While its review filter algorithm remains largely confidential, there is a study that is suggesting that it is possible that there are some factors that could affect the site’s filter, particularly about the reviewer and the business being reviewed.

In a working paper by Georgios Zervas and Michael Luca entitled, “Fake It Till You Make It: Reputation, Competition, and Yelp Review Fraud,” they found out that Yelp’s dedicated review filter had hidden an alarming 16 percent of all the 316,000 reviews that they have based on for the study. The study involved restaurants in Boston, New York, covering over 3,600 business enterprises.

From their findings, it appears that the filtered reviews all have something in common, which were related to to the kind of review who wrote it.

The Best and Worst Reviews Get Filtered More

What Zervas and Luca discovered is that extreme reviews are what make up the list of filtered reviews. Published reviews are more neutral compared to those that have been filtered by Yelp’s algorithm. It seems that those reviews with one- and five-star ratings have a three percent chance of getting filtered than three-star reviews.

Another discovery is that filtered reviews are usually shorter in length as compared to those that have been published for consumers to see.

Reviewers with Few or Single Post are Likely to Get Their Reviews Filtered

There is a strong likelihood of having a review filtered if the reviewer has one or few reviews in the past. If you have built a reputation of posting many reviews, then there is little to no reason for getting your review filtered by Yelp.

Users with no profile photo are 41 percent more at risk for a filtered review than those who have an image to their name.

Building Your Reputation is the Key to Getting Published

This is the downside of Yelp, because small businesses that ask their customers to post an honest review on the site are likely to get their review filtered if they are new to the site. It takes away the essence of posting customer reviews, because not all customers spend time posting reviews on Yelp. This is also makes it easy for fake reviews to get published because you can pay someone to build their reputation and post biased reviews for a business they are working for.

Sounds Too Good To Be True? Ways to Cook up Personalized Reviews.

Much can be said of the current popularity of Local Review sites. From Yelp to Yellow Pages, each site has provided consumers with more options, more things to think about, and more freedom to choose whatever product and service they want based on what they hear and see on these sites. Naturally, everyone wants to post something about a certain product or service they’ve experienced. However, what would make your review standout in a crowd of rants and raves? How can you make your review “real and personal”??? Think before you write. Some tips that each reviewer has to remember.

1. One article said that to be able to make the review site feel that you are real, you have to be able to personalize your reviews. How? Write in a simple and concise manner. This includes omitting unrelated words.  You’re only making search engines think you’re using unnecessary words to make a longer review.  Remember that long reviews are okay, but make sure to make it informative and useful. In this example you may want to:  1. Add personal details such as the time of the day when you came in to that specific place. 2. How many people were there those times? 3. You can also state on your review what you had ordered, where you were seated and who you were with.
2. Laying down the name of the store owner can be helpful, but not all the time. It is said to be such an old local SEO strategy, to make review sites believe that you were really in touch with the owner. You better stop using the same. Just by sharing the experience that you have and omitting the proper nouns can save your day.
3. We are all victims of using too much punctuation. Specifically the exclamation mark! New review formats have been made; in this manner you have to make sure that you are doing a flawlessly “personalized” review. Check your spelling and grammar most importantly and even though you are trying to anonymize yourself, make sure that your review can be something that another person can ponder on.
4. “Experience is the best teacher” – that goes for local reviews as well. In writing reviews, you have to make sure that you have stated your real experiences. Do not dwell on what others have experienced in that restaurant but, state yours as if you have honestly experienced the same. You may also offer yourself and share your email address or whatever contact details you have if you are open for validation.
5. Good reviews aren’t always good. Users and readers doesn’t always look at the bright side of things – readers now are smarter. A restaurant without any bad review or even a slight hint of “wrongness” in it makes people think twice. So, don’t sugarcoat it – your input is of great help so that readers may know the real side of the resto, and not just what they see in the magazines or paid write-ups. Just like our favorite saying said, “You can never please anybody”, that restaurant may also have a bad side. But you can help your readers neutralize the ambiance by making a smart, relevant and personalized review.

Perhaps, you can use this sample:

Pros: Crews are attentive, foods are worth the price, never expected it to be faster than usual
Cons: A little crowded, people are too noisy

Review:
It was 1:30 in the afternoon, 1 September 2012 when me and my brother Stevo have decided to eat our late lunch in TGI Fridays. The place was located near ATC street. We are both starving to death and we know for a fact that we will be waiting for the food for, let’s says about 10-15 minutes. We’ve placed our orders to a crew named Chris, she’s attentive and maybe she knows that we’re both dying because of hunger. Surprisingly after 5-8 minutes our lunch was served. Great great way to start our September though.