Yelp reviews frustrate many business owners due to their filtering algorithm, competition with local businesses, and negative reviews. Oftentimes positive reviews aren't shown because they're filtered out. We're going to help you solve this!

Don't want to read? I break it down for you in the video here.

Want to get more reviews easily and without wasting time? Check out our automated review generation service, where you just plug in customer details to request reviews, without wasting your time (or your staff's.) This just launched so we're currently offering 50% off for life until the end of October.

First, Why Online Reviews Matter for Business

By now you already know that reviews are important, but why, aside from Yelp users?

Well, first of all, other customers will read reviews and use what they've read as a decision making factor when deciding whether to become a customer, or which business to choose.

But even more important - online reviews impact your online visibility across the web, for example in Google.

Yes, Google takes into account your reviews, how positive your reviews are, whether your review listings match your Google listing (and your website), and crawls them for more information.

So aside from impressing prospective customers, you want more reviews because it will get your business more visibility on both Google and Yelp! If you didn't already know, reviews are the

1 ranking factor on Yelp , meaning that the velocity at which you receive them, the keywords that are included in them, and the scores you get on them, all impact how highly you show up natively for relevant searches in your area on Yelp.

The Reality: Studies Show Reviews Trend Downwards Without Asking!

According to Northwestern University's recent research, reviews trend downwards if you don't ask for them.

That's because people who are most motivated to leave a review without being reminded, are angry.

But Yelp Has Rules (Up To You To Follow Them)

1. Do not ask for Yelp reviews - simply make your Yelp page visible in your marketing materials. (Tips on this below)
2. Use Yelp's resources like stickers and other collateral in your brick and mortar locations.
3. Never pay for Yelp reviews, lest you get caught and earn a warning badge on your profile.

6 Ways to Ask Customers for Yelp Reviews.. Without Asking

Since soliciting any reviews is now against Yelp's guidelines as of late 2017, you can no longer directly ask for them, but you are allowed to share your online profiles in many ways, which can indirectly solicit reviews.

1. Pass out flyers at your business - each flyer that is passed out (whether it's a pricing pamphlet, menu, or special deal) can have your Yelp link and can say "People love us on Yelp!". You can also specify any check-in deals on these promotional materials.
2. Follow up via email after each service when possible, and add a "People Love Us On Yelp" link in your email signature.
3. Place the Yelp review badge from your business dashboard on your website.
4. Put a "Find Us On Yelp" sticker or sign on your storefront or if you've earned the "People Love Us On Yelp" sticker, display that.
5. Offer a Yelp check-in deal - and as mentioned above, make this deal known wherever you can in-store and on other marketing materials.
6. Share reviews on your other social profiles.

Strategies to Get Yelp Reviews Unfiltered

Yelp reviews often get filtered because they are deemed fake or suspicious, and this usually has to do with how active a person is on their Yelp profile.

There are a few ways you can try to impact this and make their profile look (and potentially even be ) more active.

-Ask your customers to complete their profile, including their photo, and start leaving reviews regularly -Friend your customers, and encourage them to friend other people -Mark their reviews as "useful" - Get them to "check-in" with a check-in deal

Now that you know a few tips and tricks to get more Yelp reviews, get to work on optimizing your profile for Yelp SEO , and don't hesitate to ask us questions in the comments!

Joined Sep 8, 2016 Messages 132 Solutions 1 Reaction score 44

• 1

I have a client who has 16 reviews on Yelp but only 3 of them Yelp considers "recommended" and are displayed on the company profile and factor into the average rating. That's pretty frustrating for me and the client.

1. Is there anything that can be done to get Yelp to reconsider those 13 "not recommended" reviews?

2. Is there anything that can be done to increase the odds future reviews will be "recommended?"

Since Yelp shows the number of friends, reviews, and photos a reviewer has posted below their name, it seems likely those are factors.

FWIW, one of the "recommended" reviews was from someone with only 0 friends, 5 reviews and 1 photo. Meanwhile, one "not recommended" review was by someone with 22 friends, 3 reviews and 1 photo and another 22 friends and 10 reviews. The one thing I can see that may have gotten that one "recommended" is they included a photo with their review.

Joined Apr 21, 2014 Messages 778 Reaction score 543

Joined Sep 8, 2016 Messages 132 Solutions 1 Reaction score 44

• 3

Paving - roads, parking lots, driveways, etc

Joined Apr 21, 2014 Messages 778 Reaction score 543

• 4

The best way to get more unfiltered Yelp reviews is to get more Yelp reviews period. But it's tough for an SAB. Link to your Yelp profile on all emails, the website, etc.

Joined Aug 23, 2018 Messages 35 Reaction score 23

• 5

General opinion I've seen has been that their review will be hidden if they have done less than 5 reviews on their profile. Also no friends or other activity increases the odds it gets hidden.

But with their last few updates these past months I've seen them break those "rules" such as a first time negative reviewer be recommended on a client's site and stick.

Darren Shaw at Whitespark had some creative ideas last year in a blog that we've tried with some success. Mostly we just ignore to their games and focus on other areas.

Joined Oct 13, 2014 Messages 316 Solutions 6 Reaction score 172

• 6

What Rich said, you just have to get lots of Yelp reviews cuz most will get filtered. Reviews that get filtered tend to be for reviewers that are not very active, like few reviews written, and also not so recently. Longer reviews with good details also seem to stick better.

With that being the case, I tell clients to ask for Google reviews primarily, but also mention other places they might leave a review, such as Yelp. Don't bother giving a link or instructions, if they're active Yelpers they'll know how.

Also, depending on how well you track your leads, if you know someone came through yelp or is active on yelp, definitely hit them up. Of course, you aren't supposed to ask, so be careful how you do it.

Joined Jul 27, 2017 Messages 1,584 Solutions 96 Reaction score 1,146

• 7

Yelp is super aggressive with filtering out reviews. Activity of the users doesn’t matter much, however, if the reviewer doesn’t have a photo, lots of reviews and friends, Yelp is more willing to remove or not recommended the review. Don’t friend your reviewers as that has been known to cause reviews to filtered out.

Please note, it violates Yelps TOS to ask for reviews, so if you include a link in your email, make sure it doesn’t state review us on Yelp. Yelp will remove your reviews and can slap a consumer alert on your listing. It’s better to get your users to to check in, which doesn’t apply to your business as you visit customer’s at their location.

Joined Mar 28, 2019 Messages 117 Reaction score 92

• 8

Echoing the sentiment of others here, Yelp generally isn't the most helpful website to focus on because their practices around filtering reviews are so overzealous. I wouldn't change your strategy to try and push Yelp reviews more. They're not as helpful as Google reviews. Unless your client is in a city with a very active Yelper population like NYC, you can pretty safely focus your efforts on other channels and get more bang out of it. Most people start their searches for home improvement professionals through Google, making your reviews and activity there easier to see by a broader audience.

If you really do want to engage with Yelp more, consider posting responses to all reviews there, positive or negative, and possibly turning on the Request a Quote feature. That shows people who do browse Yelp that you're actively involved even if your review numbers are low.

Joined May 24, 2014 Messages 43 Reaction score 44

• 9

  I have a client who has 16 reviews on Yelp but only 3 of them Yelp considers "recommended" and are displayed on the company profile and factor into the average rating. That's pretty frustrating for me and the client.

1. Is there anything that can be done to get Yelp to reconsider those 13 "not recommended" reviews?

2. Is there anything that can be done to increase the odds future reviews will be "recommended?"

Since Yelp shows the number of friends, reviews, and photos a reviewer has posted below their name, it seems likely those are factors.

FWIW, one of the "recommended" reviews was from someone with only 0 friends, 5 reviews and 1 photo. Meanwhile, one "not recommended" review was by someone with 22 friends, 3 reviews and 1 photo and another 22 friends and 10 reviews. The one thing I can see that may have gotten that one "recommended" is they included a photo with their review.

Hi Paul,

1. I don’t think so. I don’t know of any way. I’ve contacted Yelp about this before and they basically said “too bad”.

2. Increasing review volume in general should help. You can try the Find a Friend strategy and the query string strategy listed here: Is There Anything You Can DO to Get Yelp Reviews These Days – without a Public Shaming? | LocalVisibilitySystem.com

Joined Jul 26, 2012 Messages 2,145 Solutions 27 Reaction score 1,798

• 10

@PaulSteinbrueck, what Dani said.

In theory, some of those filtered reviews could rise from the crypt if those reviewers became semi-active Yelp reviewers. (And stuck with it long-term; they can't just blast out 27 reviews in a weekend.) Of course, there's not much you can do to bring that about. It's hard enough to get anyone to review your business, let alone others' businesses.

The only practical thing you can do is ask everyone for a review. Even if you don't specifically ask anyone for a Yelp review, I still recommend using the "find friends" strategy for one simple reason: so you don't send people who aren't active Yelpers into the filter. You direct those people to Google or some other site(s). When you identify an active Yelper you just ask for a review on any old site (leave it vague), knowing that that person's preferred site is Yelp.

Joined Sep 12, 2012 Messages 1,974 Reaction score 592

• 11

You may be able to become an advertiser and get them out of "not recommended". People say this all the time. I used to not believe them but you could argue where there's smoke there's a fire. And there has been a ton of smoke on this. Super shady but possible.

The other idea is what everyone else is saying, just keep getting reviews. All of your competitors are facing the same rules (unless you can pay for the privilege as mentioned above) so just outwork them.

And I would say if you're top the ranked company in your local area on Google by a significant amount, 40+ reviews or so, and when you Google your keywords Yelp is near the top of search results, then I would keep trying Yelp. I have a client who pays Yelp $0 and makes a killing off of them. All because he hammered Yelp with reviews. Lots are also "not recommended" but he just kept after it.

Joined Mar 28, 2019 Messages 117 Reaction score 92

• 12

  You may be able to become an advertiser and get them out of "not recommended". People say this all the time. I used to not believe them but you could argue where there's smoke there's a fire. And there has been a ton of smoke on this. Super shady but possible.

This used to be true but I can confirm that it is no longer the case. Even high level advertisers have no power to pull reviews out of the dreaded not recommended bucket.

Joined Sep 12, 2012 Messages 1,974 Reaction score 592

• 13

  This used to be true but I can confirm that it is no longer the case. Even high level advertisers have no power to pull reviews out of the dreaded not recommended bucket.

Glad to hear that!

Not to hijack the thread but have you noticed Yelp putting 10 "sponsored" results on pages now before the "organic" results by chance?

Joined Mar 28, 2019 Messages 117 Reaction score 92

• 14

  Glad to hear that!

Not to hijack the thread but have you noticed Yelp putting 10 "sponsored" results on pages now before the "organic" results by chance?

Oh yeah, I've definitely noticed. Yelp has been steadily dropping organic content lower and lower for years. I just did a few searches and one home improvement-related term had five advertisements above the organic and two ads in the right-side column. It's funny that a company so concerned with getting genuine customer reviews works so hard to push paid listings. I wonder if they've been having trouble since they decided to cut ties with all of the review solicitation companies like Reputation.com?

Joined Sep 12, 2012 Messages 1,974 Reaction score 592

• 15

  Oh yeah, I've definitely noticed. Yelp has been steadily dropping organic content lower and lower for years. I just did a few searches and one home improvement-related term had five advertisements above the organic and two ads in the right-side column. It's funny that a company so concerned with getting genuine customer reviews works so hard to push paid listings. I wonder if they've been having trouble since they decided to cut ties with all of the review solicitation companies like Reputation.com?

How long has this been going on? I felt like I would usually only see 3? And in the results I'm looking at I see 10 sponsored for desktop, 3 sponsored in app. Is that usual?

Joined Mar 28, 2019 Messages 117 Reaction score 92

• 16

  How long has this been going on? I felt like I would usually only see 3? And in the results I'm looking at I see 10 sponsored for desktop, 3 sponsored in app. Is that usual?

At least a year, I'd say. I don't spend too much time on Yelp but I noticed it over the winter. Number and style of ads seems to vary by category. I've seen as few as two with large pictures (for bakeries) and as many as ten with smaller images (for plumbers). It seems almost like they're trying to obscure their own organic results by pushing them down further than the average person is willing to scroll. I think they've also been pushing reviews down further on business pages.

Joined Sep 12, 2012 Messages 1,974 Reaction score 592

• 17

At least a year, I'd say. I don't spend too much time on Yelp but I noticed it over the winter. Number and style of ads seems to vary by category. I've seen as few as two with large pictures (for bakeries) and as many as ten with smaller images (for plumbers). It seems almost like they're trying to obscure their own organic results by pushing them down further than the average person is willing to scroll. I think they've also been pushing reviews down further on business pages.

Why do my yelp reviews keep getting filtered?

Anyway, here are some common reasons why reviews get filtered on Yelp: Yelp doesn't trust users who have only written a few reviews, especially if they have no Yelp friends or profile information. The review is too positive or too negative. This also goes for reviewers who only post positive reviews everywhere they go.

How do I get bad reviews off yelp?

Report the Bad Review on YelpGo to the review that you want to remove and click on the “flag” icon at the bottom of the review. Now choose the reason for removal and proceed. Once the moderators evaluate your request, the bad Yelp review can be removed.

How do I see not recommended reviews on yelp?

Find the Yelp “Not Recommended” reviews on your page You should see a line of gray text that says “other reviews that are not currently recommended.” Click on the gray text and it'll expand the page to show you a video, “Why Does Yelp Recommend Reviews?” and then below it, all of the hidden filtered reviews.

Can yelp detect fake reviews?

This means fake reviews could lack visibility. Yelp also has a team of human moderators who review potential issues flagged up by business owners, community users, or its own automated systems. Yelp says it also monitors other platforms and the dark web for shady review behavior.