Why does Google view review gating as bad?įor a business, review gating sounds like a sound strategy for growing your online reputation. Using this example, you can see that review gating is one way to proactively reach out to customers in an attempt to solicit feedback (positive or negative) - amplifying positive experiences or rectifying negative experiences before a customer can leave a review on a third-party site. That feedback is funneled back internally to Debbie’s hair stylist and Debbie is not directed to leave a review on a third-party site. If Debbie selects 3 stars or less, the business may ask her to elaborate on her experience, trying to understand where they missed the mark. If Debbie selects 4 or 5 stars, she will be prompted to leave a review on a third-party review site, like Google My Business. Debbie clicks the link on the email and lands on a page that asks about her experience: After her visit, Debbie receives an email from her stylist asking her to leave a review. An example to paint our review gating picture:ĭebbie Marketer visits her favorite hair stylist to get the latest cut and color. As such, screening negative reviews - even with the intent to make it right before the negative experience turns into a review - adds a level of perceived bias. This practice has been widely used in the past (Spinutech included!), and while it isn’t necessarily unethical, Google strives to keep reviews as unbiased as possible. In short, review gating proactively pushes happy customers to leave reviews on third-party sites and filters out negative reviews for internal follow-up and action. Any negative feedback can be filtered and directed to someone at the business for direct follow-up. A customer is asked to review a business, usually by email or text, and the page they’re driven to is a review funnel page that allows the business to set rating criteria to identify positive “brand advocates” even before they’re prompted to review the business online. This process typically happens via a review funnel page. Review gating is the process of screening or “gating” user reviews before they’re posted online.
So now that we’re extra sure review gating is a no-no for Google, what does that mean for your business and how should you proceed? Before diving in, let’s start with the basics. “Don’t discourage or prohibit negative reviews or selectively solicit positive reviews from customers.”
#REVIEW A COMPANY ON GOOGLE UPDATE#
The update in April made their policy especially clear: While most people thought this was an update to their review policy, review gating has likely always been against Google’s review policy. This practice is more commonly known as “review gating”. In April 2018, Google updated its policies on reviews for Google My Business (GMB) listings to more clearly state their stance on businesses soliciting positive reviews, as opposed to any and all reviews (negative and positive). Google Review Gating: Why It Matters for Your Business's Reputation
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