Is review gating against Google's policy?

Review gating is a filter in front of your review link. A customer is asked how their visit was. If they say great, they get the Google link. If they say bad, they get a private feedback form instead.

It feels harmless, because unhappy customers do get a place to vent. The effect, though, is that your public rating no longer reflects your customers. That is exactly what review rules are written to prevent.

• Google. Its policy for contributed content on Maps tells businesses not to selectively ask for positive reviews or discourage negative ones. Gating does both.
• The FTC. In the US, the Federal Trade Commission's rule on consumer reviews, in force since October 2024, bans fake reviews and reviews bought or traded for something of value, and it covers review suppression. Check the current text for your own situation.
• Yelp. Yelp asks businesses not to ask for reviews at all. If you do ask on Google, ask everyone, and leave Yelp to find you on its own.

1. Ask everyone. Every guest, every client, not a picked sample. Ask at the moment they are most likely to say yes: after a good meal, a delivered project, a problem solved.
2. Use the direct link. Your Google Business Profile has a share link for reviews. Put it on a card, a receipt or a table QR code, and send it the same way to everyone.
3. Offer private feedback beside it, not in front of it. A "tell us how we can improve" email is fine. It just can't be the gate that decides who sees the Google link.
4. Reply to every review, good or bad. Keep it short and specific. For a bad one, say what you will change and offer to talk offline. Future customers read the replies as much as the stars.
5. Never pay or reward for reviews. No discounts, free coffee or prize draws, and never write your own or ask staff to.

Fix what the bad reviews point at. A rating built on every customer's honest word is worth more than a perfect one that someone eventually works out is filtered, and Google can remove reviews and listings that break its policy.

If a review is fake or breaks Google's content rules, flag it from your profile. A real but harsh review is not a reason to flag it. It is a reason to reply well.