Online opinions about the quality of a company or a service are an important resource for consumers to keep informed and make the right purchase.

Experience shows that most consumers make purchasing decisions based on the opinions they have access to. However, despite the importance of these ratings, there are a number of problems that affect the credibility of comments published on the Internet.

Companies that are aware of the importance of their online reputation prepare marketing strategies to improve it. There are many solutions on the Internet that post user comments and opinions and generate revenue for directing traffic for a fee (pay per click) to the companies reviewed: TrustPilot, TripAdvisor, Yelp…

There are also solutions on the Internet that charge companies a fee for helping them to obtain those comments and post them on the Internet: Trusted Shop, Ekomi …

In this way, companies improve their positioning and attract organic traffic or paid traffic to their company, product or service for their own benefit. Moreover, they build their own online reputation with their customers’ ratings, although they provide “unreliable” information for consumers.

In some cases, companies also pay to delete negative reviews about their products or services. And, finally, companies are often defenceless when faced with the publication of fake news that spreads uncontrolled through forums and social networks.

All these problems mean that the opinions we find on the Internet about companies, products and services are, in many cases, suspicious for consumers. And this happens precisely because, as they are public, they are the result of a huge business in which companies invest a large amount of money.

The problem of credibility of online feedback occurs because there is a conflict between companies, for it to be positive, and consumers who let off steam with their negative opinions. It is urgent that we establish a system of feedback collection and analysis that brings credibility and good sense to the market.