Sometimes Yelp would give your reviews a “not recommended” tag. This may discourage you from using Yelp. However, you must know this issue only arrives based on algorithms. So even though you have written a beautiful piece of review, it may get filtered by the algorithms used by the Yelp.
According to the Yelp fact sheet, 22% of the Yelp reviews fall into the “not recommended” category, while 7% are directly removed. With these large percentages, a genuine review may fall into the not recommended category. Why? And How to get rid of the problem?
We are here to help. We have brought some easy ways on how to get yelp reviews unfiltered.
Reasons and How to Address the Issue:
1.Yelp filters bots and fake reviews
Myriad of reviews are made by the bot accounts and pose as fake reviews. So be aware to not fall into that category. They are easily recognizable as bot or fake accounts. The lack of information on their account, not enough yelp friends, reviews, and photos, makes them recognize them as bot accounts.
The reviews should not be short, all over the place, generic and overly negative or positive. The accounts cannot be dormant for a long time.
So what would make your profile stand out? Well, uniqueness. With all the necessary and valid information, clear reviews, Yelp friends, and photos would help your account recognize as a real account. And above all, try to be active only other than posting reviews. We would discuss these attributes into detail.
2.Not enough reviews
So Yelp would trust a Yelper who is active and has enough reviews. If you have very few reviews, your genuine reviews could end up as fake or filtered, and your account may be perceived as a bot account.
3.Not enough photos
So yes, posting photos frequently and reviews, you can prove that you are a genuine owner of the account. Remember, Yelp would trust accounts with photos as they are quite hard to fake. So post pictures along with your reviews if it is possible.
4.Not enough Yelp friends
Well, if you do not have enough Yelp friends, you may end up with the fake or filtered accounts and reviews. Why? Well, the bot and the bogus accounts exhibit a similar attribute. These accounts tend to be active when there is something to review, and they also do not go further to make or reach out to friends in Yelp. So having a few Yelp friends would make you look like one of them.
5.The profile is not well build
So when you have an account, you are required to give all the necessary details that help Yelp decide whether you are genuine. Names, addresses, etc. could be faked. So filling out as much information is essential to stand out.
6.Way too positive or negative reviews
So what if your reviews sound too negative or positive. Does it have an impact? Obviously! Being way too positive or negative in a review is mostly done in the fake or bot reviews. If you are genuine, you cannot only incline toward one type of feeling. So keep in mind not to make your reviews overly negative or positive.
7.No to too short and unclear reviews
Yelp is giving you the platform to share your experience and thoughts, and how are you going to utilize it? Write a word or two or give vague ideas on your experience? You obviously should not be doing that.
Remember giving too short reviews, and vague statements are made in the fake and bot reviews. And you certainly do not want to be part of that. So write a few essential lines with details and be sure to sound clear.
8.Long absence makes you consider as dead account
So Yelp is the place where you have to engage frequently by posting reviews or commenting on others-making a social bond and relation with the business owners. So engagement is a must to be perceived as active. If you have posted something a long ago and again posting after a long pause, it is evident that Yelp would recognize you as a dead account, and your new review may not be valued or recognized.
9.When the review is not considered useful, funny or cool
So it is not enough you write down a few sentences, and the review makes no impact. If it doesn’t get any engagement, the review may not be counted impactful.
So make sure your review is thoughtful and engaging. Sharing details about how you felt, photos would help you get significant engagement in your post. Don’t let your review go vain.
10.Violating Yelp’s content guideline is a big no
So when you are using the Yelp’s platform, you have to obey by their guidelines. So make sure you do not leave any rules unfulfilled or violated. The Yelp’s content guidelines according to the website are,
- Avoid inappropriate content, hate or threat words
- Be unbiased, and conflict is discouraged
- If you are not the business person than you can not be posting promotional post
- The contributions you make, such as reviews, should be appropriate are relevant to the Yelp community.
- You should not violate other’s personal information by posting in public
- You cannot steal intellectual property
- You cannot demand payment from a business. Only if it says refund, you may ask for it.
11.An IP address that cannot be trusted
So your IP address tells you the address you have logged in from. Thus IP addresses have to be trustworthy. Using something fishy is not recommended. Again, if you are reviewing from an IP address that is too far from the business place, then it may be considered as suspicious.
13.A burst of reviews at once
So if you are the business owner and have received a spike in reviews at once, it may look dubious or bought reviews. So make sure you are not doing that. Buying Yelp reviews and sudden surge in reviews would easily be detected as fake and would harm your account as well as the business.
So go steady and be genuine at all times. Otherwise, karma would strike in seconds.
In a nutshell, if you are genuine, stay true to your account, be more engaging with proper meaningful reviews, photos, and create a Yelp social profile, you would not have to worry about getting into the trash folders.
FAQ:
1.How many reviews are enough to be able to consider as a Good Yelp account?
Ans: well, there are no specific numbers. By using the word enough, meant reviews made regularly, and are meaningful. So instead of putting 100 useless reviews be regular with your engagements and reviews, that would be enough.
2.When is the IP address consider trustable?
Ans: If the IP address is way too far from the place, the person is reviewing it, the IP address may be considered fake.
3.Why is it a must to have friends on Yelp?
Ans: Apart from other benefits, having friends in Yelp and engaging with them help a Yelper gain trust for his/her account.
4.What should be a review look like?
Ans: A review could be written in sentences that express your experiences of that particular business place. It can not be overly negative or positive. Adding photos would be a big yes.
5.Is posting photos with a review is absolutely necessary?
Ans: No, it is not a must. However, attaching photos with the reviews could help you build your account and trustability more strongly.
