Review routing

Review routing is the FTC- and Google-policy-compliant alternative to review gating. The mechanic looks similar from the outside, a customer rates their experience and is then directed to a destination, but the critical difference is that nobody is blocked from leaving a public review, regardless of how they rated.

In a review-routing flow, the customer picks the public platform they want to use (Google, Yelp, Facebook, etc.). Customers who rated lower are also offered a private feedback form alongside the public options, an alternative, not a filter. Most unhappy customers prefer the private path when offered, which gives the business a chance to fix the issue before it lands publicly.

Tools that use review routing, including BrightLocal and GoodMarks, explicitly avoid the practices that make review gating illegal: selectively soliciting positive reviews, suppressing negative reviews, or blocking unhappy customers from posting publicly.