To manage online presence for multi-location businesses comes with a massive responsibility: protecting brands from fake reviews. Whether it’s bots, paid posts, or malicious competitors, fraudulent reviews are eroding consumer trust and your clients’ SEO rankings.

Luckily, you don’t need to fight this manually. With metadata monitoring and platform-specific escalation processes, you can detect and remove fake reviews early and effectively.

Let’s break down how.

Common Sources of Fake Reviews

• Fake positive reviews to inflate ratings.
  
• Negative reviews from competitors to damage reputation.
  
• Bot farms that generate content using templates or AI.
  
• Incentivized reviews that violate platform policies.
  

SaaS providers must flag, escalate, and resolve these issues before search rankings suffer.

Step 1: Monitor Metadata and Spot Red Flags

Use review APIs (like LDE’s) to log metadata:

• Timestamp
  
• Device type / user-agent
  
• Review content
  
• Publisher
  

Now you can detect and remove fake reviews bursts, geolocation mismatches and content duplication

This data helps you flag high-risk reviews automatically.

Step 2: Escalate Suspicious Reviews to Publishers

Each platform has its own process. Here’s how to flag and request removal:

Google Business Profile

1. Go to the review in your GBP dashboard.
   
2. Click the three dots > “Flag as inappropriate.”
   
3. Choose the reason (e.g., spam, conflict of interest).
   
4. Escalate via Google Business Support with metadata evidence.
   

Tip: Include screenshots, business records, and IP traces in escalations.

Yelp for Business

1. Log into your Yelp Business dashboard.
   
2. Locate the review > click the flag icon > Report Review.
   
3. Choose a reason and submit context.
   

If unresolved, email report@yelp.com or call Yelp Support.

Respond to the review publicly if you suspect it’s fake, state that you don’t recognize the transaction and have reported it.

Facebook / Meta

1. On your business page, find the review or recommendation.
   
2. Click the menu > Report Post.
   
3. Select a violation (e.g., harassment, spam).
   

Pro Tip: Encourage clients to file reports from their end as well to strengthen the case.

Step 3: Automate the Workflow in Your SaaS Platform

Using the metadata and content patterns, automate review screening.
Trigger a process when red flags are detected:

1. Auto-flag review internally.
   
2. Notify brand manager or ops lead.
   
3. Pre-fill escalation form or generate a flagged report for the publisher.
   
4. Track outcome (removed/ignored) in dashboard.
   

This saves time and strengthens your case with publishers.

Real-World Examples

Case 1: Yelp Review Bombing
A chain receives 20 1-star reviews in one day, all from new accounts.
→ Metadata shows shared IP range.
→ Flagged and escalated to Yelp with proof.
→ All reviews removed in 48 hours.

Case 2: Google Bot Spam
A review praises service in NYC, but IP traces to India and the reviewer has zero history.
→ Auto-flagged and escalated with a client by oath.
→ Review removed after appeal.

Case 3: Facebook Competitor Attack
Rival businesses leave false recommendations under fake names.
→ Reported via Facebook UI, responded publicly, logged in SaaS dashboard.
→ Review removed, client impressed with response time.

Educate Your Clients

Clients need to know:

• What fake reviews look like
  
• How to respond professionally
  
• Why reporting is better than ignoring
  
• That fake positive reviews can backfire (FTC fines!)
  

Provide them with templates for public responses, SOPs for flagging per platform and a real-time dashboard showing review status.

Fake reviews are annoying but also a threat to trust, visibility, and revenue. As a SaaS platform, your job is to help clients detect and remove fake reviews early and respond effectively.

With the right automation and escalation process, you can turn review fraud into a solvable problem and a value-added service.

Contact Us to Learn More…