The Risks of Gating Customer Reviews: What You Need to Know

As a business owner, it's natural to want to collect as many positive reviews as possible for your company. One way to do this is to ask your customers to leave a review on Google. Some businesses choose to manipulate this process by only allowing customers who have had a positive experience to leave a review, a practice known as gating. While this may seem like a good idea, there are actually several reasons why you shouldn't prevent customers when asking for reviews on Google.

A quick sidestep first in case you are not familiar with gating. In the context of gating reviews, this is most commonly done by only requesting reviews from a select segment of your customers, not all of them. For example, asking “how would you rate us” before directing the customer to leave a review on Google is gating.

First and foremost, gating reviews can actually harm your business in the long run. Google's algorithm takes into account the number and variety of reviews when determining a business's ranking in search results. If all of your reviews are positive and you're not getting any negative feedback, Google may view your business as less relevant and trustworthy. This can lead to a lower ranking in search results, which can ultimately hurt your bottom line.

In addition, gating reviews can be seen as manipulative and dishonest. By only allowing customers with positive experiences to leave a review, you're artificially inflating your rating and giving potential customers a skewed view of what they can expect from your business. This can lead to disappointment and mistrust when customers have a different experience than what they were led to believe based on your reviews.

Another reason to avoid gating reviews is that it can limit the amount of valuable feedback you receive from customers. Negative reviews can be just as useful as positive ones, as they can help you identify areas for improvement and make changes that will ultimately benefit your business. By only allowing positive reviews, you're missing out on an opportunity to learn and grow.

Ultimately, it's important to remember that Google reviews are a two-way street. As a business owner, it's your responsibility to provide a great customer experience and encourage honest feedback from your customers. By gating reviews, you're not only potentially harming your business, but also failing to live up to this responsibility.