Why Your “Gated” Reviews Will Get You Banned

“Rate us 1-5 stars. If you choose 5, click here. If you choose 1, email us.”
This is called Review Gating. It was a popular trick in 2018. In 2026, it is a policy violation that will get your entire Google account suspended.

The Risk:
Google’s bots crawl your website code. If they see conditional logic on your review page, they wipe your reviews. Don’t risk it. Ask everyone, or ask no one.

Source: Search Engine Land