> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.nearmedia.co/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Two-Factor Reviews, Paid Links Work, Smart Speaker Growth Flat - URL: https://www.nearmedia.co/two-factor-reviews-paid-links-work-smart-speakers-flat/ - Published: 2022-06-20T17:37:52.000Z - Updated: 2022-06-20T17:37:52.000Z - Author: Greg Sterling - Tags: News ### Two-Factor Fake Review Fix Review bombing is becoming a bigger problem. It shows up with games and, more often, [movies and TV](https://www.bustle.com/entertainment/ms-marvel-review-bombing-controversy-explained?ref=nearmedia.co). Typically, it's a loosely organized effort driven by some political or ideological agenda (often ugly). In local, it has happened most often to restaurants, with [vaccine requirements](https://www.axios.com/local/washington-dc/2021/10/12/dc-restaurants-yelp-negative-review-bombs?ref=nearmedia.co) or for [political reasons](https://www.cnet.com/news/politics/the-red-hen-restaurant-that-sarah-sanders-says-kicked-her-out-gets-yelp-bombed/?ref=nearmedia.co). Yelp and Google [have mechanisms](https://trust.yelp.com/consumer-alerts/?ref=nearmedia.co) in place to address the issue, which seem to work. But it's a symptom of the larger problem of spam and fake reviews. Epic Games [has adopted](https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/news/the-epic-games-store-ratings-and-polls-update?ref=nearmedia.co) a novel approach to try and mitigate review bombing. "Our ratings system will ask random players, who have played a game for more than two hours, to give a rating on a five point scale." The company will thus randomize review collection from a pool of verified users. This "two factor" approach may represent a model for other review-dependent segments (i.e., local). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/03/80/0380d96d-ef7e-450e-96b3-2963e18aaab5/content/images/2022/06/Screen-Shot-2022-06-20-at-7.23.59-AM.png) Source: Epic Games **Our take:** - Apple's [new native reviews](https://www.nearmedia.co/a-look-at-apples-review-environment/) feature has several anti-fraud mechanisms, including matching user location history with reviewed places. Amazon has [verified purchasers](https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html??ref=nearmedia.co) (although that [can be cheated](https://www.webretailer.com/b/amazon-fake-reviews/?ref=nearmedia.co)). - With nearly [11% fake reviews](https://www.nearmedia.co/meh-ta-moment-fake-reviews-gmb-a-big-lead-driver/), Google could equally use location history and randomized solicitation to maximize authentic reviews. - If platforms solicited reviews it could cut fake review volumes. Downside: smaller volume local businesses and product sellers might suffer. ### Study: 69% Say Paid Links Work Aira's third State of Link Building [Report](https://aira.net/state-of-link-building/?ref=nearmedia.co) is out. Based on a survey of 270 SEOs, mostly from agencies with 50 people or less, it's a little like a "Local Search Ranking Factors" but for link building. The top strategy is content (68%); competitor analysis and guest posting are next in order (below). Ahrefs is the dominant SEO tool and ranking/search visibility is the dominant KPI. It takes between 1 and 5 hours to build a single link (56%) but between 1 and 6 months for the impact to appear. Most SEOs include nofollow links (62%) and no-link brand mentions (67%) toward their objectives. Industry specific links are seen as the most valuable (72%). In terms of paid links, 31% buy them (against guidelines) and 69% believe they're effective. Most SEOs don't report paid links. The toughest part of link-building: getting links from outreach targets and generating content ideas. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/03/80/0380d96d-ef7e-450e-96b3-2963e18aaab5/content/images/2022/06/Screen-Shot-2022-06-20-at-10.13.38-AM.png) Source: Aira's State of Link Building Report **Our take:** - A large number of content campaigns typically last 1 - 4 weeks and generate 1 - 9 links (seen as successful). Most effective: long-form reports (really?). - A majority (59%) say demand for link-building services has grown in the past year. Most others say it has remained constant. - The vast majority (94%) believe Google will use links as a ranking signal for at least five years; they're less confident about 10 years (73%). ### Smart Speaker Adoption Flat Edison Research and NPR have been doing their "[smart audio report](https://www.npr.org/about-npr/1105579648/npr-edison-research-smart-speaker-ownership-reaches-35-of-americans?ref=nearmedia.co)" for five years. It illustrates an oft-repeated maxim from [Roy Amara](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy%5FAmara?ref=nearmedia.co) (wrongly attributed to Bill Gates): "We tend to overestimate the effect of a technology in the short run and underestimate the effect in the long run." Smart speakers, virtual assistants and voice were supposed to revolutionize search and commerce. They haven't – yet. Roughly 35% of US adults own a smart speaker (\~100 million). That number is essentially flat. The top purchase motivations remain essentially the same (below). However, smart-home controller looms larger. The latest report is silent on commerce, which essentially isn't happening. But there's a finding that 50% of users have heard ads; 48% percent say these audio ads are more effective than ads on other media. And 62% of Americans now use voice assistants on one or more devices, mostly smartphones. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/03/80/0380d96d-ef7e-450e-96b3-2963e18aaab5/content/images/2022/06/Screen-Shot-2022-06-20-at-9.01.33-AM.png) Source: Edison Research-NPR **Our take:** - Early survey claims of ["v-commerce" purchases](https://searchengineland.com/report-57-smart-speaker-owners-bought-something-voice-283279?ref=nearmedia.co) and [local search](https://www.localogy.com/report-36-have-done-local-search-on-smart-speaker/?ref=nearmedia.co) turned out to be mostly inaccurate. (I ask about store hours sometimes, but that's about it.) - Security and privacy are the major reasons more people aren't buying smart speakers/displays. These obstacles won't be easily overcome. - The failure of smart speaker commerce and local search is a UX failure. Voice-search [has also reportedly peaked](https://www.nearmedia.co/super-bowl-ad-effect-peak-voice-search-ar-now-mainstream/). Long term, however, voice will be a primary computing interface. That's the Roy Amara part. ## Recent Analysis - ****Near Memo episode 6 9 :** [The power of great CX, What percent of searches are local? Antitrust laws may shake up digital marketing](https://www.nearmedia.co/ep-69/). - ICYMI: **Reviews on Apple Maps: A Complete Guide**, [by Mike Blumenthal](https://www.nearmedia.co/a-look-at-apples-review-environment/). ## Short Takes - **Google** [tests](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-advertisement-label-in-local-pack-33589.html?ref=nearmedia.co) "advertisement" label in Local Pack. - **Google** [holding SEO meetup](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-nyc-seo-meetup-33606.html?ref=nearmedia.co) in NYC on June 27\. - **Google** offers guidance on [best practices for product markup](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-product-rich-results-for-product-variants-33614.html?ref=nearmedia.co). - How the [loss of third party cookies](https://searchengineland.com/b2b-search-marketing-privacy-changes-385313?ref=nearmedia.co) will impact **B2B paid-search**. - **Apple workers** at Maryland store [first to unionize](https://www.npr.org/2022/06/19/1106116113/apple-workers-vote-to-unionize-at-maryland-store?ref=nearmedia.co). - Do **QR-code restaurant menus** signal the end of days ([WaPo](https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/06/15/against-qr-code-restaurant-menus/?ref=nearmedia.co))? - $55 for wings and fries? Fees could [kill demand](https://www.dailydot.com/irl/53-dollar-doordash-buffalo-wild-wings-order-debate/?amp&ref=nearmedia.co) for **DoorDash**. - **Walmart and Roku** [partner](https://advertising.roku.com/resources/blog/walmart-and-roku-bring-commerce-to-tv-ads?ref=nearmedia.co) for shoppable ads on TV. - **Walmart outperforming Amazon** [selling shopper data](https://www.chargedretail.co.uk/2022/06/10/walmart-claims-it-is-outperforming-amazon-in-selling-customer-data/?ref=nearmedia.co). - **Amazon** may [run out of warehouse workers](https://www.vox.com/recode/23170900/leaked-amazon-memo-warehouses-hiring-shortage?ref=nearmedia.co) by 2024, says internal doc. - Lender **Brex** [boots SMB-startups](https://techcrunch.com/2022/06/19/what-was-really-behind-brexs-decision-to-ditch-smbs/?ref=nearmedia.co) off its platform. - Enjoy wants to [bridge e-commerce and stores](https://www.enjoy.com/en-us/?ref=nearmedia.co) with **mobile stores**. - Three things that will tell us if/when **AI** has [become sentient](https://thenextweb.com/news/the-3-things-ai-must-demonstrate-to-be-considered-sentient?ref=nearmedia.co). - **Meta** [launches a store](https://twitter.com/MetaNewsroom/status/1537885268757188610?t=xWelIfNkZTyGWsca78FmUQ&s=19&ref=nearmedia.co) so you can buy virtual clothes for your avatar. Listen to our [latest podcast](https://www.nearmedia.co/memo/). [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/03/80/0380d96d-ef7e-450e-96b3-2963e18aaab5/content/images/2021/02/near_memo_banner.png)](https://nearmedia.co/memo?ref=nearmedia.co) How can we make this better? Email [us](mailto:gsterling@nearmedia.co) with suggestions and recommendations.