How Does Yelp Filter Reviews

The Yelp filter, likewise known equally the "Not Recommended" department of reviews on a page, has been a frustration of business owners and reviewers for years. Maybe y'all've experienced it yourself –– watching a review seemingly disappear only to find it buried at the bottom of the page where information technology does not contribute to the average star rating.

The algorithm Yelp uses to filter reviews is a closely-held underground, but Yelp has offered some hints in this video on the subject. Yelp says their algorithm mainly looks at review quality, reliability, and user activeness when determining filter condition. Yelp also states they want "active members" to have their reviews featured, rather than "reviews written by users we don't know much about."

Here at Go Fish Digital, we've monitored thousands of Yelp reviews on behalf of our clients and tracked the correlation between filter status and certain qualities of a Yelp review or reviewer profile. Correlation is non causation, but when combined with Yelp's own statements on the filter, we can put together some hypotheses.

Here is what may cause your Yelp review to disappear or fall into the "Not Recommended" filter:

Your Yelp profile is brand new
Yous submitted your review at the same fourth dimension as others
Your Yelp profile is not verifiable
Yous don't have a realistic review distribution
You lot violated a Yelp guideline

i. Your Yelp Contour is Make New

The characteristics we run into correlate almost strongly with filter status are the number of friends and number of reviews on a given Yelp user profile. In Yelp's own video on filtering reviews, they compare an established profile to 1 that has no profile picture, zip friends, and merely one review. In our inquiry, adding simply 1 friend on the platform increases the odds that your review pops back out of the filter.

It's a frustrating double-standard by Yelp. Users are required to build up their Yelp presence earlier their reviews offset to count. But if you lot are a business organisation on Yelp, the first review you receive is marked "Beginning to Review" and it very rarely gets filtered out.

2. You Submitted Your Review at the Same Time equally Others

It's not simply the characteristics of your profile that decide filter status, but likewise the timing of your reviews. Think nigh the algorithm that Yelp has devised. It's designed to filter out untrustworthy reviews. Wouldn't a abrupt fasten in the rate of new reviews crusade some alarms to get off at Yelp?

The evidence seems to support this theory, even if the correlation is not as strong equally it is with other profile characteristics. Nosotros've seen plenty of businesses who, in an effort to turnaround their Yelp scores, host an effect or place more Yelp-approved calls to action (like signs, stickers, etc.) around the business organization. Even if these reviewers are legitimate, we see Yelp filter out a large percentage of them. Conversely, nosotros've also seen businesses helped past the filter when they're victimized by negative or spammy reviews that come in a wave. In those cases, the filter is a useful tool for business owners.

3. Your Yelp Profile is Not Verifiable

Even if your account has a track tape of reviews and friends, there are still some characteristics that could put a new review into the filter. Retrieve, Yelp is looking for "reliability" equally one of its criteria.

So how tin Yelp ostend you're a existent user, and not a bot or an alias account? There are a few things you can do.

Have a profile picture show – in Yelp's ain example, you'll notice that the filtered review does not take a contour picture.
"Check-in" at the business concern yous review – this verifies your location. Yelp probable prefers reviews and reviewers with a demonstrable track tape of consistently reviewing businesses in their urban center.
Utilise the Yelp app – this goes manus-in-hand with checking in. Geo-tracking increases the odds of your review sticking.
Sync your Facebook account to your Yelp profile – Connect Yelp and Facebook to farther verify your identity.
Include a photo with your review – Yelp likes to feature photos, and including ane with your review tin help it stay on the folio.

four. You Don't Accept a Realistic Review Distribution

This ane is tough to define, but fits our hypothesis around reliability and trust signals that Yelp would take into consideration. Yelp wants to highlight the reviews of active users, which leads us to believe that a super-engaged reviewer would eventually develop a som

ewhat natural distribution of positive and negative reviews. Five-star reviews and one-star reviews are the most popular ratings published to Yelp by far, so perhaps something resembling an upside-down bong bend helps your chances.

Yelp Review Distribution

If your profile is full of either all four and five-star reviews, or all one and two-star reviews, don't be surprised to run across your reviews autumn into the filter at a higher-than-normal rate.

v. You Violated a Yelp Guideline

Yelp's policies are pretty strict about businesses requesting reviews from customers. While tactics similar putting a Yelp sticker on the cash register are ok, explicitly asking for reviews is not permitted. And so if Yelp sees a bunch of new page visitors originating from the same source, they're likely to start filtering them out.

Permit's also include other explicit Yelp rule breaking hither. For example, if yous take accessed your personal Yelp profile from the same IP address as one that has accessed a Yelp for Business organisation account, best believe Yelp will filter out a review you get out for that business.

What Does Non Affect Yelp Filter Status

We've covered what characteristics likely bear upon whether or not a review gets filtered. But there are other review traits that Yelp business owners have long suspected are also function of the algorithm. There are many theories out there, and Yelp is unlikely to ostend or deny anything. All the same, these are the characteristics we come across having little to no correlation with filter status.

Star Rating

As far as we can tell, a v-star review has only equally much of a run a risk of existence filtered as a i-star review. This leads to more business owner frustration. Seeing a bunch of 5-star reviews non contributing to the business star rating can be infuriating. Only you have to think that Yelp may be keeping out some negative reviews as well.

Length of the review

Nosotros don't run across a correlation hither either. Long reviews and short reviews go filtered at the same rates.

Language/Give-and-take Choice

"Colorful language and imagery is fine" according to Yelp's review guidelines . Give-and-take choice volition not bear upon filter status, merely don't push your luck. Personal insults, advertising another business concern, or revealing intellectual property are all grounds for a review to be removed.

Conclusion

Continue these tips in listen and yous'll hopefully start to see your reviews featured on a concern folio more frequently. If you lot're a concern owner, take a look at your page's ain filtered reviews and run into if you lot spot the same similarities.

Should you have whatsoever other questions most Yelp, whether it be removing negative reviews, monitoring locations, or responding to reviews, become in impact with Go Fish Digital. We'd love to help you lot out!