Reviews give customers the ability to vocalize their opinion and experience about a company, however fake reviews and negative feedback can really hurt your business.
However, negative feedback might not always be from who you think, and you might have reasons to believe your negative reviews rare from fake customers. How can you track them down?
What we’re talking about aren’t always reviews; sometimes, you can find other outlets for people to take out frustration while hurting your online reputation indefinitely or for a long time.
Let’s do some detective work on how to uncover who is leaving unnecessary negative comments to show how to expose those defaming you or your business!
Where Are People Leaving Negative Feedback?
We know that there are platforms for people to leave reviews, but there are several places online that can also damage your reputation if you aren’t careful.
Unless you have specific feedback you’ve found, it’s always a good idea to check and see where negative feedback could be floating online on your business. Start Googling your business name and your name if it’s associated with your business.
First, Find the IP Address
Where can you find negative feedback? You can find it on online message boards or forums, look for specific URLs about your company, emails to employees, clients, and/or competitors, and Wikipedia pages are just some of the ways people can defame your name online.
Once you have verified that the feedback was left by someone who is not an actual customer, you can work to find their IP address. An IP address is similar to your physical address in a sense; it’s a code that is associated with the person who owns the device. When you’re buying or setting up a computer, you disclose your information, so the IP address belongs to you.
An IP address is a fantastic way to track specifically who is defaming your business online. Once you have the address from where the comments are coming from, you can take the following steps.
Confirm Email
The first thing you want to do is confirm who the email address belongs to behind the defaming comments. One way to do this is to use an online tool called Spokeo Reverse Email Lookup. These tools will help figure out where the comments are coming from and what IP address location.
Once you have the IP address, you can narrow down who is responsible.
Set a Trap
Did you know you can set up a trap to catch an IP address through email?
You can set up a link for a website that’s known as “Honeytrap” and its sole purpose is to track whoever opens it. in your ReadNotify email or attach a document to the email, and the recipient clicks on the link or opens the attachment, you can get even more helpful information about them and their location.
A honeytrap website is used to tempt and lure a target by appearing to have something the target wants. A honeytrap can help target a violator’s identity or identifying information.
This can allow someone to access their information and trace any negative or defaming comments. Especially if they have impacted your business, it might be eligible for a lawsuit.
How Automation Software Can Stop Negative Feedback
Okay, you might not be able to track down every fake person leaving negative feedback, but if it does become an issue, you have the solutions to help. If this sounds like a lot of work, you may want to try using online reputation software to get more positive reviews.
Another way to help is using an online reputation software, like ReviewInc, which monitors all online reviews on all platforms. It allows for immediate attention to help reduce negative consequences. Your customers can get their issues resolved while protecting your online presence.
The best option a company has is to invest in automation software that can monitor your business reviews and make sure to rectify any issues before they hurt your online reputation.
Investing in reliable software to monitor your online reviews and reputation is the way to nurture your online presence. Most companies opt for a free demo and see if it fits their needs. Try our demo today!
