Google’s New Review Gating Policy & the Trust Economy

Google made an important step in protecting the trust we have in online reviews in 2018. Moving forward, to remain in compliance with Google’s policy, companies were instructed to not “discourage or prohibit negative reviews or selectively solicit positive reviews from customers.” This practice is commonly known as review gating.

In 2022, Google quietly changed their review policies again by removing the above text from the original page and including it in the “fake engagement” section of their prohibited content guidelines instead.

Now, the guidelines include the following under fake engagement/deceptive content: “Discouraging or prohibiting negative reviews, or selectively soliciting positive reviews from customers.”

This is, in essence, review gating.

What is Review Gating?

Review gating refers to the process where companies send a message to customers asking if their experience was positive or negative. For those who indicate they have had a positive experience, they are directed to leave an online review. For those who have a negative experience, they are typically sent to a form to leave comments that will never be made public. The end result is a collection of online reviews that are artificially positive and not representative of the actual customer experience.

review-gating

What is the Trust Economy?

Online reviews are only as valuable as they are trusted. While other companies scramble to adjust their products to comply with Google’s new policy, Podium customers can trust that their reviews have always been earned and are reflective of their customer’s experience without relying on practices like gating or filtering.

We applaud Google for making trust in reviews a priority and protecting the review ecosystem. When it works correctly, reviews benefit everyone from the business to the consumer. Businesses gain invaluable feedback through the experiences customers share in their reviews and enjoy the credit for the hard work they do on behalf of their customers. Consumers have a powerful tool they can trust to make better buying decisions. Everyone wins.

Trust is one of the most important elements of business transactions. We remain committed to protecting that trust and we are proud to be working with companies like Google who share that vision.

Review Gating Examples

So, what does review gating look like in the real world? Review gating might look like:

Sending customers an email to ask if they had a positive or negative experience before requesting a review.
Texting customers and asking them to rate their experience with you, then only requesting reviews from people who rated you highly.
Incentivizing customers to leave positive reviews. (Think: We’ll take $5 off your next service if you leave us a 5-star review.)

Is Review Gating Legal?

Review gating is unethical and it’s a practice businesses should make a conscious effort to avoid. Instead, companies should favor transparency by:

Encouraging all reviews (even the negative ones).
Not trying to hide negative reviews.
Being transparent about their review collection process.
Making an effort to identify and report fake or suspicious reviews.

Review Gating Risks

Practicing review gating could result in serious consequences like a fine from the FTC, or getting permanently banned from Google. Furthermore, it will give potential customers an inaccurate picture of your business, which isn’t fair to anyone involved. Basically, review gating can have catastrophic consequences for your online presence. Don’t risk it!

How Should Local Businesses Request Reviews?

So, how should you request reviews? Here are a few tips:

Find the right timing. After a purchase is a great time to invite a customer to leave a review.
Don’t force it. You’re asking people to leave reviews, not telling them to leave one.
Take advantage of text. Sending a link to your Google Business Profile and inviting a customer to review your business is quick and easy.
Personalize the request. The modern customer loves personalization. Address them by name and be sure to keep the request friendly and casual.
Give context. Explain why reviews are important for your business. Your customers will be more likely to leave a review if they understand why they’re doing it.

As a company, Podium has been at the forefront against review gating. Over a year ago, we wrote a guide on how we maintain consumer trust by eliminating gating. We’ve designed all our products to remove bias and give both business owners and consumers the most accurate representation of experience possible. We have also evolved our platform beyond simply collecting reviews to powering convenient and informed interactions throughout the entire customer experience.

Review Gating: Google's New Policy in Line With Podium's Efforts to Preserve the Trust Economy

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