The mention of Yelp can alternately induce worry, joy, or confusion in a business owner. Worry because it’s built on consumer reviews, and joy for the same reason; confusion because, well, what exactly is Yelp?
Yelp is one of the largest business ratings and reviews sites on the web. It combines social networking, user review and local search to create an online community that attracts 54 million visitors a month. Yelp describes itself as “word of mouth—amplified,” and provides a great opportunity for small, local businesses to connect with potential clientele.
A typical search will include what the user is looking for (e.g., an ice cream shop) and the area in which Yelp will search, entered as an address, city/state, zip code, or neighborhood. Each listing will contain a rating out of five points, reviews left by other users, and business details such as address, operating hours, and parking. Business listing information can be updated either by Yelp users, with moderator approval, or directly by the business owner.
The social networking aspect of Yelp creates a user reputation system, allowing site visitors to see the most respected, prolific and popular contributing users. They can also see how long each user has been a member, and which users they share interests with.
Yelp currently accepts reviews for any business or service in Canada or the United States. Consequently, the nature of the reviews found on the site varies greatly. They include everything from restaurants, to doctors, to schools.
Love Yelp or Hate Yelp they get attention so you should not ignore them. Yelp charges business $350-$450 a month to “get you business”, after reviewing Yelp on Yelp we noticed some business didn’t get the return on investment they wanted. It looks like a lot of businesses are bothered by Yelp and how they operate, we called Yelp and asked how they decide which reviews get posted and which ones get hidden on the back page and we received contradictory answers. The word algorithm was used often when we asked questions. An algorithm is a formula so you would expect the outcome to be the same when comparing similar reviews, that was not our finding when reviewing reviews. We would not suggest businesses pay Yelp to get them business, we do suggest that you don’t ignore them either. If you get a bad review that is true you should learn from it and make adjustments to improve your business, don’t ignore your customer having a bad experience. Thank them for bringing this to your attention and let them know you want to make things right.
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Brain Power Websites2015-06-20 00:58:072015-10-04 01:04:49Social Media Guide
