Since its launch in 2004, Yelp has become a go-to platform for people seeking reviews of local businesses. Recognizing the power of word-of-mouth in the digital age, Yelp’s founders created a space where customers could share their experiences, guiding others towards trustworthy establishments, from restaurants to repair shops.

While other review platforms have struggled, Yelp maintains its strong reputation for reliability. This success can be attributed to their commitment to minimizing spam and ads, prioritizing detailed reviews over superficial comments. Yelp understands that discerning customers value in-depth insights beyond a simple “good coffee” remark.

This comprehensive guide explores various aspects of Yelp for businesses:

• The Influence of Yelp Reviews on Your Business
• Strategies for Acquiring Yelp Reviews
• Managing Negative Reviews on Yelp
• Navigating Negative Reviews: An Alternative Perspective
• Removing Unfavorable Yelp Reviews: Possibilities and Limitations
• The Ethics and Consequences of Purchasing Yelp Reviews
• Unveiling the Yelp Review Filter and Addressing Fake Reviews
• Strategies to Outmaneuver the Yelp Review Filter
• Embracing Yelp: Acknowledging Its Value Despite Challenges MORE: 25 Restaurant Marketing Strategies

The Profound Impact of Yelp Reviews on Your Business

As the leading review site online, Yelp wields significant influence, capable of elevating or jeopardizing a business’s success. A Yelp rating of 3.5 stars or higher signifies a thriving enterprise. Conversely, falling below this threshold can be detrimental, as negative Yelp reviews have been known to have devastating consequences for businesses. The stakes are undeniably high.

While this unpredictable platform can be disheartening for business owners, ignoring Yelp is not a solution. Customers will share their experiences regardless of a business’s online presence. Proactive engagement is crucial. Create a comprehensive Yelp business page, enriching it with captivating visuals and essential information to make a strong first impression on potential customers.

Generating Yelp Reviews

It’s natural to desire positive Yelp reviews. However, Yelp prohibits businesses from soliciting specifically positive feedback. Encourage honest reviews from all customers, regardless of their experience. Running a reputable business with excellent practices will naturally attract positive reviews! Consider these strategies to encourage customer reviews on Yelp: DO: Establish Your Yelp Page: Take the initiative to create a detailed Yelp page, complete with photos, descriptions, menus, contact information, operating hours, and other relevant details. Display a “Find us on Yelp” Sign: Promote your presence on Yelp using posters, stickers, badges, and other visible materials. In our digitally connected world, these cues can prompt customers to review your business while still on-site.

Borrowed from Reward Me Blog Organize a Yelp Event: Hosting a Yelp event encourages Yelpers to experience your business while showcasing your community involvement. It’s an excellent way to connect with local Yelp users. Organizing an event is simple. Navigate to yelp.com/events, select your city, and click “Add an Event.” Provide comprehensive event details. Promote your event effectively! Extend invitations to past customers and those who have reviewed similar businesses. Consider contacting a local Yelp Elite (influential Yelpers) for support. Enhance the event with enticing giveaways! Offer discounts, raffle prizes, or other incentives to create a memorable experience for attendees. Offer a Yelp Deal: Yelp Deals are a fantastic way to attract customers. Unlike platforms like Groupon or Living Social, Yelp Deal participants are more likely to be active Yelp users, increasing the probability of receiving reviews.

Feature Photos of Cheerful Staff: Presenting a positive image with friendly, welcoming staff photos on your Yelp page creates a favorable first impression and might even discourage negative reviews. Offer Foursquare Check-in Rewards: While Foursquare’s popularity as a check-in tool has waned, a dedicated user base remains. Leverage this by offering Foursquare check-in rewards. Even small incentives can generate excitement. Assuming overlap between Foursquare and Yelp users, a check-in reward could be the nudge they need to write a glowing review. Respond to Existing Yelp Reviews: Engaging with existing reviews, particularly those with questions or concerns, is crucial. Acknowledgement is appreciated, and responding to reviews demonstrates your commitment to customer satisfaction. Showcase Positive Yelp Reviews: An effective tactic is to print and prominently display positive Yelp reviews within your establishment. Enlarge, frame, and strategically position them for maximum visibility. Positive reviews can influence new customers’ perceptions and encourage similar feedback. Implement a Yelp QR Code: Simplify the review process for tech-savvy customers by providing a Yelp QR code. This allows them to easily access your Yelp page and leave a review while in-store.

Promote Across Social Media: Encourage Yelp reviews on platforms like Twitter and Facebook. Maintain a subtle approach, avoiding desperate pleas. Opt for a discreet message like, “We’re excited to be on Yelp and value your feedback!” Yelp itself suggests: _“_Instead of directly asking for reviews, suggest “Check us out on Yelp”. Integrate a Yelp Link in Your Newsletter: Your newsletter subscribers are already engaged. Gently remind them to share their thoughts on Yelp for a higher likelihood of positive reviews. Add a Yelp Website Badge: A Yelp website badge prominently signals your Yelp presence, allowing visitors to directly access your page with a single click. Prioritize Excellence: Providing exceptional food, service, and overall customer experience is the most effective way to garner positive Yelp reviews. Strive for excellence, and positive feedback will follow. DO NOT: Offer Incentives for Reviews: Yelp strictly prohibits offering rewards in exchange for reviews. Even seemingly harmless incentives like “half-off your next meal for a Yelp review” are strictly forbidden and can lead to severe consequences. Solicit Positive Reviews Specifically: As mentioned earlier, focus on encouraging reviews in general, not just positive ones. Purchase Yelp Reviews: We’ll delve deeper into this later, but buying Yelp reviews is ill-advised and carries significant risks.

Navigating Negative Yelp Reviews

It’s an unfortunate reality that pleasing everyone is impossible. Even exceptional businesses encounter negative Yelp reviews occasionally. While some criticism is warranted, others can feel unjustified. Responding to Negative Yelp Reviews 1. Resist the Urge to React Immediately: A scathing review can be emotionally charged. Avoid hasty, impulsive responses fueled by anger or frustration. Take time to process your emotions before crafting a reply. Step away for at least half a day, preferably two or three, to gain perspective. 2. Analyze the Reviewer’s Perspective: After a cooling-off period, revisit the review objectively. Assess the reviewer’s perspective – is there any validity to their claims? Does the review appear emotionally driven? 3. Public or Private Response?: While public responses address discrepancies, consider a private message for a more discreet resolution. 4. Address Concerns Calmly and Rationally: Yelp allows businesses to respond to reviews. Maintain a calm and professional demeanor, prioritizing politeness and respect. Avoid engaging in emotional outbursts or personal attacks, as this undermines your credibility. Your response should aim to counter the negative assessment. Often, readers can discern unreasonable complaints. If the review makes claims you can refute, do so objectively, using facts or testimonials from satisfied customers. For instance: “Gretchen, we’re sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy our cheesecake. It’s a customer favorite, so perhaps it was an off day.” A sincere apology suffices if the criticism is valid. Readers appreciate honesty and accountability. Responding calmly and reasonably to an unreasonable rant portrays you as the more rational party, shifting the negative attention away from your business. 5. A Touch of Humor (Use with Caution): Humor can be an effective de-escalation tool in certain situations. Consider this REAL review of Pigalle (posted on Facebook, but the principle applies): Wow. I don’t have a clue as to why you would think that throwing pumpkin chunks into a cold pre baked pie shell and then covering it with a cream sauce that literally tasted like vomit. { I am very serious!} and topping it off with whipped cream that was runny would in any way be something that can be called pumpkin pie?” A business owner’s nightmare. Unfortunately, the owner responded with an equally venomous reply, showcasing a classic example of how NOT to respond to a bad review. A more effective approach could have been: Hi Sandy. Wow! That bad huh? I haven’t personally tasted a wide variety of vomit, so I can’t relate, but it doesn’t sound pleasant. We were very busy during Thanksgiving, so perhaps there was a mishap with your Pumpkin Pie. We apologize that it wasn’t to your liking. Come back, and we’ll make it up to you. J 6. Extend an Olive Branch: When salvageable, offer a gesture of goodwill. Send a private message inviting the dissatisfied customer back for a positive experience. Yelp allows reviewers to update their reviews. Appealing to their better nature can encourage them to reconsider their opinion. 7. Embrace Constructive Criticism: Negative reviews can be valuable feedback. If reviewers raise legitimate concerns, address them and inform the Yelp community of your efforts. This demonstrates your commitment to improvement and customer satisfaction. 8. Maintain Perspective: Don’t let negative reviews consume you. Even highly-rated businesses receive negative feedback occasionally. As Yelp states: _“_Negative reviews are an unfortunate but normal part of business… While identifying patterns in reviews is important (stale bread, recurring complaints about a specific employee), take individual perspectives with a grain of salt.” Don’t overanalyze every review. The internet can be harsh, so develop resilience and learn to ignore unreasonable criticism. For more insights on managing negative Yelp reviews, refer to John Greathouse’s article on Protecting Your Online Reputation from Trolls. His expertise offers valuable strategies for handling challenging situations.

Embracing Negative Yelp Reviews: An Unconventional Approach?

While most businesses strive to mitigate negative Yelp reviews, some adopt a bolder approach – embracing their detractors. These businesses acknowledge that they may not appeal to everyone and embrace their outsider status.

This “if you can’t beat them, join them” tactic is best suited for businesses that cultivate a counter-culture image and attract patrons who find amusement in dissenting opinions. Craft & Commerce Gastropub exemplifies this approach. Known for their unconventional and daring drink menu, they received scathing one-star reviews. Rather than dwelling on negativity, they turned it into entertainment. They recorded friends reading aloud the harshest Yelp reviews and played them in the Gastropub’s bathroom, amusing visitors and defying the platform.

the bathroom recordings backfired when Craft & Commerce Gastropub faced a surge of new one-star reviews from patrons hoping to be featured in the bathroom recordings. Mocking absurd Yelp reviews has become a trend – even spawning a YouTube channel dedicated to actors reading negative reviews.

There’s a certain logic to embracing one-star reviews. Some argue that one star is more intriguing than two. A one-star rating sparks curiosity – why is it so terrible? What’s the story? It creates a morbid fascination, like rubbernecking at a car crash. Two stars simply signify mediocrity.

Removing Yelp Reviews: Possibilities and Limitations

Yelp’s policy on review removal is straightforward. They will only remove reviews that violate their Terms of Service or Content Guidelines. Violations of Yelp’s TOS include:

• Posting fake or defamatory reviews
• Promoting other businesses or commercial ventures
• Rants about a business’s employment practices, political ideologies, exceptional circumstances, or irrelevant matters that don’t pertain to the customer experience Below are guidelines for reviews potentially eligible for removal from Yelp (via ReviewPush):

If a negative review doesn’t violate Yelp’s terms, your options are to publicly defend your business using the strategies mentioned earlier or privately contact the reviewer to request a removal or update after a second visit. Appeal to their sense of fairness. Be wary of self-proclaimed “Reputation Management Companies” that promise (for a fee) to remove Yelp reviews.

These are scams. Yelp maintains a strict policy against bribery or financial incentives for review removal. Rumors suggesting that Yelp advertisers can remove negative reviews are entirely false. Yelp will only remove reviews that violate their Terms of Service.

The Ethics and Consequences of Buying Yelp Reviews

We’ve previously discussed the implications of buying followers on platforms like Twitter and Pinterest. However, when it comes to Yelp, the answer is clear – don’t do it! Buying Yelp reviews is highly unethical and risky. The platform’s credibility relies on the authenticity and trustworthiness of its reviews, which they fiercely protect. Getting caught buying Yelp reviews could result in a public shaming on your Yelp page, causing irreparable damage to your reputation.

Public humiliation is not worth the risk.

Deciphering the Yelp Review Filter and Fake Reviews

Yelp implemented a review filter to identify and remove fake reviews, ensuring that users base their decisions on genuine feedback. How does this filter differentiate between fake and real reviews? Yelp typically flags reviews with these characteristics:

• Reviews from users with only one review
• Reviews from users with minimal or no profile information (profile picture, social media links, personal description, etc.)
• Reviews with questionable objectivity – those that are overly positive or negative
• Short reviews lacking details
• Reviews written by friends, staff, or other biased sources
• Reviews indicating that the reviewer hasn’t personally visited the business The Yelp filter prioritizes established reviewers with multiple reviews and comprehensive profiles, filtering out those with questionable authenticity. While the filter’s intentions are good, its implementation can be imperfect. Businesses often complain that it removes legitimate reviews alongside fake ones. However, the need for such a system is undeniable. A Stanford-based research firm Gartner predicts estimated that up to 15% of reviews on social media could be paid for by 2014. Filtered reviews appear at the bottom of a Yelp business page, accessible to any user who wishes to view them.

Here are some examples of filtered reviews:

As you can see, most filtered reviews originate from profiles lacking images, friends, engagement, and detailed information. Yelp takes its role as a guardian of honest reviews seriously, conducting sting operations to expose businesses purchasing reviews. In Business Week’s test, Yelp was the only platform out of seven to successfully identify and filter out every single fake review presented. Yelp’s automated review filter system affects a significant portion of the platform’s 39 million reviews.

filters around 20%

. With so much at stake for businesses, it’s understandable that they feel apprehensive. The filter may not be flawless, but it’s a necessary measure to protect consumers. Like Google’s Panda algorithm, even well-intentioned filters can have unintended consequences. It’s important to note that more legitimate reviews pass through the Yelp filter than those that don’t. Trustworthy and valuable content is more likely to be seen.

Strategies to Outmaneuver the Yelp Review Filter

Increase your chances of reviews bypassing the Yelp filter by:

• Adding the reviewer as a friend
• Upvoting the review (funny, useful, cool, etc.)
• Sending the reviewer a compliment using Yelp’s complimenting feature As a user, avoid having your reviews filtered by:
• Writing Multiple Yelp Reviews: An account created solely to review one business raises red flags. Increase your review count for greater authenticity. Aim for at least 10 reviews, ensuring they are legitimate and utilize the full rating scale. Avoid exclusively positive or negative reviews.
• Complete Your Profile: Add a profile picture, personal description, and other relevant details.
• Connect Social Media Accounts: Link your Yelp account to Facebook and Twitter for enhanced authenticity.
• Add Yelp Friends: Connect with other users, engage with their reviews, and participate in the Yelp community.
• Leave Tips (in Addition to Reviews): Utilize the Yelp mobile app’s “Tips” feature to leave short comments when checking in.
• Maintain Consistency: Avoid posting numerous reviews in a short period. Build your reputation gradually over time.

Embracing Yelp: A Valuable Platform Despite Challenges

While we’ve explored some of Yelp’s more daunting aspects – from negative reviews to the unpredictable filter – it’s essential to recognize its value as a platform connecting consumers with local businesses.

Embrace Yelp – most reviews are positive! A 2011 study revealed that nearly 40% of Yelp reviews are five stars.

Yelp is a community that values and supports local businesses. By prioritizing excellent service, managing negative reviews gracefully, and understanding the platform’s nuances, you can harness the power of Yelp to your advantage!