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Checklist · for businesses

Is this client review real? Six checks before you rely on it

For marketers choosing an agency, creator or affiliate: how to tell a review a client really wrote from one written to order.

4 min read

Why it matters more now

AI can write a page of glowing testimonials in seconds, and a provider can put any words on their own website. In August 2024 the US Federal Trade Commission adopted a rule banning fake reviews and testimonials, but a rule does not tell you which review in front of you is real. These checks do.

Six checks

  1. Is there a name, a role and a company? A review from “A. K., Marketing Head” cannot be checked.
  2. Can you reach the reviewer? Ask the provider for an introduction, and ask the reviewer one question about the work.
  3. Does it describe the work? Real reviews mention a project, a period and something specific, good or bad.
  4. Where does it live? Words on the provider’s own site are chosen by the provider. Reviews on a site the provider does not control, where the client confirmed the work, carry more weight.
  5. Is every review perfect? A page of five-star reviews with no detail reads as curated.
  6. Does it match the rest? The reviewer’s company, the dates and the portfolio should tell the same story.

How reviews work on Few Found

  • A client reviews only after signing in with the email the provider worked with them on and confirming they worked together.
  • A person at Few Found reads every review before it appears.
  • Reviews flagged as part of a review ring do not count towards ratings or order.
  • Paste a provider’s Found page link or name at fewfound.co/check to see what a person at Few Found has checked.

Put it to work

Check a provider