Some review tools filter customers by predicted sentiment. They survey everyone, but only send the happy ones to Google. It's called review gating, and it's a bad idea for two reasons: it breaks Google's rules, and it breaks trust.
What review gating is
Review gating is any process that decides who gets to leave a public review based on how they're likely to rate you. A common version: ask for a star rating first, then route four- and five-star customers to Google and everyone else to a private form.
Why it breaks Google's rules
Google's review policies explicitly prohibit "discouraging or prohibiting negative reviews or selectively soliciting positive reviews." Gating does exactly that. The consequences range from removed reviews to a restricted or suspended profile, and the platforms that offer gating rarely mention that risk up front.
Why it backfires anyway
Even setting the rules aside, gating produces a profile that's too good to be true. Shoppers are sceptical of a wall of flawless five-star reviews; a few thoughtful, well-answered critical reviews actually increase trust and conversion.
What to do instead
- Offer every customer the same public Google path, whatever their experience.
- Let unhappy customers also send you private feedback, as an extra channel rather than a replacement for the public one.
- Respond to every review, including the critical ones.
This is exactly how Localblend works by design: every customer sees the public Google path, and low-rating customers can optionally add private feedback too. See our approach or start today.