It is probably fair to say that most online survey software companies get many (if not most, or even all) of their customers view the web. Many of them count on search engines, and those that do try to optimize their sites to drive as much traffic as possible. My only problem is when they “cheat” by posting fake reviews by fake people, comparing themselves to other products when the fact of the matter is that these comparisons aren’t really fair or valid.

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The latest example of a web review that appears to be publishing fake reviews is http://researchthink.com/, which promotes SurveyMethods.com. This is supposedly the “blog” of John Bates from New York — a self-styled “research, marketing and Six Sigma professional” who is “already swamped working 6 days a week” who took the time to assemble his blog “to help out individuals that are new to survey research.” But in reality it appears to be an SEO front for SurveyMethods.com.

On his site, John reviewed five software packages: SurveyMethods.com, QuestionPro.com, Zoomerang.com, SurveyMonkey.com, and KeySurvey.com. His pick? SurveyMethods.com with a 9 out of 10 rating. The price is so good it gave John “reverse sticker shock!” It was extremely easy to use, full of features, and has a strong set of analysis tools — better than any of the other products reviews for sure! (SurveyMonkey.com was reduced to 6 out of 10 points because it didn’t include spell check). Zoomerang got zonked to 7.5 because it “cluttered.”

It is no surprise that in John’s estimation, SurveyMethods.com is “hands down the winner in online web based survey software.”

John doesn’t just publish his survey reviews at researchthink.com though — he also maintains a blog at http://researchthink.blogspot.com/ where he maintains the exact same content. Meanwhile, the domain researchthink.com is privately registered.

Is researchthink.com a fake SEO sham created to promote surveymethods.com? I think so!