Glossary · Review collection
The review-collection vocabulary, defined in plain words.
8 terms every local business runs into sooner or later — from the compliance line (review gating) to the plumbing (Place IDs, review links) to the strategy (velocity, the local pack). Each definition is self-contained, sourced, and short enough to quote.
8 definitions
Pick a term.
Review gating
Review gating is the practice of pre-screening customers before asking them for a public review — typically an intermediate "How was your experience?" step that routes happy customers to Google and steers unhappy ones into a private feedback form.
Read the full definition →Google review link
A Google review link is a URL that opens a business's Google review form directly — the screen with the five stars and the text box — instead of its general Maps profile.
Read the full definition →Google Place ID
A Google Place ID is the unique, stable identifier Google assigns to every business, landmark, and address in its Places database — a string like ChIJN1t_tDeuEmsRUsoyG83frY4.
Read the full definition →Review QR code
A review QR code is a printable QR code that encodes a review link, so a customer can point their phone camera at it and land on the review form in one scan — no searching, no typing.
Read the full definition →Branded review link
A branded review link is a short URL on a memorable domain — biglove.to/your-cafe instead of a 90-character Google URL — that redirects straight to a business's review form.
Read the full definition →Review velocity
Review velocity is the rate at which a business earns new reviews — reviews per week or per month — as distinct from its lifetime total.
Read the full definition →Local pack (map pack)
The local pack — also called the map pack — is the boxed block of three local business results, map on top, that Google shows above the regular organic results for searches with local intent, like "dentist near me" or "best coffee shop in Austin." Placement is driven by Google's local ranking triad of relevance, distance, and prominence, and review signals — count, average rating, recency, and whether the business responds — are a major share of prominence.
Read the full definition →Review solicitation
Review solicitation is the act of asking customers for a review — verbally at the counter, printed on a receipt, by SMS or email, or with a QR code.
Read the full definition →Why a glossary
Words are half the compliance battle.
Most review-collection mistakes are vocabulary mistakes: a business installs a “feedback first” screen without knowing the word for it is review gating, or prints a Maps share link on 500 receipts without knowing it is not a review link. The definitions here link to deeper guides — the benchmarks study, the ask scripts, the compliance breakdown — when you need more than a paragraph.
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