Updated March 3, 2025
Reading Time: 2 minutes
If You Have To Ask, You’ll Never Know
Review websites are important to all types of business. Having a good score on Yelp or Google My Business is a major contributing factor behind if you get a click on your site or not. As part of that asking for reviews has been something that we have recommended in the past when trying to improve your online presence. However, according to recent communication from Yelp, this is now seen as soliciting and if you’re caught asking for reviews your account could be penalized.
Don’t Ask, Don’t Get
Yelp’s view is that by asking for reviews you are tacitly asking for positive reviews and thereby influencing the reviews that your company is given. So in their view, any program designed to promote reviews on your help page is tantamount to fabricating positive reviews.
From Yelp’s point of view, impartiality is key. If users of their platform think that the reviews on Yelp.com are biased then they won’t use Yelp. Then Yelp dies. So, you can understand why they want to protect the integrity of their review process.
A Little Coffee Money
Google has a similar policy when it comes to reviews on their Google My Business profile, however, it stops well short of banning asking customers if they will review your company. Google specifically detail that any kind of ‘reward’ given to a reviewer (from the company they are reviewing) would break their terms and conditions.
Google, as with Yelp, take the onus on encouraging reviews themselves. Offering rewards to anyone who reviews ANY businesses. Which should promote a health review ecosystem of unbiased reviews.
A Step Too Far for Yelp?
Yelp has made their share of controversial moves before to protect their business and this latest one is sure to ruffle some feathers. Specifically of third-party agencies that are designed to stimulate more reviews for their clients’ various different profiles.
What do you make of Yelp’s diktat? Do you think it will help to protect their business, or is the beginning of the end for the review platform?
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