What Yelp checks
- A case can start when a community member, a business owner or Yelp's automated systems alert the team.
- Yelp says a real human reviews the case.
- Its policies prohibit conflicts of interest, hearsay, irrelevancy and hateful content. Report a review under the one it breaks.
“we don't typically take sides in factual disputes and generally allow Yelpers to stand behind their reviews.”
- So "that never happened" rarely works. "The reviewer is our employee" does fit a policy.
Source: Yelp Trust & Safety, Content moderation
Not Recommended reviews
- Yelp's software evaluates every review, and it applies the same standards to all businesses.
- A review it doesn't recommend sits behind a link at the bottom of your page.
“they don't factor into the business's overall star rating or review count.”
- So a bad review that is Not Recommended doesn't move your star rating.
Source: Yelp Trust & Safety, Recommendation software
The rule that surprises brands
“Businesses should never ask customers to write reviews.”
- Take the Yelp ask out of receipts, emails and follow-up texts.
- Don't write reviews of your own business or have staff write them. Yelp says you shouldn't review your own business or employer.
- Don't send free product or a creator visit with a request for a Yelp review. Google bans that too.
Source: Yelp Content Guidelines
What to do with a review that stays
- Reply in public and say what you changed. The next reader sees both.
- Read every review for what it says about the product. Start with what to watch every week.
- If a firm offers to delete Yelp reviews for a fee, see what to ask before you hire it.