Garcinia Cambogia, also known as the Malabar Tamarind, kudampuli, or brindle berry, has received bundles of skepticism and praise at the same time over the years. A non-specialist may not fully understand this medicinal tropical fruit and its averred benefits by just running a few searches online.
Physically, the fruit may be described to resemble a pumpkin, only that it is smaller. To describe its color and nature of the surface, it is mostly green in color and has bulging rows all around. It is mostly cultivated in some parts of India, Africa, and Asia.
Sure, pomologists try as much as possible to recommend this fruit because of its scientifically proven weight loss benefits. Is there more to it, enough to sway you into trying it and leave out other ace fruits?
Accelerating Garcinia Cambogia weight loss benefits
Because of its antioxidant properties, this fruit has the ability to get rid of unwanted fats especially around the tummy area. Some scientists also suggest that after ingestion, some of the fruit’s constituents such as hydroxycitric acid have the ability to slightly curb your appetite, which pushes the overall calorie intake down a notch.
Everyone wants quick results when it comes to weight loss. Although no diet or exercise is needed to get noticeable results, a sure way to accelerate the results after starting off with this fruit is getting on a serious body workout plan.
Deeper look at some of the other benefits
For something to yield you any results, you must believe in it first. Garcinia Cambogia wins the psychological battle before anything else because you can literally feel the effects after using it for the first time. Some people may experience longer sleep hours and others just an upset tummy. These are good signs that the magic has already started happening, which makes you look forward to the results. Let us look at some of the other Garcinia Cambogia benefits.
Boosts the resilience of your internal organs
Studies have shown that some of the elements in Garcinia Cambogia have the ability to extend the time it takes for your major organs, mainly the heart, to get exhausted. This makes you better in sports and also helps keep you motivated during your workouts.
Satiating effect
Most people, especially those with overwhelming occupations, may find themselves being addicted to unnecessary snacking. After ingestion, Garcinia Cambogia helps to keep your tummy full for longer hours thus helping relieve the urge for unnecessary snacking.
Possible remedy for diabetics
Scientifically proven, Garcinia Cambogia is a natural remedy for diabetics. Being aware of this fruit’s top-level ability to balance blood sugar levels, diabetes specialists warn against using it together with doctor prescribed drugs.
Remedy for acne
Reportedly, people who use Garcinia Cambogia get improved skin over time. This is because the fruit has the ability to control fats, which are the main cause for an unattractive skin.
Natural remedy for indigestion
Traditionally, Garcinia Cambogia was used to heal indigestion in some parts of India.
Two-thirds of Australian adults are now classified as overweight or obese, so it’s logical that supplements promising effortless weight loss are a lucrative market.
But those numbers of overweight and obese Australians are rising — so it’s also logical that these weight-loss supplements don’t actually work.
And that is indeed the case, according to University of Sydney obesity researcher Dr Nick Fuller, who appeared on Today Extra to reveal the science (or lack thereof) behind four common ingredients in these supplements.
“This is one of the biggest marketing scams of the 21st century,” Fuller decreed, which is about as blunt as it gets.
While caffeine does give your metabolism a slight (and very short-lived) boost, there’s no scientific evidence that contributes to weight loss in any meaningful way, according to a University of Sydney review.
“But again, sadly there’s no evidence to suggest it helps with weight loss,” cautioned Fuller.
Garcinea
It’s the hydroxycitric acid (HCA) in the skin of garcinia cambogia fruit that’s supposed to speed up weight loss, and Fuller says there is some legit research suggesting it’ll help drop fat.
But (there’s always a but) that weight loss is tiny: according to Fuller, those who took a garcinia supplement in a 12-week trial only lost a kilo more than those who took a placebo.
“So it’s definitely not worth it,” he said.
Capsaicin
This the compound that gives chili its heat and, like caffeine, it does speed up your metabolic rate. But, like caffeine, its effect is so modest it’s not going to help burn extra calories.
Moral of the story is that you’re just going to have to lose weight the old-fashioned way: eating better, and moving more. On the bright side, it’s cheaper than forking out for an expensive pill that doesn’t work…
A website is a crucial part of your business, and in most cases, it’s the first time potential customers “meet” or interact with your brand. It’s essentially a virtual business card for your business, so a visitor’s first impression can be the difference between a loyal client and a non-buyer.
If you’re ready to develop a website that converts, but aren’t sure where to start, you’ll want to begin by considering our development best practices.
Not only are these best practices crucial to a successful website, but they’re also crucial to increased traffic, sales, and revenue year over year.
Keep reading to learn more about website development and how to create a website that not only site visitors love, but that search engines love too.
Why is website design and development so important?
When a new website hits a server, it’s one in a billion — literally. The number of websites in the world is tipping the scale at 1.9 billion, and it won’t be long before it grows to 2 billion.
That being said, your website has some competition. Of course, your goal is to have tons of satisfied site visitors that enjoy interacting with your website, and if you’re an ecommerce website, your main goal is to make tons of sales. Whether you’re a major corporation or niche business, you want your website to get the job done.
Either way, you have a goal in mind, and the only way to get there is to develop a website that is satisfying to both your audience and search engines.
But why does it matter what search engines think?
Search engines like Google select pages from all 1.9 billion websites in the world to display on their results pages. But those pages don’t just get there on a whim. The design and development play a huge part in how your website pages rank in search engine results pages, and if you’re looking to reach one of the goals mentioned above, your website should rank highly.
Most clicks are made on the first page of results. In fact, 68 percent of clicks go to the first five results, and only 4 percent of clicks go to the last five results on a page.
If you do the math, that only leaves 28 percent of clicks left to be split between the second and third pages of search results.
In short, it’s extremely difficult to get traffic to your website if it doesn’t rank highly in search results, and to rank highly in search results, your website has to follow web design and development best practices.
4 web development guidelines to follow
If you’re ready to start developing, be sure to follow these guidelines to ensure your website’s success!
1. Make all your pages responsive
Developing a responsive website is our first guideline because it is so extremely important to your website on many levels.
When users visit a responsive website, it means that they can use any device to view it, and it’ll respond and present site elements in the same way.
For example, if your site isn’t responsive, someone that uses a tablet or smartphone to view it may not get the whole picture. Call to action buttons might be cut off, or images may not load properly, along with a slew of other potential issues.
2. Enable website analytics
If you fail to analyze important metrics on your website, you’ll never know what parts of your website drive results and which parts could use some work. As part of your website’s development, be sure to enable analytics.
When you enable analytics on a page, you simply include a predetermined code in the HTML of the page, and wait for your important metric data to roll in.
After your analytics code is embedded, you can log into your analytics platform, like Google Analytics, to set specific conversion goals as well as track traffic, bounce rate, and so much more.
3. Implement site security
Site security is just as important as home security. You can think of your website as your company’s virtual home, and it’s extremely important to keep it secure. This is especially true if the site you’re creating accepts sensitive client data like credit card information, addresses, and other private data.
Not only is site security a great feature to have on any website, when users see that you have security measures in place, they’ll be much more willing to purchase through your website.
You should always implement an SSL certificate on your website so that public servers don’t have access to private information and data.
4. Ensure fast load time
Another website development guideline that’s important is ensuring that your website loads quickly. There are a multitude of site elements that could contribute to slow load time. Here are a few things to look out for during development:
Large images: One of the biggest culprits of a site that loads slowly is site images that are too large. When you use big, super high-quality images on your website without compressing them, they can cause your site to run slowly. Before uploading images to your site, you’ll want to run them through a compression tool, like Kraken, to ensure that they don’t clog up your site.
Too many plugins: Plugins can give your site the bells and whistles you’re after, but it comes at a high price. If you use too many plugins on your website, it can take an extremely long time to load. Unless the plugin is necessary, you should consider removing it. Be sure to check over your site for plugins that you no longer use, or ones that are outdated.
Check your host: Your hosting account refers to the server that your website runs on. If your site operates on a shared server, you might see slow load times due to the number of websites that are also hosted on that specific server.
Need help with site development?
Do you like the idea of developing your own website, but aren’t sure how to handle all the things we’ve talked about on this page? If you feel overwhelmed, WebFX can help.
We’re a full-service digital marketing agency, which means we can help with everything from search engine optimization to website design and development.
Our team of over 200 experts know the importance of things like responsive design, site speed, site security, and website analytics, and we’ll be sure to implement them on your site.
To learn more about our website development services, feel free to contact us online, or reach out directly at 888-601-5359! We can’t wait to hear from you!
WebGL has become the subject of experimentation and testing the limits of what is possible on the web. Almost each day we stumble upon grandiose solutions powered by it. As proof, we have already examined a number of real projects.
Today we are going to explore some concepts that show the benefits of using shaders. We are going to focus on GLSL.
GLSL stands for Graphics Library Shader Language. It is an integral part of WebGL, and responsible for the majority of mind-blowing solutions we see in the wild. Living up to its name, it provides developers with tools to manipulate graphics intuitively. In the right hands, it is able to bring almost any idea to life.
Codepen is already teeming with fascinating projects created with the help of shaders. However, those that show realistic effects are the most impressive and inspiring. And we are going to prove this in today’s collection. Let’s dive in.
The Web Designer Toolbox Unlimited Downloads: 500,000+ Web Templates, Themes, Plugins & Design Assets
Stefan Werk opens our roundup with his masterpiece, proving to everyone that high-end technologies are real magic. He managed to recreate rain falling on a window (or in our case, a screen). The behavior and realization of raindrops are so real that you want to touch them. Here, JavaScript stands behind the rain simulation whereas WebGL shader takes responsibility for the gooey effect and refraction.
Perhaps the next two projects are among the most impressive examples of using shaders in our collection. Although each one forces your computer to operate at full capacity to cope with everything happening behind the scenes, nevertheless, it is worth it. Each concept, with all of those ripples, small and large waves, along with changing colors look incredibly realistic and very inspiring.
While Jonathan Blair has recreated only the water surface, David Hartley has made things a bit interesting by giving the latter a spherical shape, thereby skillfully imitating the Earth. Both projects are mind-blowing.
Powered by Pixi.js, this fascinating concept by Omar Shehata will surprise you with its highly-detailed simulation of a haze effect. Spiced up with beautiful purplish coloring and a dark background, these clouds of smoke look incredibly authentic. The behavior is well-thought-out. The concept is just mesmerizing.
This concept lives up to its name. It is highly realistic. Boris Sehovac has used different sizes of snowflakes, different levels of blurriness and different speeds to recreate depth. What’s more, he has also tried to simulate wind by forcing the composition to change its direction from left to right and vice versa. As a result, we can witness some kind of a small snow storm. A native WebGL shader stands behind this beauty.
If the previous example has left a good impression on you, then Anand Davaasuren’s concept will undoubtedly please your eye. The solution is based on the same idea. The falling snow effect lies at the heart of it: though with one exception. This example uses hearts instead of snowflakes. As a result, the concept has got a lovely atmosphere that is hard to resist. Maybe it is not brutally realistic, but still, the falling effect as well as the hearts’ behavior are incredibly polished.
This is another masterpiece created by David Hartley. This time the artist demonstrates his take on clouds and their floating behavior. Again, Pixi.js stands behind this grandiose project. Here, the camera goes right through the clouds, letting you feel the whole beauty of the idea. But it was not enough for David. He has also provided us with an opportunity to explore the scene by moving the cursor around. Just incredible.
From a freezing snowstorm and cold fluffy clouds to the hot stuff, here is a successful attempt at simulating fire. The team behind 14islands uses a bunch of particles and custom shaders to bring this idea to life. As a result, we can witness a small bonfire with smoke that exudes warmth on all fronts.
Chrome by Liam Egan features liquid with a high density. The project slightly reminds of a scene from the epic Terminator 2, when the evil T-1000 showed his liquid metal composition. The concept feels artificial, without a doubt. Yet the behavior and glossy surface look incredibly lifelike. What’s more, you are welcome to play around by moving your mouse up and down to change the smoothing parameter.
This project by Martin Laxenaire is a perfect example of shaders put in practice. Here, the author managed to pull off a real ripple effect that makes the image move like a curtain upon mouse hover. Curtains.js powers this concept. The only drawback is that it may be too early to supply each and every image on a website with this effect since it is still too heavy for a low-end computer to “digest” it.
Fabien Motte’s project also features a practical solution. However, we do not mean these bright fireflies that chaotically move around the vertical axis. We are talking about a glitch effect that occasionally hits the screen. It is just incredible. And since it is popular these days, this concept can serve as a perfect foundation for your experiments.
Throw Some Shade
Shaders are powerful tools. While we have focused on realistic solutions in this article, there are a bunch of other mind-blowing concepts that look more artificial. You can create absolutely different scenes and compositions – it is here where your imagination can run wild.
However, with great power comes great responsibility. There are a couple of issues that you need to take into account before jumping into this whole shader thing.
First, there is an issue with browser compatibility. Not everyone can enjoy its beauty. And secondly, not every computer can handle it without a hitch. This means that shaders are not universal tools – at least not yet.
The source code for the calculator that ships with every copy of Windows has been released as open source.
As such, Microsoft's repository for the source is now listed on the
Free Software Calculators:
Scientific, Graphing, Statistical and Programmable Calculators page. This calculator
is, in my view, one of the most useful non-system-related software that comes with Windows,
with all the operations (including scientific and programmer functions) that I need from a
calculator in a single easy-to-use program.
From the FTC to Amazon, and even Jimmy Fallon, everyone’s talking about fake reviews.
Customer reviews are one of the most common ways consumers make purchase decisions. As demonstrated in a 2017 study by the Spiegel Research Center, displaying reviews can increase conversion rates by 270 percent.
Recognizing the strength reviews have to fuel sales, some (extremely unethical) individuals have decided to undermine reviews, diminishing the exact reason they hold value.
Here we’ll cover the latest news on the FTC’s landmark reviews, then breakdown the latest business epidemic, covering:
The FDC’s first case against fake reviews
Amazon’s ongoing battle against fake reviews
How many consumers have read a phony review?
How companies get fraudulent reviews
How to spot a fake review (On Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy, or anywhere)
Free online tools to check for counterfeit reviews
How companies can get legitimate (and ethical!) reviews
Whether you are a consumer or a company selling your product and services, no one is a fan of fake reviews. (No one ethical, that is.)
What is a fake review?
A fake review is a review written by someone who has not actually used the product or service. They can be written by friends, family, or employees of the company. Fake reviews are also generated by bots and companies who pay individuals to write fraudulent reviews. Companies get fake positive reviews to increase sales, or source negative reviews on other company’s to bring down their competitors.
While fake reviews have been an issue for years, it’s not just consumers and companies fighting back. The FTC’s inaugural 2019 case against fake reviews is a historical breakthrough recognizing the impact fake reviews have on buyers.
To understand the epidemic of fake reviews, consider that the FTC’s announcement made Jimmy Fallon’s opening monologue. (Signs of noteworthy news: It makes late-night talk shows.)
Jimmy shared his advice on spotting fake reviews: “For instance, here’s a pair of Apple AirPods. The fake review says, “These have amazing sound quality and great battery life! The real review says, “These are expensive Q-Tips that you’ll lose instantly.”
So who can people thank for the FTC taking action? The defendant, Cure Encapsulations Inc., owned by Naftula Jacobwitz, sells weight loss supplements. (I know, right? Of all the industries who could commit fake reviews, weight-loss pills are found to be guilty. Who would have guessed?)
The FDC cracks down on fake Amazon reviews
On February 26, 2019, the Federal Trade Commission released a statement announcing its first case “Challenging fake paid reviews on an independent retail website.”
While Amazon has been fighting fake reviews for years (more info below), the FTC’s legal action proves that fake reviews are now being taken seriously not just by companies and consumers, but also by the government.
FTC’s complaint against Cure Encapsulations accuses the weight loss brand of paying third-party websites to write dozens of Amazon fake reviews for the Garcinia Cambogia supplement.
Examples of the statements from these inaccurate reviews include it being a “powerful appetite” that “Literally BLOCKS FAT from forming.” (Proof to use caution when writing in all-caps.)
In total, Naftula Jacobwitz is accused of requesting 30 reviews with a minimum of a 4.3 out of 5 star rating in exchange for $1,000.
One of the reviews believed to be contrived states: “At first I was skeptical about purchasing these since they aren’t exactly cheap supplements, but I can tell you that these supplements really do work, and I based my purchase off of findings and research. I have lost 10 pounds in the first week of using these. I will definitely be recommending this to my family and friends.”
Andrew Smith, the FTC’s Drector of Bureau of Consumer Protection, shared their commitment to protect consumers in a statement, saying, “When a company buys fake reviews to inflate its Amazon ratings, it hurts both shoppers and companies that play by the rules.”
The settlement includes a 12.8 million dollar fine; with $50,000 to be paid immediately. The remainder depends on the revenue the Cure Encapsulations has made based on the possibility of inaccurate financials.
Amazon fake reviews: New initiatives in the ongoing battle
While Amazon takes plenty of blame for fake reviews, their innovation in creating this form of user-generated content isn’t to be blamed.
Amazon wants to continue helping consumers find reviews that are legitimate and trustworthy. In a February 2018 statement to CBS MoneyWatch, the company said “even one inauthentic review is too many.”
In fact, as detailed in the below video, “Amazon cracks down on fake reviews,” the company has been fighting them for years.
In 2015 alone Amazon sued more than 1,000 people for “misleading Amazon’s customers” with the “fake reviews of products.”
Consider that these words, from an Amazon statement going back to April of 2016, still reign true today: “To help eliminate the incentives to engage in reviews abuse, we will continue to pursue legal action against the root cause of reviews abuse — the sellers and manufacturers who create the demand for fraudulent services — as well as the ecosystem of individuals and organizations who supply fraudulent reviews in exchange for compensation.”
There’s no doubt that the war on fake reviews is an ongoing battle, but Amazon continues taking steps against it.
On February 28, 2019, the day after the FTC’s case, Amazon announced “Project Zero,” a new initiative that gives brands the ability to remove counterfeit product listings. Currently Project Zero is an invite-only program for those who “Maintain a high bar for accuracy in order to maintain their Project Zero privileges.”
The project also includes an automated protection system to eliminate fraudulent reviews.
Fake online reviews are everywhere: Yelp, Walmart, and Best Buy
Just like fake news, fake reviews are all around you — you’ll find them on plenty of other companies, too.
Yelp has also been fighting the war on fake reviews for years now. In August 2013, Yelp filed a lawsuit against a San Diego law firm, McMillan Law Group. (It’s never a good sign when it’s the law firm getting sued.) alleging the company’s employees “pretend to be clients and review their own employer as Yelp.
Yelp provides itself with providing trusted information for the community, and often takes less-drastic action to fight for authenticity. For example, companies caught with fake reviews can find themselves with a ranking penalty, the loss of the ability to advertise, removing a listing, and even removal from the platform entirely.
According to Fakespot (more on the review-checking company in a moment), 52 percent of reviews on Walmart are believed to be fake. That’s a whopping one-in-two.
Best-Buy has also been in the news for fraudulent reviews thanks to Huawei. Yet, that’s exactly what Huawei did. Running a competition on its Facebook page, Huawei posted in a Facebook, offering people the chance to win the new Mate 10 Pro mobile phone, in exchange for a review of that exact phone on Best Buy.
Image source: 9to5Google
Let’s state the obvious here: it’s pretty difficult to write a review for a product that:
You are entering to win, and therefore do not yet have
Has not even been released yet
How many consumers have read a phony review?
Smart consumers know how reviews can help their purchase decision, and read them regularly. In fact, 94 percent of customers read online reviews, and 72 percent of customers don’t take action until they have read customer reviews.
But with all of that time reading reviews, some of those deceptive reviews start to stand out.
According to a BrightLocal Study, 79 percent of consumers know that they’ve spotted a fake review.
Image source: Brightlocal
The problem is, while some fake reviews are obvious, they don’t all stand out. In the same study, 84% of people admitted they can’t always diagnose when reviews are fake.
By understanding how companies get fake reviews, you can (as we’ll cover in the next section), recognize when a review should not be trusted.
How do companies get Amazon reviews? Where do fake Amazon and Yelp reviews come from?
An NBC News Investigation demonstrated that it is possible for a new company to purchase hundreds of positive reviews within days.
So, how fake reviews have come to be such an epidemic? There are multiple sources that produce these inauthentic product claims.
“Review farms,” or the companies who profit by hiring people to write fake reviews, are one of the biggest culprits. One example is amazonverfieidreviews.com (creative name, right?), who is cited in the FTC’s February 26 news release. In its complaint, the FTC alleges “That website offered Amazon sellers the ability to ‘Push your product towards the top!’ using ‘verified’ product reviews that will ‘help your product rank better in the internal search engine,’”
For another example, simply type the #reviews into Twitter, and you’ll see gems such as this appear:
Those are the exact people Amazon and the FTC are fighting against. (Apparently, this person would also benefit from a lesson in punctuation.)
Technology is another source to be thanked for fake reviews. In fact, computer-generated reviews are the source of the majority of inauthentic reviews on Amazon: “We estimate more than 90 percent of inauthentic reviews are computer generated, and we use machine learning technology to analyze all incoming and existing reviews 24/7 and block or remove inauthentic reviews.”
Company employees, friends, and family members have also been known to write fake reviews to support sales of their own product. Even Facebook is believed to be guilty of this. In January 2019, New York Times reporter Kevin Roose noticed multiple five-star reviews for the Facebook Portal that appeared to be written by employees.
Eight ways to spot fake reviews on Amazon, Yelp, Best Buy, or any e-commerce site
Here at G2 Crowd, every review is verified by an actual person, not a machine, to ensure it’s legitimacy. Given the crusade against these false claims, as employees we take personal offense to reading fake reviews on any platform.
Here are eight steps you can use to guard yourself against fake reviews on any website.
1. Fake reviews often have typos and broken English (aka: bad grammar)
Here’s an example of someone on Twitter begging for reviews, and offering free items in return:
Whenever I see a review that reflects that level of grammar, I move on to the next product. If a product can’t earn enough legitimate reviews from real users, I’m left wondering what’s wrong with it — there has to be something actual customers have to say they don’t want me to know!
2. Avoid reviews that are generic and overly positive
When someone makes a business of writing fake reviews, they don’t have time to be specific. When you see generic claims that could apply to any product (“This product did exactly what it promised!”), keep reading to find a better review, like this one:
The pictures are an added way to ensure credibility.
In addition, remember that the people who get paid to write reviews are incentivized to write positive reviews, as demonstrated by the FTC’s claims. Take care if you see too many reviews that don’t mention any drawbacks. (Let’s face it, no one, and almost no thing, is perfect!)
3. See how many reviews the person has written (And in what time period)
If someone has posted hundreds of reviews in one day, buyers should without a doubt beware.
There are some people who have time to write hundreds of reviews. These people are often recognized as experts and influencers. For example, if you see someone with a badge stating they are a “top contributor,” you can trust their reviews are genuine.
Here you can see someone on Yelp who has written 179 reviews, shared 200 photos, and is part of the Yelp Elite Squad, “A community of Yelp’s most avid writers, photographers, and adventurers.”
However, there comes a point when one person can only write so many reviews — unless it is their source of income. It is especially concerning if one person writes hundreds of views within a short time period.
4. Consider the the review length
People write long reviews when they have used the product — they have an experience, and, as a result, specific details to share.
That specific information often relates to the how, when, or why of a product’s use. It has the storytelling element, such as this review that mentions “it even survived going on two airplane trips with TSA handling.”
5. Find review feedback: Helpful reviews are upvoted and authentic
So reviews are all about giving feedback, right? Knowing how much reviews help consumers cross from the consideration to purchase stage, companies who show reviews will give the option to answer “Was this review helpful to you?”
For example, when shopping for online cosmetics at Ulta, you can give a thumbs up, thumbs down, or even flag a review if you spot a red flag.
Amazon takes it a step further. Not only can you mark a review as helpful, you can also share a comment. For example, this review for a pet travel carrier has 27 comments, and 1,027 people found it helpful.
Yelp also fights fake reviews with feedback opportunities that give a bit of personality, marking a review useful, funny, or cool.
6. Check for reviews with verified purchases
A verified review is more likely to be legitimate.
Reviews are marked as “verified” when the company can prove the individual has used the product. For example, imagine I buy a pair of headphones through Amazon. When I write a review, it will be marked as a “verified purchase.”
Reviews for services, such as those on Yelp, don’t offer the same ability to track online purchases. However, you can still look for “check-ins” on Yelp, which demonstrate the person’s presence at the location.
Reviews that aren’t verified can still hold value. For example, imagine I buy bluetooth headphones at Target. I see the product on Amazon, and decide to write a review. Even though my review is real, it won’t say “verified reviewer.”
A verified purchase is just one of several ways to check for a fake review. They can still get tricky though.
Take a look at this verified review for mascara on Ulta:
Ulta has faith the person legitimately used the product. However, the review was submitted as part of a free sample program. The mascara wasn’t paid for, they got it for free.
And, with a bit of scrolling, you’ll notice that every review was written as part of a free sample program. Some of the reviews even say “I received this product complimentary for reviewing purposes.” (A sentence you will often see on Amazon, too.)
This doesn’t mean the review is fake. However, when you see examples like this one, keep an eye out for bias. Some people may feel compelled to write a positive review in exchange for free items. Plus, scammers will purposely write positive reviews to get more freebies.
Which leads to our next point…
7. Stay away from overly-positive reviews
Let’s follow up on the idea biased reviews. It’s true; someone can receive a free product or service and still write a positive review.
Here is a review for the same mascara just mentioned:
For example, Just because a review was written in exchange for a product, In the same way, beware of a sudden increase in five-star reviews.
While this review was part of a free sample program, it has three stars, not five, and shares both positive and negative aspects. Personally, this is a review I trust.
Here is another example of a trustworthy review from Best Buy on wireless Beats headphones:
Here’s a few reasons I trust the review by Pablo:
The review is four stars — when people pay for reviews, they usually want a perfect rating in exchange for their “investment”
The title and the review itself share both the negatives as well as positive feedback
The review goes into specific details
It is a verified purchase
Best Buy recognizes this person as a “Top 250 Contributor”
Notice that I can also post a comment in response to Pablo’s review.
8. Check the reviewer’s profile picture
As shared by Jason Brown, who runs reviewfraud.org, many fake reviewers use celebrity images by accident. As quoted in NBC News, he states, “What they’ll do is they’ll create their account, do a Google search for headshots and when they’re doing that to add it to their account, they’ll get famous people by mistake.”
So if that reviewer’s profile picture looks like a certain celebrity you know, don’t give much weight to their review.
With the rise of technology, there’s one more way you can determine how trustworthy a review is — utilizing tools on the internet.
Free online tools to check for fake reviews
There is one other way to track fake reviews. Tired of being duped into false promises, some companies have been created for the sole purpose of helping consumers source what is legitimate.
When you don’t have time to follow the steps above, these websites can help.
An example is fakespot.com. Simply enter the URL, and Fakespot will use a type of artificial intelligence to analyze how legitimate the review is.
The platform works with a number of major review platforms and retailers, including Amazon, Best Buy, Sephora, Wal-Mart, Trip Advisor, and Yelp.
Another platform made to analyze the trustworthiness of reviews on Amazon is ReviewMeta.
How to get legitimate (ethical!) reviews
If you’re a company who wants to build a marketing strategy with customer reviews, you should by no means shy away from them.
Reviews still hold immense power. B2B consumer reviews also have an impact: 92 percent of B2B buyers are more likely to purchase a product or service after reading a trusted review. Plus, you can create content from reviews that establish credibility and grow brand awareness.
Hopefully, by now you’ve figured out the No. 1 rule: Never pay someone to write a review. Remember that by definition a review comes from the consumer: If you’re paying someone, it is really a deceptive advertisement masquerading as a review.
Whether you want to get software reviews or build your presence on other B2C platforms such as Yelp and TripAdvisor, there are plenty of ways to get real customer reviews.
For example, send a follow-up email after purchase, asking the user to share their feedback. Up to 80 percent of reviews are the result of these follow-up emails. I’ve received emails requesting a review from companies of every size, including major chains, such as the clothing store Express, and individuals running a store on Etsy.
Whether it’s a sticker on the door, text on an in-store pamphlet, or CTA on a receipt, utilize in-store opportunities to request reviews.
In the world of B2B, ask your customer success and sales team to ask customers for reviews during 1:1 conversations.
Don’t forget about social media, too!
Any channel you use in your marketing efforts can also be used to request reviews. And, the people who see your outreach and take the time to write a review are showing about they care about your brand.
This can lead to a positive effect: According to the the Spiegel Research Center study, mentioned early, brands who send their customers a direct link to submit a review can expect their average star rating to increase.
A note on negative reviews
When sourcing legitimate reviews, you can’t guarantee they will all be positive. But, if you get a negative review — relax! It’s okay!
As the customer review statistics prove, you actually increase credibility this way. As stated by the Spiegel Research center, the likelihood for purchase based on reviews actually peaks with a star rating of 4.0 — 4.7. After that, the closer you get the 5 stars, the more the chance of a sale goes down.
And, if you respond to negative reviews, you’ll show that you are listening to your customers, and you are eager to make improvement based on their feedback.
Don’t let fake reviews get you down: Real reviews work
Whether you are a buyer reading reviews to fuel your purchase decision, or you are a company using reviews to establish credibility and increase sales, reviews are still an incredibly valuable tool.
If you are a business executing reviews, keep working to get those real reviews from real customers. In addition to increasing your sales, credibility, and brand awareness, they have other benefits. For example, reviews can affect recruiting for your business and impact SEO. Reviews are believed to make up over 13 percent of how Google and other search engines rank local search results.
If you’re looking to increase sales, fight the scams and schemes with real reviews. The impact and credibility from your actual customers will go further than anything fake!
Square‘s Q4 earnings 2018 results came after market close on Wednesday (Feb. 27), showing the continuation of several trends seen in recent quarterly reports. These trends included double-digit gross payment volume (GPV) growth, as measured year on year, double-digit transaction gains and traction in newer technology offerings — such as point-of-sale (POS) financing to help sellers log their own top-line growth.
In terms of headline numbers, the payments processing firm reported adjusted revenues of $464 million, up 64 percent year on year, while the Street had looked for $454 million. Earnings on an adjusted basis were $0.14 per share, which matched the Street.
Gross Payment Volume And Large Seller Mix Growth
Digging into the numbers a bit, GPV was up 28 percent in Q4 to $23 billion. Transaction-based revenue was up 27 percent to $668 million. The Cash App, Square said, had more than 15 million monthly active users in December 2018, more than double the number seen in the final month of 2017.
In terms of seller mix, those with annualized volumes north of $500,000 were 24 percent of the GPV, while those between $125,000 and $500,000 were 28 percent. That means larger sellers made up 51 percent of the mix, compared to a similar tally of 47 percent in the same period last year. (Management also spotlighted the fact that verticals such as restaurants are seeing increased momentum with Square’s offerings.)
With more granular detail on mix and technology adoption, newly joined SquareCFO Amrita Ahuja said during the conference call with analysts that 30 percent of those sellers serve customers across more than one channel on Square. She added that Virtual Terminal, Invoices and eCommerce API offered up more than 10 percent of the company’s GPI in Q4.
Square also said its recently launched Payroll offering has been useful in helping sellers manage operations, as smaller firms may be relatively underserved by traditional payroll providers. As much as one-third of firms that signed on to Square Payroll throughout 2018 were new to the company, according to supplemental materials filed by Square with its earnings announcement.
In Q4, Square Capital facilitated 72,000 business loans at $472 million, up 55 percent year on year.
In reference to questions about installment payment options (where payment plans can be set up for purchases ranging from $250 to $10,000), introduced during the final months of 2018, CEO Jack Dorsey noted the introduction is still “early,” but that the offering gives Square’s sellers a “tool” that can help compel customers to make a purchase.
Hardware revenue in Q4 was $18 million, up 51 percent year on year, and driven by Square Terminal, Square Register and third-party peripherals. All this leads to — as Dorsey said on the call — an “ecosystem” for the company’s sellers and customers.
In his comments on the Square Card, a free business debit card that allows sellers to access funds upon logging sales, Dorsey said the firm has identified a “pain point” that can be addressed by linking accounts and helping owners invest in their businesses. Square estimated that as much as 40 percent of Square Card beta sellers (per research conducted last month) did not previously have a business debit card. He noted that the card enables new businesses to launch without the need for traditional banking in place, which he termed “pretty profound.” Elsewhere on the call, he said the card can help underserved, underbanked sellers.
Ahuja and Dorsey also explained on the call how there had been a “network effect” that helped the company see growth in products and services that were announced and launched within the last five years. Moving forward, management said that focus would remain on mobile payments and online initiatives.
In after-hours trading, Square shares fell as much as 6 percent, as guidance on an adjusted basis of between $0.06 to $0.08 per share missed the Street estimate of $0.11. Square said it will continue to invest in growth.
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Latest Insights:
Our data and analytics team has developed a number of creative methodologies and frameworks that measure and benchmark the innovation that’s reshaping the payments and commerce ecosystem. Check out our February 2019 Payments And The Platform Economy Report
The stock of NUTRAFUELS INC (OTCMKTS:NTFU) registered an increase of 192% in short interest. NTFU’s total short interest was 14,600 shares in March as published by FINRA. Its up 192% from 5,000 shares, reported previously. With 100,800 shares average volume, it will take short sellers 0 days to cover their NTFU’s short positions.
The stock increased 0.20% or $0.0004 during the last trading session, reaching $0.1743. About 27,175 shares traded. NutraLife BioSciences, Inc. (OTCMKTS:NTFU) has 0.00% since March 10, 2018 and is . It has underperformed by 4.37% the SP500.
NutraFuels, Inc. manufactures and distributes oral spray nutritional and dietary products to retail and wholesale outlets. The company has market cap of $19.17 million. The companyÂ’s products include sleep spray to support a healthy sleep cycle and improve the quality of restful sleep; energize spray to enhance energy, and restore vigor and vitality; and garcinia cambogia spray, an appetite and weight management spray. It currently has negative earnings. It also offers NRG-X extreme energy spray to enhance energy and stamina; headache and pain spray to relieve headaches and pain; and hair, skin, and nails spray to nourish and encourage hair, skin, and nail growth.
More news for NutraLife BioSciences, Inc. (OTCMKTS:NTFU) were recently published by: Marketwired.com, which released: “NutraFuels (NTFU) Files its Application to Up List to the OTCQB OTC Market – Marketwired” on January 29, 2018. Globenewswire.com‘s article titled: “Freedom Leaf Inc. Announces National Distribution Agreement Other OTC:FRLF – GlobeNewswire” and published on February 28, 2018 is yet another important article.
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In a recent study titled “The Association between Cannabis Product Characteristics and Symptom Relief,” published in the journal Scientific Reports, UNM researchers Sarah See Stith, assistant professor in the Department of Economics, and Jacob Miguel Vigil, associate professor in the Department of Psychology, found that THC and CBD contents were the most important factor for optimizing symptom relief for a wide variety of health conditions.
Cannabis is rapidly gaining popularity as a mid-level analgesic and promising substitute for prescription opioids and other classes of medications, which often carry undesirable side effects, dangerous drug interactions and risk of death. Presently, federal barriers restrict researchers from conducting cannabis administration studies in the U.S.
One of the real shockers, to me anyway was the finding that THC has more health benefits than CBD.
I have done some research (no, not smoking it), and CBD has always seemed like the compound in marijuana that had health benefits while the THC in Marijuana just got people high. I was not alone in that thinking .
Jacob Miguel Vigil, one of the researchers, and a well published author of papers as well had this to say
Despite the conventional wisdom, both in the popular press and much of the scientific community that only CBD has medical benefits while THC merely makes one high, our results suggest that THC may be more important than CBD in generating therapeutic benefits. In our study, CBD appears to have little effect at all, while THC generates measurable improvements in symptom relief. These findings justify the immediate de-scheduling of all types of cannabis, in addition to hemp, so that cannabis with THC can be more widely accessible for pharmaceutical use by the general public.
Here in Canada we see lots of news on Marijuana health benefits since the legalization of Cannabis last November. I am sure that studies like this will be interesting in the public conversation as most people would not want to admit that there is any health advantages to getting high even while CBD oil is a non psychoactive compound that people and doctors are recommending for stress relief as well as treating of mental illnesses
