Yelp can be a helpful platform for those who want to expand their business. However, some obstacles might prevent brands from making the most out of the opportunity. There may be several reasons why Yelp business is not working for you. There is no reason to be concerned because you can identify and rectify these issues with the relevant strategies. We are here to guide you through the whole process.
How Does Yelp Assist Businesses?
Below is a list of ways Yelp gives your business a solid boost.
- Advertising Potential
Yelp has established itself as a prominent platform where customers can reach out to businesses and leave reviews. Therefore, if a brand joins Yelp, it will have better advertising of its products and services. There is potential for an increase in organic traffic, and if you implement the right strategies, your business can expect significant growth.
Though registering with Yelp would give you an edge over other businesses, availing of paid advertising would further help you. Spending on advertising makes your page more likely to reach the target audience. The businesses that invested $200 to $1,200 monthly came on the results page more often and at higher spots. Furthermore, Yelp Connect is also an excellent tool to advertise your brand to a larger audience.
- A Possible Revenue Stream
A survey conducted in 2017 indicated that approximately 90% of buyers go through online reviews before they decide to buy something. It further gathered that 84% of consumers rely on these reviews as trusted recommendations. These results show that the significance of reviews can’t be denied and, therefore, Yelp can add value to businesses.
With the help of consistent marketing and monitoring, you can create a profile that would draw the customers in. A good profile ensures more traffic reaches your brand and increases conversion rates. Research shows that 83% of people who read reviews of products and services on Yelp went ahead and bought them. Consequently, the revenue generated would be accordingly increased.
- Better Credibility
Many established businesses exist on Yelp, which reflects well on their services. As it is a widely used platform, those customers who discover your brand on it will know that your business is credible. This surety makes them more likely to visit your website and avail themselves of your services and products.
Other platforms might claim to do the same, but Yelp has built itself as a reputable site that many customers trust. Yelp could be a great place to start if you are a new brand. Your business will grow more quickly if you can collect enough positive reviews.
Common Issues with Yelp Business
A few issues you may face are as follows.
- Flawed Review Filtering Algorithm
One of the reasons why Yelp business is not working is its review filtering algorithm. The experts have designed it to remove fake reviews, but it doesn’t work as efficiently as intended. Sometimes, it might even perceive genuine reviews as fake and filter them out. This process can harm the brand’s rating.
Yelp might remove these reviews for several reasons. One of them is that they are too short. The site flags it as fake because feedback like this usually tends to be fabricated. However, some honest reviews are also brief, so they never reach the business’s Yelp page.
Furthermore, if the person reviewing doesn’t have much information on their profile, Yelp might consider them bots and take down their comments. However, most profiles trying out Yelp for the first time don’t have a comprehensive account, so the review filtering algorithm works against them.
- Presence of Negative Reviews
The significance of positive reviews has already been established, but on the other hand, the presence of negative reviews isn’t discussed as much. It is unrealistic to expect that all the reviews your brand will receive will be positive. When negative reviews surface on a brand’s profile, it can adversely impact it.
Yelp tends to highlight negative feedback over positive, which means that all your hard work getting favorable responses goes down the drain. When potential customers come across your profile, they will get to see the negative comments first and might not want to continue further.
If these reviews are left unanswered, it sends a message that you are unwilling to address customers’ concerns. This doesn’t leave a good impression on those considering your services.
- Ineffective Promotion
Over the years, Yelp has attracted a lot of businesses and is now inundated with brands that offer similar products and services. This oversaturation means increased competition to attract customers towards your brand. As a result, small businesses are significantly disadvantaged. Promotion can help better this situation.
Yelp allows businesses to do paid advertising to increase their visibility. However, you must be strategic in your promotion decisions as you compete against more prominent brands with significantly larger budgets. Running promotions with little thought to where you are investing could mean losing your money and efforts.
- Poor Profile Optimization
We can’t stress enough the significance of a complete and thought-out profile in ensuring you reach your target audience. Those who don’t have previous experience dealing with clients on Yelp may not take the time to enter their accurate and complete details. As a consequence, the profile won’t be optimized.
Another aspect contributing to poor profile optimization is the need for more high-quality pictures. Visual representation of your services and products is a critical feature that invites more customers to shop for your brand. Without it, your content may be more dry to convert people who reach your profile.
- Insufficient Use of Social Media
Yelp should be used with social media platforms to improve its effectiveness. It is great to receive positive reviews on Yelp, but when you aren’t showcasing it properly, then it loses its purpose. You can reach an even bigger audience on social media. You put your best foot forward when you connect your Yelp with these platforms.
Without social media, you may be letting good reviews go to waste. Reviews alone won’t be able to keep the customers’ attention. You must create a bridge between your services and feedback to ensure a more seamless experience. You can do that with the help of social media.
Possible Solutions You Must Know
The top 5 solutions you should be familiar with are listed below.
- Restructure Your Reviewing System
Even though the reviewing system might not be in your favor, there are ways to make it work for you. As a small business that doesn’t have a lot of following, you might ask your friends and family to create a Yelp account and give reviews.
Though it might not seem like such a good idea at the time, it reflects poorly on your profile. Yelp would flag their reviews as fake and be extra cautious of all the other feedback your brand receives. Additionally, as you ask them to write something without testing your products and services, their feedback would need more depth.
Another way you can get genuine reviews is when you connect with established Yelpers on the platform. Their profile shows previous activity, and Yelp is less likely to discredit their feedback.
You must also be mindful of the time you post and how frequently you post. If you add a lot of posts to your profile in a short time, then there will be a sudden surge in reviews. When Yelp sees that there wasn’t much engagement on your profile before, but there is all of a sudden, they would have reason to doubt whether the reviews are authentic. So, you have to be strategic about when and how you post.
- Respond to Negative and Encourage Positive Reviews
If you want to increase the share of positive reviews, you should take the necessary steps to encourage them. Simultaneously, you should also regularly respond to negative comments to deal with them constructively.
Ensure the quality of your products and services to satisfy the customers. When satisfied, cordially ask them to leave a review of your services on your Yelp profile. Your team shouldn’t be too pushy but encourage the customers to leave feedback through follow-up emails. Monitor any reviews you receive and reply as promptly as you can.
There is no reason to get worked up about negative reviews. The best way to deal with them is to do so calmly. Your reply is open to everyone, so you must be careful about your chosen words.
Begin positively by thanking them for their review and responding to their concerns. If an apology is necessary, don’t hesitate to do that. If possible, propose a solution to your customers and see if they are on board.
- Improve Your Advertising Strategies
It is vital to monitor the insights to make the most out of advertising on your limited budget. After each ad, preview the insights and see which demographic responded more favorably than the others. You can also use Yelp Analytics to obtain customer preferences and behavior information. This process will help you make better decisions.
Another great way to improve advertising strategies is to measure Return on Investment (ROI). As the name suggests, this indicator shows how profitable your investment was and whether or not you should continue making similar investments. Therefore, the performance of Yelp ads shouldn’t be taken lightly. The profile clicks and conversion rates will determine how to proceed.
- Enable SEO Optimization
It is not enough to ensure your profile is complete and accurate. It should also be optimized to reach its target audience. For that to happen, you must choose suitable categories that best represent your brand. If you want your content to get the right audience, you must give time to choosing your niche.
The next step is to use the relevant keywords. They can significantly impact organic traffic, improving your brand’s visibility. You can write these keywords in your profile’s description and wherever else it appears more naturally. Try to opt for keywords that are suitable for your niche and have less competition, as you don’t should try to rank on search engines.
Place visually appealing pictures wherever possible because they are crucial to optimizing your profile. The images should be of high quality and have the correct dimensions. Adding relevant titles and alt tags along with the picture for optimization is also critical.
- Social Media Marketing
You must first find your target audience to showcase your Yelp reviews on social media. This means identifying which demographic is more likely to buy from your brand. Yelp for online businesses lets you explore your competitors to get a better idea of their approach and customize one that works best for you.
Only some social media platforms will work for your brand, so you also need to narrow your search and find the one that suits you. Once that is done, highlight your feedback constructively so that it reaches more people. Supplement these reviews with additional content that will keep the customers hooked.
In addition to Yelp advertising, you will have paid advertising for your social media, giving you another channel to grow your brand.
Concluding Note
Diagnosing why Yelp Business is not working for you is crucial if you want to see a change in how customers engage with your brand. You can tailor your strategies accordingly when you have identified the areas of improvement. This shows your customers that you are committed to providing the best products and services to them, and as a result, you can expect to see better sales.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q: Does Yelp take long to approve business profiles?
A: No. You should expect to get your profile approved within 5 to 7 days of submitting your request.
Q: Is there a way to improve Yelp rating?
A: Yes. There are many ways to improve your Yelp ratings. A few of them are high-quality services, responding to negative reviews, and integrating your Yelp profile with social media.
Q: What should I do about fake reviews?A: If you think there is a fake review, go to the three dots in the corner of the comment and press “Flag as inappropriate.” You can report the review there, and Yelp will get back to you after investigating.
