For better or worse, Yelp.com has become a part of business. Whether you view Yelp as lynchpin of your marketing strategy or simply a haven for complainers to unite online, Yelp is a primary research source for customers considering a purchase. For this reason, it is particularly devastating to discover unflattering reviews from disgruntled employees, unethical competitors, or unreasonable customers. Generally speaking, it is only possible to remove Yelp reviews when they are in violation of one of Yelp’s Terms & Conditions.
Yelp’s core concept is an open forum for consumers to provide an unbiased opinion on their experience with companies on a one to five star scale. While Yelp reviews have been around since 2004, the site gained market share to a position of dominance in 2009. Since then, Yelp has continued to grow and now serves over 90 million review so more than 140 million unique visitors each month. This makes Yelp reviews extremely powerful, as over 80% of consumers research companies online before making a purchase decision.
There is not a reliable legal strategy to remove Yelp reviews. Yelp is protected by the First Amendment and section 230(c) of the Communications Decency Act. Under current legislation, Yelp is not legally responsible for any content on their website that is contributed by a third party. Yelp does not fact check any user generated content; however, Yelp does utilize a sophisticated algorithm to filter for the most reliable and relevant review content.
Reputation Resolutions has helped hundreds of businesses leverage the power of reviews on sites like Yelp to restore and create a positive image online. We have helped develop strategies to remove Yelp reviews from search engine results and generate positive reviews from trusted Yelpers.
Three Ways to Remove Yelp Reviews
- Terms of Service Violations. It is possible to remove yelp reviews that violate Yelp’s Terms of Service. Reputation Resolutions works with the most talented online defamation attorneys in the United States to help clients remove information that violates these terms. Our expert team is well versed with Yelp’s Terms of Service, and has experience drafting successful removal requests.
- Legal Action Against the Author. It is possible to remove yelp reviews which are illegal. In specific situations, it may be advisable to file suit against the individual responsible for authoring defamatory posts on Yelp. Even in situations where the author is anonymous or has used techniques to muddle his identity online, it is possible for our legal team to acquire a default judgement and removal order. If we determine that this is the best strategy to remove Yelp reviews for your company, you will be connected with one of our attorneys who specialize in this strategy.
- Generate Positive Reviews. The most effective way to manage reviews online is to ensure a constant inflow of positive feedback from happy customers. New positive reviews from trusted Yelp account holders will remove negative Yelp reviews from search engine results over time. The Reputation Resolutions team has several tools to help companies generate positive reviews on multiple review sites, and identify former customers with trusted Yelp accounts to reach out to for reviews.
In the event that none of the above methods effectively remove Yelp reviews about your business, it is always possible to suppress negative information by creating more positive, authoritative content designed and optimized to rank highly in search results. While time consuming, this strategy is recommended by Google for businesses seeking ways to improve their online reputation. For more information about how Reputation Resolutions can help remove Yelp reviews for you business, fill out the form below or call us today at (855)239-5322.