Here at Fourandhalf, we do Internet marketing for property management companies, and today we are answering a question that we hear a lot, which is: why are my 5-star reviews being filtered? Usually, it will be Yelp and Google that have the most advanced filters, and I want to explain why and discuss how these filters work. My hope is that this information will help your review collection efforts as you’ll know exactly how Google and Yelp think and work.
The original purpose of the review filters on these sites is to keep the fake reviews out. You have to understand that both Yelp and Google are the most trusted review sites online today. There is nothing out there more trustworthy to the consumer than Yelp and Google. The filter, or the algorithm, that actually decides whether to show your review or hide it from the public is fairly complex, but the premise of it is simple enough: it is based on user establishment.
Let me give you an example. If I am a Yelp.com user, and I have been for a few years and I have the Yelp.com mobile app on my iPhone, and I occasionally review restaurants and I have connected my Yelp profile to my Facebook account, Yelp knows I am a real user. So when I go and post a Yelp review, there is a very high chance that my review will stick and not be filtered out because I am a trusted user. On the other hand, if someone else creates a brand new Yelp account and creates only this one review but does nothing else, chances are it will be filtered out.
But, don’t despair! Here’s the good news: if that person who created the new account decides to continue using Yelp and downloads the app and uses it to search restaurants and connect with other Yelp users, etc that user will begin to establish a trustworthy presence. Once that happens, the filtered review will likely be brought back and included on the appropriate business’s site. No reviews are ever deleted. They either propagate the review to your business page, or they stay with the user, hidden from the public. That’s how these sites work, and established users will always keep their voice. New users must be tested until they become established.
Hopefully, you found this helpful and got your question answered if your reviews have been filtered. If you have any questions please contact us. I look forward to seeing you next week.
