Have you ever wondered if the reviews you’re scrolling through are legitimate? Whether you’re looking for a taco place for lunch or an apartment in a new city, you want to know that other people have had a great experience. But seeing thousands of glowing reviews can seem a little suspicious — and you’re not wrong to think that.

With false information so rampant on the internet, how can you confidently choose which company to give your hard-earned money to? Learn how to find trustworthy reviews by understanding that some unscrupulous companies pay for positive reviews, some review platforms are better than others and there are ways to be a savvy consumer of online reviews.

Some unscrupulous companies can and do pay for positive reviews.

It’s far too easy for companies to pay for fake positive reviews. To see just how easy it is, investigators at NBC News created a fake gardening company on Facebook and paid a mere $168 to sites promising to post positive reviews. Within a few days, the page had nearly 1,000 likes and 600 five-star reviews praising the fake company.

Don’t be alarmed, though. Fake reviews to this extreme are rare.

“This story, while alarming, is a bit of an edge case, and there have subsequently been measures put in place by credible review platforms and the Federal Trade Commission to better block against this,” said Denise Graab, a reviews program manager at http://Caring.com, a senior care website. “At Caring.com, for example, we haven’t really had this issue because we pre-screen review submissions before they’re published, require reviewer phone or email and have other measures toward ensuring real consumer reviews.”

In addition to completely fake reviews, legitimate-but-incentivized reviews are something to be aware of. Incentives can cause two things to happen:

1. As expected, incentives increase the likelihood of people leaving a review at all, according to researchers Kaitlin Woolley and Marissa A. Sharif, both assistant professors of marketing. If you’re like me, a barber with 100 reviews looks better than one with just four, so those incentives can skew how trustworthy or established a business seems.
2. The same researchers found in another study that “customers who receive an incentive are more likely to write positive reviews, regardless of their experience with the product.” So when you see a disclaimer in an enthusiastic Amazon review (e.g., “I received this product for free in exchange for leaving a review, but this is my honest feedback”), be aware that the review may be slightly more positive than the person’s opinion actually is.

“In the early days of review websites, the landscape was more unregulated than it is today,” said Graab. “With increased use of online reviews these days, the review sites (and the government) are paying closer attention to prevent fake reviews.”

Don’t discount every enthusiastically positive review you read, but consider the reviews as a whole to help you get a better idea of the company’s quality.

Some review platforms are better than others.

Let’s say you’ve just moved to a new city, and you need to choose a new family doctor. You find someone promising on Google, but her reviews are confusing: there are five-star reviews saying she never makes her patients feel rushed, and then there are one-star reviews saying she practically pushes you out of her office.

Are the one-star reviews fake, posted by a competitor? It’s a possibility if the review site isn’t well managed, but it’s likely that the reviews don’t give you the full picture, even when taken as a whole.

“When you see negative reviews that seem legitimate, don’t automatically discount the business,” said Graab. “A complaint that someone else had may not apply to your situation, there could be fact-based errors in the review and the review could even be misplaced or missing relevant information.”

Keep in mind that some sites may manage reviews more diligently than others. On Amazon, for example, you can see a “Verified Purchase” label that lets you know if the reviewer really did purchase the item they are reviewing. And sites like Yelp and Google have algorithms that attempt to screen out fraudulent reviews, although their systems aren’t infallible.

It can be a complicated world to navigate! Consider your priorities and preferences, and weigh the feedback you read to make the right decision for you. Reviews can be an excellent decision-making tool when used in context of all the information available to you.

Be a savvy consumer of online reviews.

When you see nothing but five-star reviews, that’s a red flag that something is not right – no company or product is perfect.

Besides that, here are four signs that may indicate that a review may be untrustworthy or worthy of greater scrutiny:

1. A strange-looking profile. The reviewer may have left only one review or lots of very similar reviews, and the profile picture may be either generic or a picture of a celebrity.
2. A very short review. Who would bother writing a two-word review? Potentially someone who isn’t that sincere.
3. Mentions of specific competitors, either in a positive or negative light.
4. Phrases like “bespoke (custom), trading (operating) or … a price of 1000USD.” These things may be “indications the reviewer is from overseas” and probably didn’t buy the off-brand earbuds you’re considering, according to http://smallbizclub.com.

One of these signs alone won’t indicate that a review is fake. But a few of them together might mean you should do a little additional research before giving the company your business.

Before you trust a company with your money, understand that companies can pay for positive reviews, know that some review platforms are better than others and be a savvy consumer of online reviews. Knowing which reviews you can trust will give you peace of mind and help you make more confident purchasing decisions.

To learn about reviews from the perspective of healthcare organizations, watch this on-demand webinar hosted by http://Caring.com, “New Skilled Nursing Study: Using Digital Technology to Acquire and Care for Patients.”

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