May 18, 2023

Review gating clarification

Hi there ,
We use chat-based conversations to measure Net Promoter Score, gather feedback, and solicit customer reviews, engaging all clients in a conversational manner. After delivering services, we ask for their NPS rating and proceed accordingly:

Positive Rating: We request a Google review with a provided link.
Negative Rating: We ask for private suggestions for improvement to pass on to management. When received we encourage a Google review as we ask all (no link provided).

I'm wondering if this is considered review gating by Google or not. I want to comply with the guidelines while maintaining an engaging customer experience. Your thoughts on whether our approach unfortunately qualifies as review gating and if so any recommended adjustments would be appreciated.

Thank you for your time and expertise

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Krystal Taing

Platinum Product Expert

VP, Solutions @ Uberall

May 19, 2023

Hi Spanishly

Thanks for asking! Yes, this is considered review gating. In short, having a different path to leave a review based on a positive or negative experience would be considered gating.

You should either ask all customers for a review, then give them an option to provide additional feedback via survey, or vice versa. The key is to have the same path for all customers, even if they've already expressed dissatisfaction.

Please let me know if you have any additional questions!

Thank you,

Krystal Taing

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Last edited May 19, 2023

Spanishly

Original Poster

May 26, 2023

Thank you for your response and clarification on the matter. I understand that having a different path for leaving reviews based on a positive or negative experience is considered review gating. However, I would like to propose an alternative perspective regarding our approach.

In our case, the Net Promoter Score (NPS) serves as a measure of customer satisfaction and provides valuable feedback for our improvement efforts. We view the conditional feedback request for less content clients as a part of the survey process rather than a separate path for leaving reviews. By soliciting private suggestions for improvement from dissatisfied customers, we aim to address their concerns and make necessary adjustments to enhance their experience.

With that said, we would like to inquire if our approach would be compliant with Google's guidelines if we were to modify the review request following this survey. Instead of differentiating the review request based on the initial NPS rating, we would make the review request text identical for all customers, regardless of their previous response. Would this adjustment ensure that our process aligns with Google's guidelines and avoids any perception of review gating?

Additionally, we are open to other suggestions or recommendations on how to maintain a conversational survey with conditional questions followed by a review request while staying within the guidelines. Preferably with the review request at the end of the conversation as writing reviews leads them out of the chat service. We want to strike a balance between engaging our customers and complying with the policies set by Google, in a natural flowing conversation.

Thank you for your continued support and expertise in this matter. Very comforting that you offer your expertise as our question is more intricate than the published information provides answers to.

Warm regards

Krystal Taing

Platinum Product Expert

VP, Solutions @ Uberall

Jun 1, 2023

Hello,

Yes exactly, as long as the text and action path after they've completed the NPS survey is the same regardless of the answer, that would not be considered gating :)