November 2018 – 14 Reviews! +7 Hidden Reviews – 33% Hidden

I was surprised to see that my Yelp page, which showed 14 great reviews (all 5 stars) a month or two ago, now shows only 9 reviews! 12 reviews (also 5 stars) are “not recommended.” Why? No idea. The salespeople who call me daily also claim ignorance. Blame it on the algorithm gods. So, they recently hid 5 reviews. All those reviews stood for many months before being tucked away in the hidden “not recommended” section.

In fairness, let me say that Yelp has been good to me. They’ve sent many new customers my way – for free! Often, a customer tells me they googled “carpet cleaning” and they found my website. They often mention that they saw I have lots of great reviews. Some found my Yelp page before they found my webpage. I am deeply appreciative. Like so many Internet start-ups, they pull in users with free products and then hope to get paid for it. They want to be profitable. That’s fair.

The problem is with Yelp’s business model. They give the appearance of providing a free speech website that treats businesses fairly, but they clearly do not treat businesses fairly. That’s my opinion and the opinion of many other business owners. Unlike most review websites like Google, Facebook and Thumbtack, they filter out some reviews and feature other reviews. They are anything but transparent about the criteria they use for accepting some reviews and rejecting other reviews. The only Yelp staff you can talk to are salespeople. There is no customer service for businesses with questions about reviews. It appears to many that the criteria has something to do with which businesses pay Yelp for ads and which do not. Secondly, Yelp ads are too expensive for a small business like mine. It cost me more than $400 per month – that was the minimum. That’s more than my budget for all advertising. I’d love to advertise with Yelp if I could wade into the water gradually. You can do that with Google and Facebook. The only advertiser besides Yelp that wanted a set fee whether I got results or not was Yellow Pages and I could understand. They were printing an expensive phone book that would be out there a year or more.

Dec. 12, 2018
I’m down to 9 Reviews! 12 Hidden Reviews! 57% Hidden

Comparison with Other Carpet Cleaning Businesses in Petaluma

I was curious how my experience compares with other carpet cleaners that serve Petaluma.

Businesses Buying Yelp Ads	# of Reviews Shown	# of Reviews Hidden	% Hidden
North Coast CC (4 Stars out of 5)	82	29	26%
Sonoma Co CC (5 Stars)	24	20	45%
Cal. Steam Clean (4.5 Stars)	36	59	62%
Kinco Carpet… (5 Stars)	50	32	39%
Esteam (5 Stars)	145	76	34%
Former Yelp Advertisers
Applied CC (5 Stars)	22	25	53%
Advanced Dry CC (me) (5 Stars)	9	12	57%
Potter (don’t know if they advertised) (5 Stars)	11	4	27%

A Few Notes:

3 businesses have more than half of their reviews hidden. Two of those are businesses that formerly advertised with Yelp but are not currently paying Yelp for ads – Advanced Dry (me) and Applied. Cal Steam, an advertiser, has lots of reviews (95) and a whopping 62% are filtered, hidden. I wonder what they did wrong. Did they ask 59 family members to write glowing reviews?

If you’re going to advertise with Yelp, you better not stop (Advanced and Applied).

Update Dec. 15, 2018
I’m down to 8 Reviews! 13 Hidden Reviews! 62% Hidden

I’m definitely in the dog house with Yelp. Why? Is it because I complained to the salesman, Abdulaziz Yousuf, a few days before? Is it because I’ve ignored the salesman’s daily calls and emails. No kidding. Daily. Did the reviewer, Arielle, do something to discredit herself? Here’s the review they moved to the “not recommended” page.

Why This is Important?

Yelp’s business model is to get businesses to buy advertising from them which gives their Yelp page favorable placement. No problem with that. They claim that their sales department has no influence whatsoever with the department of geeks who write the algorithms that determine which reviews are seen and which are hidden “not currently recommended.” That is highly suspicious. My experience is that Yelp is penalizing me for not advertising.

Many people put great faith in Yelp and the reviews written by their peers. If there are a lot of reviews and they are mostly positive, they trust the business. If there are only a few reviews, customers tend to assume the business is new and less trustworthy, even if the reviews are all positive. Yelp users have no idea that many, or most, of the reviews their peers write are hidden away. In the case of advertisers, it may be the negative reviews that are hidden away. In the case of those who choose not to pay Yelp, it may be positive reviews that are hidden away.

If you’re thinking about writing a Yelp review on my business and many others who do not advertise, especially if you’re spending a lot of time on it, be aware that Yelp will more than likely hide it away. Rejected. Furthermore, if you have a few rejected reviews, Yelp will be less likely to publish any of your reviews.

I’d hate to work for Yelp. They have a strange business model. They alienate business owners, especially small business owners, that could be buying advertising from them. It’s not working. Yelp is acting desperate.

I’m not worried. I have hundreds of satisfied customers who refer me to their friends. They don’t need Yelp to find me. None of my Yelp reviews (shown or hidden) are less that 5 Stars so all Yelp can do is move them around from one category to the other. My 5 Star rating remains. Also, my Yelp page still comes up as #1 or #2 after the advertisers, so new customers will see my page. But having only 8 reviews makes my business look like it’s new and less trustworthy. And then there’s the feeling that there’s something like extortion going on here. I guess this is tapping into my justice issues.

Update April 24, 2019 – Up to 9 Reviews

Yelp is shuffling reviews. There are still 21 total, but now nine are visible and “recommended.” 12 are tucked away in the “not recommended” section, two clicks away.

Funny, the review they moved up was a 2014 review that had been relegated to the not-recommended-dungeon for years! Now, for reasons unknown and unknowable, it has been moved up as my top review. It’s the first review folks see! I’m delighted – it’s a super-glowing review.

BTW, Yelp is finally getting smart and showing ten advertisers before showing any organic search results for carpet cleaning. You have to scroll to the bottom of the page (well past “the fold” to find any organic search results. I searched “carpet cleaning” locally and my business came up as the number one organic search result. But no one will see it because ten advertisers appear ahead of me.

Last time I checked, they were showing maybe three sponsored advertisers. That’s fair. Why should they continue to send me business without me paying a dime? Now, they’re not. Half of those sponsored businesses are out of the area, so they’re not very useful. When I use Yelp to search for restaurants, which I often do, I quickly scroll through the sponsored ads to the organic search. I know the paid ads are usually less useful and the restaurants will be more expensive. They have to be – they’re paying Yelp. The organic search is what shows me what I’m really looking for. For example, I searched “What a Chicken” which is a small, popular taqueria in Petaluma. There were three sponsored results showing before I found the one I was looking for. Same for Hanna’s Haircuts. I looked up “burrito” and again three paid ads showed before the organic search results. So, three paid ads if you’re searching for restaurants, but ten paid ads if you’re searching for carpet cleaning. Why? Why not? We’re Yelp!

So…Yelp is constantly changing its strategy and confusing businesses and customers alike.

Update: November 8, 2019 – 6 Reviews

I was up to 11 reviews a week ago. Two were new and were written on the same day, which might be a sign that they were requested. Yelp doesn’t like that. Both were 5 Stars.

Today, I have 6 reviews. 17 are “not recommended.” I am baffled. No words.

They hid away the two new reviews and three more just for fun. My business is listed #2 in the organic search results, but there are 10 sponsored businesses ahead of mine. Notably, Yelp has given up on selling me advertising. I haven’t received a call from them in a few weeks. They were calling and emailing daily.

Your comments are welcome below. No profanity please.

More

Youtube: Why does Yelp hide reviews? – Washington Post, May 21, 2013

Youtube: Yelp: The Real Mafia | Yelp Hiding Reviews – Matterhorn Business Development

Documentary: Billion Dollar Bully

Today consumers Yelp everything from restaurants to dentists; plumbers to surgeons. The small business community sees Yelp’s sales tactic as extortion. Does Yelp genuinely have an interest in helping people support the best local businesses, or are they a pay-to-play advertising platform?