I got this from the Yelp website.
What are filtered reviews?
We try to showcase the most helpful and reliable reviews among the millions that are submitted to the site. Not all reviews make the cut, and those that don't are posted to a separate "Filtered Review" page. Filtered reviews don't factor into a business's overall star rating, but users can still read them by clicking on the link at the bottom of the business's profile page.
How do you decide which reviews to filter?
We use filtering software to determine which reviews should be filtered on any given day among the millions that are submitted to the site. The software looks at a wide range of data associated with every review. We invite you to watch this short video for more detail about how it all works.
Why was this particular review filtered?
We intentionally make the filter difficult to reverse engineer — otherwise, we would be overrun by reviews written by people hoping to game the system. So while it may be tough to decipher how the filter works, the rules are actually the same for every business and every review.
Is the filter ever wrong?
The filter sometimes affects perfectly legitimate reviews and misses some fake ones, too. After all, legitimate reviews sometimes look questionable, and questionable reviews sometimes look legitimate. We think the filter does a good job given the sheer volume of reviews and the difficulty of its task, but it doesn't really matter what we think — consumers will only use Yelp if we do a good job of showcasing the most helpful and reliable reviews.
Will you reinstate a legitimate review that was filtered?
The filter continually reevaluates its decisions based on the information at hand. As a result, it's fairly common to see reviews come and go as the filter picks up new information. Either way, business owners should probably focus less on any one review and more on their entire body of reviews. Reviewers, in turn, should contribute to the site and give the filter a chance to get to know them over the long-term.
Does the filter only target positive reviews?
No. The software applies the same analysis to everyone. It sometimes affects more positive reviews simply because Yelp users write more positive reviews in the first place. In other cases, it affects positive reviews that appear to have been solicited by business owners (a practice which may seem like a good way to generate more reviews, but which tends to create an unintentional bias). In any event, the filter affects both positive and negative reviews — feel free to check out a random sampling of businesses listed on Yelp to see for yourself.
Does the filter favor Yelp advertisers or punish the others?
No. Businesses cannot pay for favorable treatment. You'll find plenty of Yelp advertisers with negative reviews, and any number of non-advertisers with five-star ratings across the board. The filter doesn't punish non-advertisers, either. Feel free to check out the many highly rated businesses on Yelp that choose not to advertise on Yelp.
Why don't you just scrap the filter altogether and let every review count on its own merits?
We realized early on that some reviews were going to be better — and more reliable — than others. The filter establishes an objective standard against which every review can be measured. Even though it inevitably affects legitimate reviews from time to time and misses some fake ones, too, it helps protect the integrity of the site both for consumers (who will be less likely to be led astray by bogus reviews) and business owners (who will spend less time worrying about whether their competitors are writing negative reviews about them). We'd rather people think of Yelp as a source for reliable information from passionate and opinionated consumers than a platform for every single rant and rave.
What are filtered reviews?
We try to showcase the most helpful and reliable reviews among the millions that are submitted to the site. Not all reviews make the cut, and those that don't are posted to a separate "Filtered Review" page. Filtered reviews don't factor into a business's overall star rating, but users can still read them by clicking on the link at the bottom of the business's profile page.
How do you decide which reviews to filter?
We use filtering software to determine which reviews should be filtered on any given day among the millions that are submitted to the site. The software looks at a wide range of data associated with every review. We invite you to watch this short video for more detail about how it all works.
Why was this particular review filtered?
We intentionally make the filter difficult to reverse engineer — otherwise, we would be overrun by reviews written by people hoping to game the system. So while it may be tough to decipher how the filter works, the rules are actually the same for every business and every review.
Is the filter ever wrong?
The filter sometimes affects perfectly legitimate reviews and misses some fake ones, too. After all, legitimate reviews sometimes look questionable, and questionable reviews sometimes look legitimate. We think the filter does a good job given the sheer volume of reviews and the difficulty of its task, but it doesn't really matter what we think — consumers will only use Yelp if we do a good job of showcasing the most helpful and reliable reviews.
Will you reinstate a legitimate review that was filtered?
The filter continually reevaluates its decisions based on the information at hand. As a result, it's fairly common to see reviews come and go as the filter picks up new information. Either way, business owners should probably focus less on any one review and more on their entire body of reviews. Reviewers, in turn, should contribute to the site and give the filter a chance to get to know them over the long-term.
Does the filter only target positive reviews?
No. The software applies the same analysis to everyone. It sometimes affects more positive reviews simply because Yelp users write more positive reviews in the first place. In other cases, it affects positive reviews that appear to have been solicited by business owners (a practice which may seem like a good way to generate more reviews, but which tends to create an unintentional bias). In any event, the filter affects both positive and negative reviews — feel free to check out a random sampling of businesses listed on Yelp to see for yourself.
Does the filter favor Yelp advertisers or punish the others?
No. Businesses cannot pay for favorable treatment. You'll find plenty of Yelp advertisers with negative reviews, and any number of non-advertisers with five-star ratings across the board. The filter doesn't punish non-advertisers, either. Feel free to check out the many highly rated businesses on Yelp that choose not to advertise on Yelp.
Why don't you just scrap the filter altogether and let every review count on its own merits?
We realized early on that some reviews were going to be better — and more reliable — than others. The filter establishes an objective standard against which every review can be measured. Even though it inevitably affects legitimate reviews from time to time and misses some fake ones, too, it helps protect the integrity of the site both for consumers (who will be less likely to be led astray by bogus reviews) and business owners (who will spend less time worrying about whether their competitors are writing negative reviews about them). We'd rather people think of Yelp as a source for reliable information from passionate and opinionated consumers than a platform for every single rant and rave.
) so it's more than time for me to post one. Mine hasn't been filtered yet, I'm an Oakland local with other Oakland reviews so maybe that'll help. I do know one of my previous reviews was filtered; I asked the business owner about it since a LOT of his were filtered (over a hundred). Apparently Yelp was putting a squeeze to him as well about advertising and he declined, a bummer since it is a good service. For what it's worth, I always read filtered reviews but the filtered link can be hard to spot if you're not looking for it. 
