Yelp Help: When to Report a Yelp Review

Running a business means giving consumers the opportunity to leave reviews about their experience with your company. One popular online review platform is Yelp. Often, the reviews reflect a positive experience or an authentic experience at least. But every once in a while, you may get a not-so-glowing, maybe even spammy or completely untrue review. 

If you want a successful business, you must manage your reputation by monitoring reviews. We’ll teach you when and how to report Yelp reviews.

When to Raise the Red Flag: Reportable Yelp Reviews

You can’t just get rid of any old review because you don’t like what it says. Instead, you must only report reviews that go against the Yelp review guidelines in one way or another. Below are some reasons you can flag a Yelp review.

False Claims

If you receive a review that is making a false claim against you or your business, then there are things you can do to report it. Reporting the review may get it taken down so no one else sees it.

Defamatory Statements

A defamatory statement is both untrue and damages a person’s reputation or even ability to work. When a tort of reputation happens, both verbal statements or slander as well as written or libelous statements have been made. An example of defamation is saying someone stole from an employer or a client. When this statement is not true and damages someone’s reputation, it is a defamatory statement.

These statements are against Yelp review guidelines. You can and should flag these for removal and Yelp will assist.

Conflicts of Interest

Some businesses run across reviews where there is a conflict of interest. When this is the case, Yelp may remove the review if it is against their Content Guidelines. A conflict of interest happens when the person posting the review is a past employee or is a direct competitor.

Another example is if they are affiliated with the business or seem to receive an incentive or payment for the review. Another conflict of interest comes in the form of someone who is promoting a competitor or other business.

Violating Yelp’s Guidelines

All in all, there are several reasons that Yelp will take down a review. The first is when a conflict of interest is apparent, as discussed above. The second is when the review includes inappropriate material or speech. This can come in the form of threatening language, lewd comments, or even hate speech. Another situation will be if there are private details about patrons or employees. In that case, Yelp will likely remove the review.

Another reason a review may be taken down is if it is not based on the reviewer’s personal experience. If the review describes someone’s friend’s or relative’s experience, if it describes something extraordinary such as media-fueled tales, or if it argues against someone else’s experience, it may be removed. The review may be removed if it is about someone else’s business or if it appears to be plagiarized from another source.

Reporting 101: How to Flag a Yelp Review

Now that you know what type of Yelp reviews you can report or flag, let’s talk about how to flag reviews on Yelp. The process is straightforward, as Yelp wants local businesses to be able to report false or damaging reviews. You can do so from the Yelp website or Yelp app.

1. Find the Review

The first thing you will need to do is get your computer and log into your account to find the review you want to report. When you find the review, simply click on the little flag found in the bottom right-hand corner.

2. Hit the “Report” Button

Your report button will appear at the bottom of the screen. Click on this. Then, you will be prompted to select the reason for the flagging of the review.

3. Choose the Reason

You will see a drop-down menu full of choices for reasons the review should be flagged. Choose the one that most closely fits why you are reporting the review. Once you’ve chosen a reason, report the review.

4. Provide More Information

You will finally be prompted to provide any additional details that may make a difference in the decision to take the review down.

What Happens Next: The Review Process

Now that you have filed the report, what happens next? The first thing you will have to do is to be patient. Shortly after you report the review, you’ll be able to see the status of your report when you hover over the flag icon near the review.

Expectations

Yelp review moderators will need a few days to check the review against the rules set forth in the content guidelines.

Yelp’s Review Procedure

Before trying to remove a review from Yelp, it is important to get familiar with their review procedure. According to Yelp’s website, the removal of user content is not something it takes lightly. As such, it may take some time for the website to come to a decision on whether a review should be removed.

Possible Outcomes

Once you have reported a Yelp review for removal, there are several possible outcomes that can happen. You will receive an email that notifies you of the result. The review may be removed, may have a statement from Yelp placed on it, or may be left as is.

Bonus: What About Negative Reviews?

While you cannot report, flag, or delete negative Yelp reviews, you can respond to them to maintain control of your reputation. Potential customers will still see the negative review, but they will also see how your business handles complaints and negative feedback. This will show potential customers that you always strive to deliver a good customer experience.

How to Respond to a Review

Whether you are on the computer or the Yelp mobile app, it is straightforward to respond to a review. Simply navigate to the review that you want to respond to and select “Comment.” This will let you leave a comment.

You will also see the option to send a direct message to the Yelp users who write reviews. It is best to start with a comment and offer to take the conversation to direct messages or another private channel.

From the Yelp App for Businesses

If you have the Yelp for Business app, you follow a similar process. Just select “More” in the navigation bar, select “Reviews,” find the review in question, and click “Comment” or “Direct Message.”

Tips for Responding to Negative Reviews

When you respond to Yelp users who leave negative reviews, keep the following in mind:

• Apologize for their experience.
• Explain what happened without making excuses and why it will not happen again.
• Be professional and friendly.
• Be personal (i.e., address the reviewer by name).
• Offer to take the conversation offline.

Keep in mind that you can also respond to positive reviews. This should improve your reputation and encourage potential customers to choose your business.

Wrap-Up: When to Report a Yelp Review & Why it Matters

The first thing you will want to do is go to the Yelp site or Yelp app and read their content guidelines. Confirm that the review in question on your business page violates the content guidelines. Then, simply click the flag button next to the review to report it.

Remember that you cannot always get negative reviews removed, but you can (and should) respond to them. You can also counter negative reviews by encouraging satisfied customers to leave more Yelp reviews. There are even tools that help you encourage more reviews from customers.

Need help streamlining your review process? Podium’s got you covered. Start a free trial today to see what Podium can do for your business.