Why does Yelp filter my business’s reviews?

As a business owner, you might spend a lot of time and effort collecting legitimate, honest online reviews of your products and services. You already realize that reviews can fuel your online business, and you aim to provide quality customer service.

But then something happens. You soon find that Yelp, one of the top review and recommendation services, is filtering your testimonials.

Why is this happening?

What can I do to make it better?

Does Yelp have it out for me and my business?

These are all common questions.

Why Does Yelp Do This?

Yelp developed and implemented an automated filter that hides some reviews, in an attempt to ensure that only the most honest and helpful testimonials are displayed. While the goal of the filter is to eliminate fake reviews, there are times when legitimate reviews are hidden from view.

Yelp may not consider this a big deal, but it’s safe to say that many small businesses don’t agree. For example, if your business’s Yelp rating increases by one star, your business could benefit from a revenue increase of 5-9%. If several five star reviews are filtered from public view, you could be leaving money on the table.

Here are several common reasons why Yelp reviews are filtered:

1. A review that is written by a new user with no profile information;
2. The review is overly negative or positive;
3. A review that is too short to help other readers, such as “Horrible customer service!”
4. A review violates the company’s guidelines.

As a business owner, while you have no control over what your customers say or how Yelp operates, you can minimize the risk of a filtered review. Don’t pay for online reviews, and resist the urge to ask for or write fake testimonials. Instead, ask customers to use Yelp to share feedback about their experiences with others, if they are so inclined.

Final thoughts

With more than 100 million monthly unique visitors across desktop and mobile devices, Yelp testimonials can help you gain more customers. To harness the power of Yelp, it’s important to understand why and how the company filters reviews.

We work with business owners all across the country. Want more guidance on managing online reviews for your business?