The short version. Yelp's rule is one line: "Don't ask anyone to review your business, be it customers, mailing list subscribers, friends, family, etc." That is stricter than Google, which tells you to ask, and it is enforced by software rather than by a person: Yelp's recommendation system "tries to identify any reviews that appear to have been requested, and not recommend them," and a not-recommended review "doesn't factor into the business's overall star rating or review count." Pay or discount for a review and Yelp goes further — a Consumer Alert banner over your reviews, with the evidence. What's left is the same as everywhere else, minus the ask: claim the page, reply to what arrives, and keep your Google link and your Yelp page in separate universes.
What exactly does Yelp prohibit?
Yelp's Don't Ask for Reviews page lists it, and every line is broader than a business expects:
- "Don't ask anyone to review your business, be it customers, mailing list subscribers, friends, family, etc."
- "Your staff should never compete to collect reviews."
- "Don't ask for reviews after requesting customer feedback in other places like surveys or contact forms." — so the "how did we do?" email with a Yelp button at the bottom is against the policy, not a loophole.
- "Don't offer freebies, discounts, or payment in exchange for reviews — it will turn off savvy consumers and may also be illegal. For the same reason, you can't offer incentives for users to remove reviews."
Yelp's reasoning, in its words: "Proactively asking for reviews may hurt your Yelp rating because our automated software may not recommend reviews that seem to be prompted or encouraged by the business. Also, many businesses only ask happy customers for reviews, which leads to biased ratings."
The contrast with Google is the thing to hold onto. Google's help page says "to leave reviews, you can ask customers to visit a Google link or scan a QR code"; Yelp says don't ask anyone. Neither is wrong about its own platform. The mistake is running one policy on both — a "Review us on Google and Yelp!" card is compliant on one side of the ampersand and a violation on the other.
What happens to a review Yelp thinks you asked for?
It isn't deleted. It's not recommended, which for a business is close to the same thing.
Yelp's recommendation software page explains that "automated software evaluates every review based on hundreds of signals of quality, reliability, and user activity on Yelp," and that among the things it looks for are "solicited reviews. These are reviews that it suspects the business owner or an employee asked for." The consequence: "Reviews that are not recommended are still accessible via a link at the bottom of a business's Yelp page, but they don't factor into the business's overall star rating or review count."
Three things about that worth knowing:
- It's automated and it changes. "The recommendation software is entirely automated. It applies the same objective rules to every business and treats reviews of advertisers and non-advertisers exactly the same. The reviews that are recommended for any business can change over time." A review recommended today can be filtered next month, and the reverse.
- New reviewers are filtered for being new. "Sometimes, a review appears in the 'not recommended' section simply because the software doesn't know enough about the reviewer to recommend it." This is the mechanism behind the complaint every owner has — "my real customer's five-star review disappeared." A first-time Yelp account writing one glowing review is exactly what a solicited review looks like to the software, whether or not you asked.
- Conflicts of interest are filtered too. Reviews "written by people with undisclosed ties to a business, including competitors, disgruntled employees, friends, or family."
So the practical effect of asking is that the reviews you generate are the ones most likely to be filtered — new accounts, single reviews, a burst in one week — and the ones you didn't ask for, from active Yelp users, are the ones that count.
What is a Consumer Alert?
The public penalty. Yelp's Consumer Alerts page: "A Consumer Alert is a warning message displayed over the reviews of a business's Yelp page that informs users when we've detected abnormal activity or attempts to mislead them. Before placing a Consumer Alert, we conduct a thorough investigation and will provide the evidence we find whenever possible."
The types, in Yelp's words:
| Alert | When Yelp places it |
|---|---|
| Compensated Activity Alert | "When we have evidence that someone has offered cash or other incentives in exchange for a review." |
| Suspicious Review Activity Alert | "When our system detects questionable activity on a business page … This can include large numbers of reviews coming from a single IP address, or reviews from users who may be connected to a group that coordinates incentivised fake reviews." |
| Questionable Legal Threats Alert | "When we have evidence that a business may be abusing the legal system to intimidate or silence a reviewer." |
| Unusual Activity Alert | "When we notice an unusual spike in activity on a business page" — a business in the news — Yelp displays the alert and "temporarily disable[s] the posting of content." |
| Public Attention Alert | An abnormal influx of reviews after someone associated with the business is accused of discriminatory behaviour. |
The first two are the ones an ordinary business can walk into: a "$10 off for a Yelp review" sign is a Compensated Activity Alert with your own sign as the evidence, and a staff contest run from the shop's Wi-Fi has the shape of a Suspicious Review Activity Alert — many reviews from one address. The third is the one for the owner who sends a reviewer a legal threat over a one-star review. Note that the compensated one is also a federal matter since October 2024 — the FTC's rule on consumer reviews bans paying for reviews that express a particular sentiment, on any platform. The Google and FTC rules in full.
What can a business still do on Yelp?
Four things, and they are enough.
- Claim the page. Everything below needs it, and an unclaimed page is one anyone can edit. Yelp's own support page: "If you've claimed your business page, you can reply to your reviews."
- Reply — publicly, and by direct message. Yelp gives a claimed business both: "you can reply to your reviews by clicking Respond, Direct message, or both. We recommend starting with the Respond option. Responses are public and appear below the review and are visible to anyone looking at your page. A response shows your commitment to customer service." The public reply is written for the next reader, the same as on Google — how to write one. The direct message is for the specifics you don't want in public.
- Keep the information right. Hours, phone, address, photos, menu or services — the part of the page that isn't reviews is the part you control entirely.
- Let the reviews come. Yelp's own advice: "Your best bet to get positive, unbiased reviews about your business is by providing a high quality, memorable customer experience — without any expectation or encouragement of a review in return." That is the whole policy, said kindly.
How do you ask for Google reviews without breaking Yelp's rules?
Keep the two apart, physically.
- The card, the receipt line and the QR code carry the Google link only. Never a Yelp logo, never "find us on Yelp," never a page that lists both — a request that includes Yelp is a request to review on Yelp. This is how Oh Local's review page is built: it opens Google, Tripadvisor and Facebook, and does not offer Yelp at all (see how Oh Local can help).
- The follow-up email is the same. "How did we do?" with a Google link is fine under Google's rules; the same email with a Yelp button is the exact case Yelp names — "don't ask for reviews after requesting customer feedback in other places."
- Don't mention Yelp at the counter. "If you liked it, we're on Google" is an ask Google permits. "We're on Yelp" is an ask Yelp doesn't.
None of this means hiding from Yelp. It means Yelp reviews arrive on Yelp's terms — unasked, from people who use Yelp — and the reviews you do ask for go to the platform that says to ask.
How Oh Local helps with this
Oh Local's review page and printed QR card open Google, Tripadvisor and Facebook and never Yelp — the separation above, built in, so nothing you hand a customer can be read as a Yelp solicitation. Yelp reviews still count: when your Yelp page is connected, new Yelp reviews arrive in the same weekly email as the Google ones, with the public reply drafted, negative ones first, and you post it from your claimed Yelp account. Nothing is offered for any review on any platform, on any surface we build. The free audit reads your public Google reviews today and shows you what's waiting for a reply.
How it works
- Run the free audit. We read your public Google reviews and replies and send you the numbers: reply rate, the reviews still waiting for an answer, and the oldest of them — with the table on this page to put them beside.
- Claim your page. Pick your listing, and your QR card and short link are ready to print — from your own phone, no onboarding call.
- Get the weekly email. Every new review with its reply drafted, private feedback that came in, and the short list of what to fix on your listing and site.
- Approve, and that’s it. You press approve on the replies you like. The rest — the card, the page, the measuring — runs on its own.
What you get
Your review page
A printed QR card and a short link that open every review option — Google, Tripadvisor, Facebook — capture the customer’s email, and give an unhappy customer a private word first. About four minutes to a printable QR.
Reviews handled
Every new review on your platforms, with the reply drafted in your voice, in one weekly email. Negative ones first. You approve, edit or skip; nothing posts without you.
Local standing
Where you rank around your shop, what competitors are doing, what changed on your listing — with the exact fix for each. Recommendations can lead to better rankings and more visibility; no tool can promise a position, including ours.
| Industry | Audited | Reviews a month (median) | Top quarter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas restaurants | 358 | 9.3 | 17.4+ |
| Dallas dental practices | 85 | 6 | 8.7+ |
| Dallas retail shops | 83 | 0.9 | 3.2+ |
| Dallas tattoo studios | 82 | 2.2 | 8+ |
| Dallas barbershops | 81 | 2.1 | 4.4+ |
| Dallas plastic surgeons | 75 | 1 | 2.7+ |
| Dallas med spas | 74 | 2.9 | 6.7+ |
FAQ
Can a business ask customers for Yelp reviews?
No. Yelp's policy is "don't ask anyone to review your business," including customers, mailing-list subscribers, friends and family, and it also prohibits asking after a survey or feedback form, staff competitions, and any freebie, discount or payment for a review. Yelp's software tries to identify requested reviews and not recommend them, so they don't count toward the rating.
Why did a real customer's Yelp review disappear?
It was most likely moved to "not recommended," not deleted. Yelp's recommendation software filters reviews it doesn't have enough signal on — a new account with one review is the typical case — as well as reviews it suspects were requested or written by someone connected to the business. Not-recommended reviews are still readable via a link at the bottom of the page but don't count toward the star rating or review count, and the set can change over time.
What is a Yelp Consumer Alert?
A warning banner Yelp places over a business's reviews after an investigation, with the evidence where possible. The types are Compensated Activity (offering cash or incentives for reviews), Suspicious Review Activity (many reviews from one IP address or a coordinated group), Questionable Legal Threats (using legal threats against a reviewer), Unusual Activity and Public Attention (review spikes after news coverage).
Can I put "Review us on Yelp" on my Google review card?
No. Asking for Yelp reviews in any form is against Yelp's policy, and a card that names both platforms is a request to review on both. Put the Google link on the card, the receipt and the follow-up email; leave Yelp off every ask.
Can a business respond to Yelp reviews?
Yes, once the page is claimed. Yelp offers a public Respond option, which appears under the review for anyone to read, and a Direct Message option for private follow-up; Yelp recommends starting with the public response. Write it for the next customer reading the page, keep it short and specific, and move any dispute to the direct message.
