How to Remove Bad Reviews From Yelp: a Full Guide
When I watched a scene from Beef where a character floods a man’s Yelp page with angry reviews unrelated to his actual work, it seemed like an extreme case. But after some research, I realized that there’s some truth to it – such comments can seriously hurt a business. Knowing how to remove bad reviews from Yelp has become a must-have skill for business owners.
In this guide, I’ll walk you through the process of taking down negative comments on Yelp – and what you can do to avoid getting them in the future.
Table of contents
Why Yelp matters
Despite its controversial reputation, Yelp remains a powerful tool for local businesses to attract leads and build trust. According to experts, today customers mostly use the platform not to discover new places, but to check detailed reviews of places they already have in mind before making a purchasing decision.
“Yes, Yelp is still relevant, especially for small businesses, – one of the experts at Reputation America says. – Most of our clients who approach us with Yelp-related concerns are in personal service industries. For example, dentistries, medical service providers, renovation centers, construction companies etc. For small businesses, Yelp continues to be significant, as many potential customers still rely on Yelp reviews when making decisions”.
178 million people visit Yelp every month. It’s the second most popular review platform after Google Review.
How Yelp is different from other review platforms
- It focuses on local businesses.
- It prioritizes detailed reviews from active and reliable users.
- Yelp’s algorithm filters reviews, so customers don’t see all the feedback a business receives.
- Businesses can highlight their page by purchasing a premium membership on Yelp.
How negative reviews on Yelp affect your online visibility
Even if people don’t use Yelp, they still see your ratings and reviews in search results as Google, Yahoo, and Bing have integrated it into their search – especially for local queries.
Here’s how one of the business owners describes their experience on Reddit:
Here are the search results for a company with Yelp reviews at the top:
In addition, Yelp results are shown automatically on Alexa, Siri, Bixby, and Apple Maps. So, there are plenty of places besides the platform where your potential customer can see your page on Yelp.
Search results in the era of AI
What’s more important is that, with AI-generated summaries, getting on the first page of Google search results is no longer as relevant.
Being mentioned in those summaries or in ChatGPT answers is what really matters now. To achieve that, you need to maintain a strong online presence across platforms and address negative comments effectively and promptly.
It takes seconds for a potential customer to gauge your credibility. Here’s what Google shows if you type: “company’s name reviews USA”:
Does Yelp remove bad reviews?
Yelp might delete reviews that violate its rules. To make that happen, a business owner should report those comments to the platform.
Yelp’s review guidelines
Yelp expects honest and respectful depiction of a customer’s experience with businesses. The review should be relevant, unbiased, and objective.
The platform discourages users from sharing:
- politically charged comments
- descriptions of a business’s employment practices
- reviews that aren’t based on firsthand experience
- harmful or abusive language, including hate speech and harassment
- private information of other people (full name, occupation, etc.)
- promotional content
- reviews copied from other platforms
- AI-generated content
Threats to post or remove negative reviews for money aren’t allowed.
When can Yelp remove bad reviews?
Yelp may take down content under these circumstances.
1. A conflict of interest
When an author of a review
- is a competitor, an ex-employee or connected to the business (a friend, relative, etc)
- receives payment or incentives for the review
- promotes either a business or a rival
2. Irrelevant or copied information
If a reviewer
- shares someone else’s experience
- tries to disrupt other comments
- talks about another business
- copies reviews from other platforms
- discusses a business’s opening hours, special offers, or policies.
After COVID-19, Yelp introduced a new category called “extraordinary circumstances,” which covers reviews posted during major events like the pandemic or media scandals.
3. Inappropriate content
If a review includes
- hate speech, lewd comments or threats
- people’s full names, addresses, and other private information.
Although, in some circumstances, posting full names of doctors, lawyers, realtors and other professionals is allowed.
How to remove negative Yelp reviews
The strategy depends on the type of content in question. For instance, if it’s obvious spam, a duplicate, or a violation of Yelp’s rules, report it – the platform is likely to remove it. If the situation is more complicated, try resolving the issue with the reviewer or Yelp’s support team. If you’re unsure what to do, consult professionals – or hire them to handle it for you.
Need help with negative reviews on Yelp? Book a free consultation with our experts.
How to report a bad review on Yelp from the website
- Find the review in question.
- Click on the “More options” button.
- If needed, add necessary details to support your claims of violation.
- Click “Report” button.
How to report a bad review from the Yelp app
- Find the review.
- Tap the “More options” (on iPhone) or “Overflow Menu” (on Android) icon.
- Add the information necessary to prove violation and tap “report”.
The decision is usually made within a few days. You can see the status of your case if you hover over the flag icon next to the review. You’ll also receive a notification about the outcome via email.
Get practical report writing tips and a ready-to-use template in our mini-guide.
How to write a report to the Yelp support team: Download⤵️
What to do if Yelp doesn’t remove a negative review
If negative feedback wasn’t removed after reporting, consider the following actions:
- Reach out to Yelp moderators
- Negotiate with the author of a review
- Get the help of experts
How to contact Yelp’s support team
You can write to Yelp’s support through the Questionable Content form and explain why you want the review removed.
How to reply to negative Yelp reviews
No one is perfect. If you made a mistake, it’s important to acknowledge it, fix it, and try to turn an unhappy customer into a happy one. Even if you did no wrong and it’s useless to persuade the reviewer to change their mind, it’s crucial to respond to reviews. It shows current and potential clients that you care and can handle unpleasant situations.
On Yelp, you can contact reviewers publicly or through direct messages inside the platform.
Follow this strategy:
- First, reply to the comment quickly and politely, expressing empathy for the bad experience.
- If the reviewer mentioned something positive, highlight that part in your response, explain what caused the issue or misunderstanding, and say what has been done to avoid such situations in the future.
- If the problem can’t be solved quickly, tell them that you’ll do it soon. Fix the issue and get back to the customer with an update. You can do this in a direct message.
- Once the conflict is resolved, ask the customer to update the review.
Here’s a template you can use to respond to negative reviews:
You can find the text version of the template as well as the removal guide in this pdf: Download⤵️
Important: Never offer money or other incentives in comments or direct messages on Yelp. It is strictly prohibited, and you could lose the ability to edit your page because of it.
You can’t openly ask customers for reviews on Yelp through your website or social media either.
Here are some ways to work around this rule:
- Use “Find us on Yelp” stickers in the place of your business
- Add a link or a widget to your Yelp page to your emails, website, and social media
- Use the Yelp logo on your printed handouts without directly asking for a review
How to use AI in negative review management
AI-tools like ReviewArm, Podium or Reputation can speed up review management not only on Yelp but on other platforms where your business is present. They help track negative feedback, so you can answer in a timely manner and get rid of fake reviews.
Chatbots like ChatGPT or DeepSeek are helpful in crafting responses to reviews and reports to platforms. You can create a set of prompts answering common concerns and then tailor them to a specific case. It’s important to add a human touch to your interaction with customers or clients.
3 Reasons to hire a reputation management company
By hiring professionals to remove negative, false and defamatory Yelp reviews, you save time and money while gaining valuable insights that benefit your business in the long run.
Here’s exactly what you get by doing so.
1. Technical and legal expertise
Reputation management companies handle negative content removal daily, so they know all the ins and outs of the process and the best strategies to achieve successful outcomes faster. They can help not just with technical stuff but also with legal advice, like taking a defamation case to court.
2. Freeing up your time
Hiring professionals means you don’t need to dive into the details of Yelp’s or other platforms’ rules and guidelines – saving your time and energy. Just describe the problem, and let the experts take that burden off your shoulders.
It takes at least 4-6 hours a week, on average, to reach out and negotiate with Yelp’s support team.
3. Predictable results
Hiring an experienced agency means they have proven results they can replicate. While 100% removal can’t be guaranteed, the chances are much higher than if you do it on your own.
Reputation America removal services
With 10 years of experience in removing negative content from various platforms, including Yelp, we can help you get rid of harmful content that damages your business and drains your revenue.
How it works
Our team works directly with the Yelp reporting system, contacting its support team or reviewers if it’s the only way to solve a problem.
– No hacking, DDoS attacks, or other illegal methods.
– A contract and NDA are signed to ensure all information remains confidential.
The Statement of Work includes the content in question and KPI our team needs to meet.
Examples of KPIs:
- the content is removed
- the content is not visible in the search results
The Service Agreement outlines all the necessary terms to establish a clear framework during the removal process. It also includes NDA, confidentiality, warranties, payment and other clauses that impact the project.
To start working with us, please get in touch via email or phone and tell us what happened. Our experts will get back to you within 24 hours.
Our cases
One of our clients faced a wave of negative reviews across multiple platforms, including Yelp. These comments created a false impression and deterred potential clients.
Our team analyzed the reviews, identified inconsistencies in their content and origin, and submitted legally substantiated removal requests.
In the end, 27 false reviews were removed, restoring the company’s reputation.
“Most of the reviews our clients ask us to remove from Yelp criticize service quality or involve disputes such as chargebacks and refund requests. Any negative feedback, especially about quality, can seriously harm a company’s reputation”, – a removal expert from Reputation America says.
Here are some examples of unfavorable comments that were taken down by Yelp thanks to our experts.
Want to get rid of fake and defamatory reviews on Yelp? Give us a call
How to prevent negative reviews on Yelp
FAQ
Can bad Yelp reviews ruin a business?
In 2011, several small business owners sued Yelp for extortion. One of them, John Mercurio, claimed that Yelp removed 14 five-star reviews from his auto repair shop after he refused to pay $500 a month for ads. In addition, a one-star review showed up at the top of his Yelp page. As a result, his sales dropped by 30%, and he later had to file for personal bankruptcy.
Even though all the lawsuits were dismissed, accusations against Yelp of review manipulation and questionable practices continue to appear on social media to this day.
Can you delete your business page on Yelp?
You can close your business account on Yelp, but your business listing and reviews will stay. Generally, Yelp doesn’t delete business pages, but it can remove some information from the account.
If your business is already listed on Yelp, the best strategy is to keep fostering good reviews and handle the bad ones.
Does Yelp charge to remove bad reviews?
Yelp offers profile upgrades for businesses, but there’s no evidence that it gets negative comments taken down. So, no, you can’t pay Yelp to remove bad reviews.
How much do you have to pay to remove bad Yelp reviews?
The price depends on the difficulty of the case. At Reputation America, the standard rate for removing a single review ranges from $450 to $500. If there are many negative comments to delete, the price can drop to $100-$200 per review.
Need more help with negative reviews on Yelp or any other platform? Contact our experts
Sources
https://www.yelp.com/guidelines
https://www.yelp-support.com/article/When-should-I-report-a-review
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