level X⁵

November 19, 2017, 5:50 pm

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Many times i research internet for some products or just looking for something that i need to research. Many websites who selling some kind of services or products display "customer's testimonials" and all of them are always so positive

However, to be honest, these testimonials look so fake to me, then that falseness turn me away even if they have good product or service. I discovered many times fake testimonials by fake imaginary people. But also i have seen fake video testimonials which I KNOW have being bought from Fiverr or similar marketplaces.
I am not sure if visitors and potential customers trust these testimonials, but honestly i don't and after my experience i don't eve bother to read them. For me it's complete nonsense and i can't trust them any more even if there is few real testimonials.

How you feel about testimonials on such websites?

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mildredtabitha

mildredtabitha

Products with only positive reviews and receiving positive testimonials almost in the same time or within the same week are likely to be exaggerated. Most sales men are looking for high demand and they use this strategy to attract more people. Each item sold is not perfect and should at least have a negative review or a disadvantage. I do not trust testimonials unless the descriptions are real and do not praise the item too much. You won't know unless you experiment too.

9 years ago

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Barida

Barida

This is quite true that some of these sites might be employing tactics where there is zero negative reviews on their site and once I see such, I develop cold feet on buying such product unless on a case where I know someone that used the product as well.

9 years ago

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Corzhens

Corzhens

I know of someone who has an e-commerce site that he has friends who would buy his products and post positive comments. It may not be authentic in my eyes because I know the source of the comments but in fairness to the site owners, his friends are buying his products which means that the positive comments may be a bit exaggerated but still authentic in the sense that the one who posted is a real customer.

8 years ago

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cdrocks

cdrocks

Yes you are turned away because you are smarter than the general public! I think most of the time people don't read things that carefully and all they really see is the star ratings or read part of the testimonials on something. Most people don't know that you can buy these services to make you look good or to make someone else look bad. Sometimes you cannot trust negative ratings either.

9 years ago

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Barida

Barida

I understand that we can't trust the had reviews either, but that doesn't overrule the fact that it's quite incredible to see a product with no bad review. Every product should have faults which we not have the choice to live with or decide not to buy.

9 years ago

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FastmanGigs

FastmanGigs

I agree too many positives should be a warning sign. Most complain over the least of things, but if service is good some may write a review. If. We can see this in the gigs we sell here on seoclerks, I get apx 40-50% positive reviews of total gigs sold, but many that do not leave a review are repeat buyers. Works the same way with products on the net.

9 years ago

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anwebservices

anwebservices

It's not just about all positive and all 5 star testimonials, but about people who display false reviews made by them selves but adding random name and photo find on google, or adding video testimonial made by some freelancer who was told what to say in advance. That's what bother me and turning me away as soon i spot some of these on websites. It's not really reviews like here on seoclerks where you can even contact feedback submitter and ask for more details

9 years ago

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cdrocks

cdrocks

Ya i understand a friend of mine is in the lodging business and i help manage her place also! So i have also seen false bad reviews as well for people that don't wan't to pay after they have stayed at a place.You really cannot believe the internet that much because big businesses pay for good reviews sometimes I know it happens. If you ever travel check out a site called Yelp they post normally the bad reviews and filter out a bunch of positive ones if they seem fake.

9 years ago

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Pixie06

Pixie06

We cannot completely trust those testimonials. Sometimes, people are paid to leave fake testimonials on sites. I once decided to buy a product after reading some positive reviews. I used the product and I was not pleased. Ever since I prefer to ask my friends for their recommendations before buying anything. Maybe there are genuine testimonials on some sites but unfortunately, I had a bad experience previously and now finds it difficult to trust whatever I read online.

9 years ago

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peachpurple

peachpurple

Yes, you cannot totally believe those positive reviews. Sometimes, you have to read the negative reviews and ponder over them. There are some truths in the negative which may be the real and actual users.

8 years ago

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cmoneyspinner

cmoneyspinner

I agree that some of the testimonials sound fake or unreal, but I prefer to read testimonials and reviews anyway. Let's not forget, long before we had the Internet people got business referrals by Word of Mouth. Testimonials and Reviews are Word of Mouth too and can drive business to the business owner.

9 years ago

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wiseagent

wiseagent

I like to read them because I in one way or another (being a real review or not) it's always possible to have knowledge about about something new related to the product or service.

So, it's nice anyway.

9 years ago

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itommy

itommy

I agree with you, testimonials attracts me when I want to buy their services, at least I wanted to hear people purchased before.

But to be honest I don't trust testimonials on sale pages unless they shared details info about what they bought or proof.

9 years ago

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mildredtabitha

mildredtabitha

You are absolutely right. Even if I do not trust testimonials on sales page, I would still check on them. I could find out something that no one will be willing to talk about. Also, testimonials are like comments on a blog. Every business needs a feedback and so it is safe to reed other people's reviews.

9 years ago

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cmoneyspinner

cmoneyspinner

It's safe to read because reading something is not the same thing as believing it and wholly relying on it for your final decision.

9 years ago

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wiseagent

wiseagent

In the great majority of them I don't believe at all. Some of them are so well manufactured that it's very unlikely to believe that a realm customer wrote all those specifications and qualities (it's something very mechanical).

After I became aware of how this paid reviews industry works, I suspect practically every review I read, haha.

9 years ago

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Barida

Barida

So, some of them pay people to write those reviews? I never believed in that until I read your part. I would have to be careful as well from now onwards.

9 years ago

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wiseagent

wiseagent

Yes, there are sites that work exactly for that purpose: making ghost clients reviews. I can't say that this is a common practice, but it's something that requires the attention of consumers because this really does exist.

9 years ago

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itommy

itommy

This method has used for years and now you know?
It is just a marketing campaign to conrage sales on sites if they have good feedback from their customers.

9 years ago

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rage35

rage35

I don't believe in testimonials on a sales page because most of them are fabricated especially if the testimonials are very positive. I often look for feedback with negative comments on a service/sales because that is somewhat legitimate to me as compared to those very positive ones. I am also researching some other reviews online about the product being promoted before I decide on something to make it sure.

9 years ago

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limberg

limberg

I don't trust testimonials on sales pages that appear too spammy or too persistent in selling the product. I also look at the pictures included in the testimonials. If they look like stock photos, I don't trust them. Well, actually, in general, I don't trust testimonials when it's on a sales page. It's very easy to take testimonials nowadays.

But there are some that I do trust. I think it depends on the wiring of the article. If I feel that the writer was sincere and truthful, then I would believe in the testimonials.

9 years ago

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Judas2018

Judas2018

I have to take a long look at them first. Some of them do seem bought and paid for but you have to examine them really carefully to come to that conclusion. It's not always that obvious from the moment you land on a website. It's unfortunate because many of these are legit businesses who just made a bad decision to purchase reviews.

9 years ago

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augusta

augusta

I don't based my judgement of a product on testimonial I prefer to read up its review not even from their site but online and somewhere else that's when I can get the true state of any product.Most testimonials especially on sales sites are fake,it a marketing strategy to get people to patronize them and buy their products so they're not totally wrong.

9 years ago

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Tronia

Tronia

That's what I usually do! I don't really take too much notice of the testimonials and reviews that they put on their website but I rather Google the company/business and find outside websites that give objective reviews. I feel like that's much safer because anybody can purchase positive testimonials.

9 years ago

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peachpurple

peachpurple

If there are 8 positive out of 10, definitely you should be able to figure out that the reviews are "bought" over. Reviews could be fake because the author could pay the readers for positive reviews. It is also part of the trick in blogging

9 years ago

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aeon

aeon

You're right. Most of them paying the reviewers to get more sales, this is another marketing strategies to get more customers. More positive comments, doesn't means it's gonna be a good product.

8 years ago

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Tronia

Tronia

I know exactly what you're referring too, haha. And I do agree with you, most of these testimonials look so fake and overly cheesy. I hate those type that go to the extent, "It's the best thing ever, it really changed my life" and so on. For me, that's just over the top and not something that a normal consumer or user would write to be displayed on a website.

Therefore, I am a bit wary when it comes to testimonials. I know that they can be bought or they can even be written by the company themselves. I don't ever fully trust them and I don't let them influence my final decision.

9 years ago

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overcast

overcast

I think to some extent testimonials are good. And some of the testimonials are nothing but the issues. So on that note you can see that sales pages often have manipulated. And you can read the reviews. And then find out if that does apply to you on that note. Most of the shops and the testimonials over there are not real. Most of the people buy fake reviews. And they often make use of the fake reviews to reach more customers. That's a bad strategy.

9 years ago

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DenisP

DenisP

I think there are ways to analyze testimonials and sort of sniff out which ones legitimate and which ones are a bit suspicious.

For example, when I see a five star testimonial where the only comment is "Good work!", I instantly throw that in the trash bin. For starters, something so low effort could easily have been faked by someone who is either paid or just an alternative account by the seller. On top of that, such a short comment adds absolute zero knowledge or value when it comes to evaluating the seller's performance, so out the window it goes.

Well written, detailed testimonials which have decent lengths of time between one another are the most trustworthy. That and if you just use common sense you can tell when someone is being paid to kiss butt and when someone just genuinely had a good experience.

9 years ago

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DarthHazard

DarthHazard

TO be fair, sometimes the shorter comments are the more genuine ones especially on places like Amazon and eBay. If a company/seller is paying someone to review their products, even fake ones then they will want them to post reviews that are a few sentences and seem real. I don't think they would pay them to post just two words.

9 years ago

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DenisP

DenisP

True enough.

I suppose it would also vary on the service that people are providing. I can't say I'm familiar with the "market" when it comes to fake comment reviews, but I'd imagine it works much like any other business. You probably have people who provide cheaper services with less detailed "reviews", and others who charge more for what may seem like an in depth analysis.

Truth is that while you can have your assumptions, in the end it's practically impossible to tell which is fake and which is real, unless maybe the reviewer is so incredibly general with their statements that it's super obvious they've never actually owned the product.

9 years ago

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Baburra

Baburra

I only trust them if they are a verified buyer, and even then it also depends on the product. If the product is something like a lesson on how I can make more money, then I become ten times more skeptical since anyone else who would recommend it probably will have a motive behind it like being paid to say it or just aiming to get me as a referral. Not that this is the case on any money making tutorial product, but I find this is where it happens the most.

9 years ago

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anwebservices

anwebservices

In most cases you don't know if that is verified buyer, is real person at all. Profile photos or names are not linked to anything to check it out. If it's linked at list to Facebook profile or Twitter, LinkedIn... Whatever. So there is no chance in deciding if testimonial submitter is imaginary person like John Doe

It's not so LIVE like here on Seoclerks where every feedback or recommendation is linked to real person profile page

9 years ago

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Baburra

Baburra

Yeah, on retail sites and like this one it's easier to identify if the comments are genuine. I've been to a lot of landing pages that had lots of quotes from supposedly real people so I know what you mean. I have a hard time trusting those too as I don't really know if they are actually real people or maybe they are just paid to make those comments. I liken it to those home shopping ads where people give their comments on the product and most likely they are just paid actors.

9 years ago

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jaymish2

jaymish2

I don't trust them at all. The world is becoming a very cunning place. People will do anything to make money these days. I think you've all heard of Amazon the world's biggest marketplace. I know they are sellers who hire people to write five-star product reviews for them.

I also would trust more testimonials that have mixed reviews. I don't trust five-star product reviews. If a testimonial tells me the advantages and disadvantages then I will trust it more. Unfortunately, in this world, you have to be that cynical.

9 years ago

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Soulwatcher

Soulwatcher

I never trust them, however, if I see all negative then I know its probably not a good idea to go with that person or product. But having said that I don't care who the person is or what the product is your always going to find negative reviews because the fact of life is you cant make everyone on this earth happy.

9 years ago

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JonathanS98

JonathanS98

Do I trust the testimonials on sales pages? Not really, to be honest. Primarily because I'm aware testimonial writing is an actual service that companies use to promote their products. That's not to say that all of them aren't trustworthy. However, I'd suggest doing more research before purchasing the item/service simply because of the testimonials you see written on the website.

In my opinion, you'll find a lot more reliable reviews from individuals with their own blogs, writing their own product review articles. What I do is research for reviews made by the public. Normal people just looking to share their experience. I find those to be a lot more accurate.

9 years ago

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vinaya

vinaya

I do check testimonials on sales pages. However, I don't believe in these testimonials. The website owners are notorious for publishing fake testimonials. I have even written fake testimonials for money. The website owner paid me $1 for 50 words testimonials.
Having said that on some stores I truly believe in what customers say, for instance on ebay or Amazon.

9 years ago

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potentialwriter

potentialwriter

Testimonials on sales pages can be trusted on certain conditions. You can trust testimonials provided you know you are dealing with a trusted and reliable site. Because there are many scams out there, it becomes necessary to consider some criteria before deciding to take actions. It becomes very important to take note of certain parameters before deciding to order on a site.

The best criterion to consider in deciding whether or not to take actions is scam checking any site with which you are dealing. Once you find out the site is trusted and legit, testimonials published on it are highly likely to be true.

9 years ago

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Corzhens

Corzhens

Our usual means of getting a hotel accommodation when we travel is thru online booking websites. And before deciding on the hotel, we would check on the reviews. I understand that it is not very accurate for sometimes the feedback is to malign or to praise unnecessarily the hotel. But getting a consensus of 5 reviews usually gives us a good guide for the particular hotel. I’d say we can trust testimonials of customers although we have to be discerning on the truthfulness of the review.

9 years ago

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Barida

Barida

I always check out the reviews to see which one is good and understand the faults such products might be having so that I can know how to handle such, if I eventually decide to go for the said product.

9 years ago

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DarthHazard

DarthHazard

Sometimes you have to be careful especially when buying from standalone sites and not marketplaces. With sites like Amazon, the reviewers are required to mention that they have been given the product/or have been paid to review it so you are a lot more careful. If you are buying from a website straight especially one that is not particularly famous, you just don't know who has written that review.

9 years ago

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JoeMilford

JoeMilford

This is a good question, and it brings up a real issue in the online industry in general. I try to just trust my instincts on this type of thing, but it's a tough call sometimes. If I am already "kind of" interested in the product or service, then I find myself wanting to be inclined to believe the testimonials or positive feedback. I can totally see how these testimonials could be faked, bought, or even written by the person running the site in order to self-aggrandize and self-promote. Testimonial writing is a paid service which a lot of sites used, and obviously the individuals writing these testimonials are more worried about making a profit than they are worried about providing an honest critique of a product or service.

9 years ago

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vhinz

vhinz

I actually looked for testimonials or product reviews before I make a purchase online. But even the site provided testimonials on a particular product or service, I understand that when I make a purchase, I still the sole responsible of making such decision and I just hope that I could get a really quality product or service.

9 years ago

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Adesuwa08

Adesuwa08

I don't go well with testimonies on sales pages, as I see it as being exaggerated and how hard they lie to get sales, I have a person testimony on this subject intact but will tell you guys after making my points. Like I said I don't trust online testimonials on sales pages as they are all craps, they only put up those testimonies for us to want to get their products, there might not even be a sales to sell but you get people to be convinced through the testimonies which are false and also means they are frauds.

Online marketing and sales pages always want to put those testimonies there to get attentions, so many people have fallen for this and regrets even seeing it in the first place, I have been a victim of these before, I clicked on a sales page then went through the whole testimonies and I became convinced about it, I paid via master cars for this product and till date I didn't get it. Thats after all the whole promises and instant deliveries but it never came through, imagine how I feel for the testimonies of a sales page, please don't become a victim like me you wont want to loose some pennies because of fake testimonies which convinced you remember that they are all not real.

9 years ago

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treecko142

treecko142

I only trust sites when testimonials mark the poster as someone who has officially bought the product. There are times when the seller creates various accounts to promote his own products, which turned out to be really funny because I live in a non-English speaking country and the comments were very obviously taken from Google Translate.

9 years ago

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gavinci13

gavinci13

I know there are someone out there who does have so many dummy account that they are using to do comments and fake testimonials with what they are promoting? so can some also tell who do you can this kind of act on the internet? So to answer your question it is hard unless you personally know someone who does obtained the product and hear their comments personally. I remember I bought a cheap speaker online but it does have so many good comments on it so I bought it and when I receive it , it was nothing but a piece of craft buttons are not even functioning.

9 years ago

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aeon

aeon

Not really, most of the testimonials sometimes comes from fake accounts. Actually in google apps, there a lot of face account just to promote the application so, many people will become interested and will download it, and also in one of the forum site, I notice that, the owner ask the members to make a good comment and in return, he will give the members some points, which is equivalent to $, although they are real account, but not really sincere about their opinion.

8 years ago

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Jeane

Jeane

Not all positive testimonials are fake but most, unfortunately are. On a number of freelancer sites, I've seen people looking for freelancers to write testimonials for them.

Bad business ethics yes, but everyone is out to make a profit and if you can get people to believe what you are selling is good, you do it. However this strategy works well only for black hat marketers who don't stick around selling the same products for too long.

IMO, if you are selling something, it's best not to pay for testimonials. Better to actually send an email to satisfied customers and request them to tell others about your product.

8 years ago

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blackmist

blackmist

Customer testimonial are not always true but some of them are legit. Testimonials are one way of a company to attract customers, the more positive comment the more it will make the company look more promising. Some testimonials are paid just to increase sales so I don't fully believe in them. The best thing to do is to try it if it is really true.

8 years ago

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Jeane

Jeane

The best thing to do is to try [find out] if it is really true.

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn't.

A simple way to find out whether testimonial is fake or not is to read it carefully to find if the writer effuses too much enthusiasm about a service or a product. That is one red flag that should make you question the veracity of that review.

What about details about the product or service? If there isn't much detail (the focus being on how good the service or product is) then the writer of the testimonial most obviously hasn't used the service or product.

8 years ago

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SEDRA1

SEDRA1

I don't really trust reviews. There are very few real reviews. I think a lot of reviews are paid for

7 years ago

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katrinasparks

katrinasparks

People can sense fake testimonials - they are either emotionless or over the top and having fake comments on websites will loose sales.

5 years ago

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