The short answer
No. A business can't delete a Yelp review, and paying Yelp for ads doesn't change that. You can report a review that breaks Yelp's content guidelines, such as one from a competitor, an ex-employee, or someone who was never a customer. You can also reply publicly or by private message. Only the reviewer or Yelp can remove it.
Yelp's recommendation software moves reviews it trusts less into a "not currently recommended" section, good and bad alike. New accounts and one-off reviewers get filtered most. You can't move them back, and neither can Yelp support.
Yelp asks businesses not to request reviews at all, and it can put a warning on pages that show signs of review solicitation. Put your effort into Google reviews and let Yelp reviews come on their own.
Only in narrow cases like provable false statements of fact. Talk to a lawyer first; lawsuits often draw more attention to the review.
Yes. Readers see a calm, specific reply, and some reviewers update their review after a private message.
No. Yelp can list any business that serves the public.
Yelp business reviews work differently from Google's.
2 min readFor most small businesses, Google reviews matter more, because they appear in Google Search and Maps, where most local customers look.
2 min readTo respond to negative Google reviews, reply within a day or two, briefly and calmly.
2 min readBook a time with Lehvel and we’ll go through what your business actually needs.