Are You at Risk of Losing Your Google Business Profile? Why Review Gating Hurts Your Business and What to Do Instead
As a business owner, you know a negative review can feel like a sting. Not to mention the repercussions it can have on your company—from loss of potential customers to lack of trust from current ones to a dip in your reputation.
You might even feel tempted to have the review deleted from platforms like Google, Facebook, and Yelp. Or offer a reward, like a discount or coupon for free service, to entice customers to leave positive reviews.
Reviews are incredibly important for businesses today. Most people read reviews before choosing where to spend their money. However, some companies use a practice called review gating to show only positive reviews.
While this might sound like a good idea, review gating can actually hurt your business. In this blog, we’ll explain what review gating is, why it’s harmful, and what you should do instead.
What Is Review Gating?
Businesses that use reputation management software can easily request customer reviews, giving them a competitive edge. However, some businesses engage in review gating, asking only satisfied customers to leave public reviews while directing dissatisfied customers to share feedback privately. This practice results in a biased collection of reviews that only highlights the positive experiences, misrepresenting the actual quality of the business.
Examples of Review Gating:
- Screening Questions Before Review Requests: A company may send customers a survey asking, “Did you have a good experience? Yes or No.” If the response is “Yes,” they are directed to review sites. If “No,” they’re asked to provide feedback privately instead of leaving a public review.
- It’s worth mentioning that many reputation management software companies provide this type of screening. This practice is acceptable as long as it follows third-party platform standards of allowing customers to leave reviews regardless of their feedback. If your reputation management company redirects negative feedback to private pages without the option of leaving a public review, it’s important you recognize this practice as review gating and understand its potential risks to your business’s credibility and compliance with review platform policies.
- Conditional Requests for Reviews: Only requesting reviews from customers whom staff believe will provide positive feedback.
- Incentives for Positive Reviews: Offering discounts, free items, or other perks for leaving positive reviews.
Real-World Example of Review Gating:
Imagine a new salon, “Glam You,” trying to build an online reputation. Here’s how they might gate reviews:
- Happy Customer Path: A customer has a great haircut, and the stylist hands them a card, encouraging them to leave a review online. The card has links to review sites where customers can publicly share their experience.
- Unhappy Customer Path: Another customer didn’t like their service. Instead of giving them the same review card, the manager apologizes and asks them to fill out a private feedback form to avoid public exposure.
This practice makes Glam You’s ratings appear better than they actually are, misleading potential customers.
Why Review Gating Is a Problem
Review gating tricks potential customers by only showing the positive side of a business. Here’s why that’s a problem:
- Loss of Customer Trust: People rely on reviews to give them the full story about a business. When they see only perfect reviews, they might think those reviews are fake or misleading. According to a FTC press release, practices that mislead customers erode consumer trust.
- Unfair Business Advantage: Companies using review gating have an unfair edge over businesses that are honest about their reviews, creating an uneven playing field.
- Violation of Platform Policies: Google and other platforms have rules against review gating, including revoking business pages. Imagine having your Google Business Profile removed, preventing customers from finding your locations. This could cause a serious loss in revenue.
Google’s Policy on Review Gating
In 2018, Google updated its policies to ban review gating. Google wants all feedback, positive or negative, to be available to potential customers. This ensures that reviews are honest and not manipulated. If a business is caught review gating, it could lose its reviews or see its visibility on Google reduced.
FTC’s Stance on Fake and Misleading Reviews
In August 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) introduced a rule to protect consumers that bans fake reviews and deceptive review practices (FTC, 2024). While this rule focuses on fake reviews, it highlights that misleading customers, including review gating, is unethical and harmful.
Why Review Gating Hurts Your Business
- Customers Don’t Trust You: When people see only glowing reviews, they become suspicious. They know that no business is perfect. Having a mix of positive and negative reviews actually helps build trust because it feels more real.
- Potential Penalties: Google and other review platforms can detect review gating. If they do, they may remove your reviews or penalize your business by lowering its search ranking.
- Missed Opportunities for Growth: Negative reviews aren’t always bad. They can point out issues that you may not have noticed and give you a chance to improve your services.
How to Gather Honest Reviews
Instead of review gating, here are some tips for collecting reviews that reflect your business honestly:
- Ask All Customers for Feedback: Send review requests to everyone, not just the customers you think will leave positive reviews.
- Embrace Negative Feedback: Responding to negative reviews shows customers that you care and are willing to improve.
- Be Transparent: Let customers know that their feedback is valuable — whether it’s good or bad.
Takeaways
Review gating might seem like a quick way to get better ratings, but it can damage your reputation in the long run. Genuine reviews, even when they include negative feedback, show that your business is trustworthy and willing to learn.
The best strategy? Ask for reviews from all customers, respond to feedback thoughtfully, and build a reputation that’s authentic and strong.
To learn more about BeCreative360’s reputation management services, please visit us here.
NOTE: If you’re currently using Review My Dry Cleaner or Review Plus One to collect reviews and feedback, rest assured that your store locations comply with FTC and third-party regulations, including Google’s guidelines.
