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Review Guidelines

Last updated: April 11, 2026

1. Where Reviews Come From

RateXYZ aggregates publicly available review data from Google Business Profile (via the Google Places API). We do not create, alter, or fabricate reviews. Every review displayed on our platform originates from a verified Google account and is attributed to its original author.

Review counts, average ratings, and individual review text are sourced directly from Google. The RateXYZ Score (0–100) is our own composite metric and is not endorsed by or affiliated with Google.

2. Review Authenticity

Because reviews are sourced from Google, they benefit from Google's own anti-spam and fake-review detection systems. However, no system is perfect. RateXYZ provides additional signals to help users evaluate review quality:

  • Review distribution — a healthy business typically shows a natural spread across 1–5 stars. An unnatural spike (e.g., 95% five-star) may indicate incentivized reviews.
  • Local Guide badges — reviews from verified Google Local Guides carry additional credibility.
  • Review velocity — sudden surges in review volume may indicate coordinated activity.
  • Profile completeness — businesses with complete profiles (photos, hours, descriptions) tend to be more trustworthy.

3. RateXYZ Score Methodology

The RateXYZ Score (0–100) combines multiple public signals into a single trust metric:

  • Average rating — the Google star rating (1.0–5.0)
  • Review volume — total number of Google reviews
  • Review quality — length and detail of review text
  • Profile completeness — photos, hours, website, description
  • Photo freshness — recent photo activity signals an active business
  • Growth trends — positive review growth over time

Scores are recalculated each time a business profile is refreshed. We do not accept payment to alter scores.

4. Data Freshness

Business profiles are refreshed periodically based on demand and activity. The "Last Updated" timestamp on each profile page shows when data was last fetched from Google. High-traffic profiles are refreshed more frequently.

If you notice outdated information on a business profile, you can request a manual refresh by clicking "Refresh Data" on the profile page.

5. Reporting Inaccurate or Harmful Content

If you believe a review displayed on RateXYZ contains inaccurate, defamatory, or harmful content, you have several options:

  • Report on Google — since reviews originate from Google, the most effective action is to report the review directly through Google Maps or Google Business Profile.
  • Contact us — email support@ratexyz.com with the business name, the review in question, and the reason for your concern. We will investigate and may hide the review from our platform while Google processes your report.
  • Use the Report button — each business profile has a "Report" option for flagging issues directly.

6. Business Owner Rights

If you are a business owner:

  • You may claim your profile on RateXYZ to verify ownership and manage your listing.
  • You may respond to reviews through your Google Business Profile — responses will appear on RateXYZ when your profile is next refreshed.
  • You cannot pay to remove or alter reviews or ratings on RateXYZ.
  • If your business has permanently closed, you can request profile removal by contacting support@ratexyz.com.

7. Conflict of Interest Disclosure

RateXYZ may offer paid plans and features to business owners (e.g., analytics dashboards, lead notifications). These paid features never influence review display, score calculation, or ranking position. Free and paid businesses are ranked identically based on the same public signals.

8. User-Generated Content on RateXYZ

RateXYZ also hosts blog comments and user discussions. All user-generated content on our platform must comply with the following:

  • No spam, promotional links, or off-topic content
  • No hate speech, harassment, or personal attacks
  • No false or misleading claims about a business
  • No disclosure of private or confidential information

We reserve the right to moderate and remove content that violates these guidelines.

9. Appeals

If you believe your content was removed in error or a review was incorrectly flagged, email support@ratexyz.com with the details. We aim to respond to appeals within 5 business days.

10. Changes to These Guidelines

We may update these guidelines as our platform evolves. Material changes will be announced on our blog, and the "Last updated" date above will be revised accordingly. Continued use of RateXYZ constitutes acceptance of the current guidelines.

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