TripAdvisor says it has investigated and shut down over 30 rogue optimization companies so far this year that have approaced business owners offering to distort content and manipulate rankings on its site.
CEO Steve Kaufer has called such companies ‘unethical’ and has written to owners around the world to ask for help to deal with the problem, which he said is "wholly contrary to the spirit and terms of our site, are unethical and often against the law".
His letter warns businesses: "Owners have reported that once they engaged with these types of companies, they have been subjected to blackmail, extortion and financial fraud when they have tried to disengage from their services.
"Once you violate the law, you no longer have the protection of it – and the unscrupulous individuals involved in the optimization industry know it."
The letter says: "We are aware of individuals, often masquerading as legitimate companies, who contact business owners in an attempt to solicit money from them.
"They do so with the false promise that they can manipulate the rankings on TripAdvisor and other online review platforms, either through the submission of positive reviews or the removal of negative reviews. Some companies go so far as to claim to have an official relationship with TripAdvisor.
"To be absolutely clear, no optimization company is or will ever be affiliated with TripAdvisor, and the practice of submitting any content that is not genuine and from travellers goes against everything we stand for as a company.
"TripAdvisor will take the strongest action possible against these firms, as well as any property attempting to engage with these companies to distort the content available on TripAdvisor."
He asked owners to report information to its Content Integrity team.
