The Reviewer: Yelp's Review Filter Algorithm Revealed

According to Yelp, “We use automated software developed by our engineers to recommend reviews from the Yelp community. The software looks at dozens of different signals, including various measures of quality, reliability, and activity on Yelp.” But that still does not explain why your most recent 5 Star Review was hidden by Yelp’s Review Filter Algorithm.

After working on hundreds of different Yelp Business Pages and attacking them using all different techniques and methods, we have been able to uncover the three primary factors the Yelp Review Filter Algorithm uses to decide whether a review is fake or real. It is important to note that there is not any one factor that Yelp uses to determine the veracity of a review, but rather a combination of factors.

The first primary factor that we are going to discuss is the reviewer. For several years now, Yelp has posted a quick “cute” video explaining how the review filter works. In it, Yelp focuses the majority of attention on the Reviewer side.

When Yelp focuses on the reviewer, they are looking at their user profile. Yelp wants to see that the Yelper is an active user, who engages with the site often, and does so within an appropriate proximity of a given business. An active user can be identified as someone who has one or all of the following traits: have left 10 or more reviews, have filled out their entire user profile, have checked in at local businesses, have an account that is older than 6 months, have a lot of friends and pictures.

The reason Yelp looks at the user activity level is because they believe that the more a user engages with the site, the more trustworthy the reviewer is. The more trustworthy reviews you have on your Yelp page, the higher the veracity of your Yelp Page becomes. We go more in detail about this in the Yelp Page Blog. Every time you engage with Yelp, you begin to leave a bigger footprint. The bigger footprint you have, the more trust you earn with Yelp.

Now, think back to the last 5 Star Review that was filtered from your Yelp Page. Take note of the following:

1) How many reviews have they left?

2) How many friends do they have?

3) Do they have a profile picture?

4) Have they posted any photos?

5) Is their city located within 50 mile radius of your business?

If the reviewer has not left many previous reviews, does not have many friends, has no profile picture, has not posted any pictures, and they live more than 50 miles away from your business, you now can begin to see why your new 5 Star review was filtered. Obviously this is not fair. How robust a reviewer’s profile is on Yelp has no bearing on the veracity of their experience. Unfortunately, this is how Yelp operates and you have to start playing their game.

If you have any questions about The Reviewer leave a comment below, or if you would like to enroll in our Yelp Rating Accelerator Program where we use our proven methods to help you improve your Yelp rating you can click here to book an appointment with us now.