Review gating

Evil CMO says: “Only send the review link to happy customers. The grumpy ones get a feedback form.”

What it actually is

Filtering who gets asked for a review so only good ones go public.

Why it blows up

Google’s rules ban it and so do consumer laws in many countries. Shoppers also distrust a wall of perfect fives.

The white-hat version

Ask everyone, fix what the bad reviews tell you, and reply to them politely in public.

The honest way, explained properly: SEO, dumbed down.