The short answer on Yelp not recommended reviews
Yelp not recommended reviews are reviews its software has moved off the main business page and out of the star rating, without deleting them. The label reflects a judgment about reliability, not a finding that the review is fake. Yelp has never publicly explained exactly how the filter decides.
The scale is large. Yelp’s filing for the year to December 31, 2024 splits all reviews three ways. Roughly 76% made the main page, roughly 15% went to the not-recommended page, and roughly 9% were taken down.
Those three outcomes differ. A recommended review shows on the main page and shapes the rating. A not-recommended review sits on a secondary page, and a removed review is gone.
Outside research offers the clearest clues about the filter. A 2014 study found that reviewer traits, not review text, predicted filtering. Occasional reviewers were filtered more often.
The part of this series on why Yelp hides reviews looks at those signals in more detail. This guide focuses on what an owner does about them.
Steps an owner can take when reviews are not recommended
An owner who sees reviews marked as not recommended should check where they went, understand why, and change the behaviors that are within reach. No step forces a review back onto the main page. The aim is a page Yelp’s software can trust over time.
- Find the secondary page. Not-recommended reviews stay visible on a separate page linked from the business listing. Reading them first shows which customers were affected.
- Look for a pattern in the reviewers. Note whether the filtered reviewers have few other reviews or little profile history. Research ties filtering to reviewer traits rather than to wording.
- Check the star rating against recommended reviews only. The rating counts recommended reviews alone. A gap between what customers say in person and the rating often traces back to filtering.
- Stop any review requests tied to the business. Yelp calls a review “solicited” when someone linked to the business asked for it. It says such reviews carry an unfair positive bias.
- Review incentives and offers. The FTC rule that took effect October 21, 2024 bans incentives conditioned on review sentiment. A discount offered only for a glowing review falls on the wrong side of that line.
- Flag only genuine rule-breaking. Flagging is for a review the owner believes breaks Yelp’s content guidelines. The route is “More Options” and then “Report review” on the page. The FTC says not to use reporting tools against honest negative reviews.
- Reply in public with care. Public responses are allowed when they avoid false accusations and intimidation. A measured reply helps readers whether a review is recommended or not.
- Keep the business details current. A claimed page lets the owner update hours and contact information. Accurate facts reduce complaints that turn into poor reviews.
Why the order matters
Looking before acting prevents mistakes. An owner who assumes deletion may react with a flood of new requests. That reaction can make the problem worse.
Removing review requests early protects the page from a larger risk. The steps about flagging and replies come later because they deal with individual reviews. The structural steps shape what happens to every future review.
What changes whether a review is recommended
Recommendation depends mostly on signals about the reviewer and on how the review came about. How positive or negative it is matters far less.
Owners control only some of those signals. Knowing which ones helps set realistic expectations.
The reviewer’s own history
Reviewer history appears to weigh heavily. The 2014 study found occasional reviewers were filtered more than active ones. A loyal customer who writes a first and only review is a likely candidate for filtering.
This explains a common owner complaint. Some of the warmest reviews come from people who rarely post anywhere. Those reviews often land on the secondary page.
How the review was prompted
Yelp separates reviews that arrive on their own from reviews a business asked for. It labels requested reviews as solicited. Its stated concern is a built-in positive bias.
The FTC adds a separate warning. Asking only happy customers for reviews may violate the FTC Act. Selective asking is a risk on two fronts at once.
Whether money or pressure was involved
Payment and pressure change more than one review. Buying reviews, rewarding them or paying to have them taken down can all earn a compensated activity alert. That alert warns every reader of the page.
Consumer Alerts have a history. In October 2012 Yelp placed 90-day alerts on 150 listings it believed paid for reviews. Since 2024 a consumer alerts history section has been shown as well.
Whether the page itself is trusted
A page with past Consumer Alerts or a pattern of odd activity draws closer attention. Yelp lists suspicious review activity and unusual activity among its alert types. A clean history gives every new review a fairer start.
What does not change the outcome
Advertising does not buy recommendation. Yelp’s annual filing says paying advertisers face the identical filter. The detail of how Yelp ads work has its own guide on this hub, and none of it touches review status.
The courts looked at this question directly in Levitt v. Yelp, a 9th Circuit opinion filed September 2, 2014. Business owners had claimed Yelp used reviews to pressure them into buying ads.
The appeals court upheld the dismissal of those extortion claims. The owners had not plausibly shown that Yelp itself authored the bad reviews.
The scale of filtering elsewhere
Independent figures line up broadly with Yelp’s own. Researchers at Harvard Business School, writing in 2015, put the share of restaurant reviews flagged as suspicious at roughly 16%. Filtering is a normal part of the platform, not a penalty aimed at one business.
Mistakes to avoid with filtered reviews
The costly mistakes are the ones that turn a filtering issue into a trust issue with Yelp or with regulators. Most come from frustration rather than bad intent. Each one below has a safer alternative.
Asking a customer to repost the review
A repost does not change the reviewer’s history. It may also look like coordinated activity. The safer path is to leave the original in place and keep serving customers well.
Running a review drive
A push for reviews from customers is exactly what Yelp calls solicited. It can also tip into selective asking if only satisfied customers are approached. The FTC treats that as a possible violation.
Offering rewards for reviews
Rewards tied to positive sentiment are banned under the FTC rule. Rewards tied to reviews in general can still trigger Yelp’s compensated activity alert. Neither outcome helps the page.
Threatening a critical reviewer
Under the FTC rule, a business may not silence reviewers with intimidation, baseless legal threats or accusations it knows are false. Yelp also lists questionable legal threats as a Consumer Alert type. A threat can draw a public warning on the page.
Using flags as a removal tool
Flagging exists for content that breaks Yelp’s guidelines. Using it on honest criticism goes against FTC guidance. Repeated misuse wastes time and changes nothing.
Paying a service that promises results
No one can promise recommendation status for a review. Yelp has not published how its filter works, so no outside service can control it. Paying to remove reviews can also bring a compensated activity alert.
Assuming filtered reviews vanished
They did not. Not-recommended reviews remain on secondary pages for anyone who looks. Owners can still read them and learn from them.
Expecting a quick fix
Filtering is ongoing and automated. Nothing an owner does produces an instant change. Patience and steady service are the realistic approach.
Frequently asked questions
Why are Yelp reviews not currently recommended?
Yelp’s recommendation software has judged them less reliable than other reviews. Research suggests reviewer traits, such as how often a person posts, matter more than the text. The reviews stay on a secondary page and do not count toward the rating.
Can you get rid of bad Yelp reviews?
Not on request. An owner can flag a review believed to break Yelp’s content guidelines, and Yelp decides. The FTC says reporting tools should not be used to remove honest negative reviews.
Does a not-recommended review affect the star rating?
No. The star rating is built from recommended reviews only. Not-recommended reviews remain readable but carry no weight in the score.
Do Yelp advertisers get more reviews recommended?
No. Yelp says buying ads has no effect on which reviews its software recommends. A federal appeals court also rejected extortion claims linking ads and reviews.
Continue on the Yelp hub
More on Yelp sits on the hub page for this topic. It links to the guide on how Yelp works for business owners and the guide on Yelp Ads. It also holds this series, with parts on hidden reviews, asking for reviews, reporting a review and Consumer Alerts.
Head to Yelp explained for the full list.
