Regarding reviews of establishments

Where exactly is the line that divides what to believe and whose reviews should be trusted, while ignoring others? Various review websites, in our editorial opinion, do not provide reliable information in this regard, as these sites are often frequented by people affiliated with the businesses being reviewed—or those who spend their days inventing fake negative reviews about these establishments in order to trick businesses into paying for premium listing spots or remove such negative reviews. Alternatively, the reviews might be written by employees of the very businesses under review, writing glowing praise for themselves. In either case, it is the consumer—the visitor to our website—who suffers as a result.

There are also individuals who write reviews for money, having never actually visited the establishments they are reviewing. However, this is another separate issue and is not relevant to the PRO rating system we have implemented.

The rating system we have introduced recently is something that we have been developing and refining for a very long time. In fact, it was initially developed as part of one of the early projects of the PROOOTDYAH team. Over the years, we have continuously improved its mechanisms for detecting and preventing fake reviews, as well as ensuring the authenticity of positive reviews. We have implemented various measures to prevent fraud and ensure that only genuine reviews reflect the actual experience of users.

Reviews from businesses and companies. Perhaps this is the most challenging and controversial topic on the entire internet. Various complex rating systems have been developed, measures are taken to ensure the uniqueness of reviews, and it’s impossible to leave multiple reviews from the same IP address. However, there’s one caveat: professionals who specialize in website development, as well as PR specialists, can easily bypass these barriers designed to prevent dishonest users from spreading false information—whether to attract customers to their own businesses or to slander their competitors. But all that is just theory. In our evaluation system, such reviews simply have no impact on a business’s overall rating; in fact, they are easily detected and removed without leaving any trace on the business’s reputation.

The rating that businesses receive on our platform is nothing more than a reflection of their popularity, expressed as a numerical value. A high rating can be considered a reliable recommendation for choosing where to spend your free time. Consider this: more than 25 parameters are taken into account when calculating a rating, all related to the business (such as user activity on its page, the relevance of information provided, customer reviews of events and news, etc.). These factors range from search engine rankings to actual reviews from real visitors—only genuine users who have actually been to the business can leave reviews. All is simple: the higher the number, the more comprehensive and accurate the information about the business available on our platform.

The rating of a venue is directly influenced only by genuine reviews left by users of the project directly at the establishment itself, using the application on the PROOOTDYAH portal. Apparently, it’s simple enough—there’s nothing more reliable than the words of a person who has actually been there, and now this can be verified. (The application not only allows you to write a review about the place you are currently at, but also lets you add photos, which also directly affect the credibility and reliability of the review.) Reviews that are proven to be false eventually receive less weight in the overall rating of the venue, and if such behavior is repeated, they are simply not taken into account at all in the rating calculation.

And of course, we want to emphasize that our efforts to ensure honest and genuine reviews do not stop here. The system is constantly being improved and enhanced, becoming more accurate and useful for our beloved users.