Yelp. Does the word send shivers down your spine and have you rushing to check your business’s rating? If you’re like many business owners, the answer is likely yes. Don’t get us wrong; Yelp is an excellent tool for any company that provides services. If you’re a restaurant, hotel, or anything similar, you should be on Yelp. If you’re wondering, the top five business categories are shopping, restaurants, local services, beauty and fitness, and events/arts/entertainment. Yelp is the hub of customer reviews, and as we’ve discussed previously, customer reviews can make or break your business. As of 2018, consumers left over 171 million Yelp reviews for just about every type of business.

So how can you maintain your online reputation on Yelp? Let’s take a closer look.

What can you do on Yelp?

As a business owner on Yelp, you can do a lot for your company. When you first add your business to Yelp, you are asked to provide details about the company, business hours, locations, and more. You can upload your menu as well as photos from your business. If you offer online ordering, you can set it up directly through Yelp, making it convenient for customers who have taken the time to search for your company on the site. Yelp also provides a section that answers common questions such as whether or not you offer take out, delivery, or reservations.

One thing that many companies overlook when it comes to Yelp’s benefits are the increased revenues it has shown to cause. Claiming your business on Yelp can increase your annual revenue by an average of $8,000. Advertising on the platform can boost revenue by upwards of $23,000! We cannot stress the importance of Yelp enough when it comes to making a profit.

There is, of course, the consumer side of Yelp as well. Most notably, customers can leave reviews of your business. These reviews are public and can be seen by others who search for your brand. Reviews display a star rating out of 5, text describing the customer’s experience, and photos. Other patrons can then see the review and mark if it was useful, cool, or funny. At this time, users cannot comment on reviews as the business owner can. In 2018, 45% of consumers said they check Yelp reviews before visiting a business. That’s almost half of your potential new customers. Clearly, it is in your business’s best interest to maintain a good online reputation on Yelp if you hope to bring in new clientele.

What are some things you want to see from Yelp?

To state the obvious, the number one thing businesses want to see is positive Yelp reviews. If your customers are choosing to leave four and five-star reviews, you are clearly doing something right. Good for you! The goal of service-based businesses should always be to deliver the best service to customers, and a positive Yelp review proves that you have been successful in achieving that goal. There are plenty of other useful tidbits of information your Yelp account can give you as well.

Yelp reviews come in handy for businesses that utilize social media. Because user-generated content is so trusted and historically highly-engaged with, you can use good reviews as content for posts. You can also use them as testimonials on your company website. As we said, reviewers also have the option to upload images. You know what that means! More content! If a customer leaves a photo on your Yelp page, feel free to post it on social media (giving credit to the photographer, of course).

Another benefit of Yelp? As a business account, you can track the activity of customers on your Yelp page. You have access to view count, leads, and engagement on your page, including clicks to get directions and to your website. All of these stats can give you valuable information that you can use to improve your page and business.

Why bad reviews are not the end of the world (in moderation)

Okay, we all know that having no negative Yelp reviews is the ideal situation. However, life happens, mistakes are made, and people get angry. When someone leaves a review it is because they received exceptional service or less-than-satisfactory service. You are bound to get a negative Yelp review at some point. This isn’t the end of the world unless the bad reviews keep coming. A few negative reviews here and there can actually help your business. Not only will people get to see how you respond to unhappy customers, but these reviews also give you feedback that you should take a look at. If someone complains about poor customer service or badly-prepared food, wouldn’t you rather know so the issues can be addressed rather than lose customers because of repeated problems? Take any constructive criticism you receive as a way to improve. The more you listen to your customers, the happier they will be.

With that being said, you do need to keep a close eye on negative reviews. According to Harvard Business School, losing a star on your overall Yelp rating can drop net revenue by 5%! Your overall rating increases or decreases with each review. While one bad review out of 500+ won’t make a dent in your rating, 50 of 500+ will. Clearly, it is important to respond to reviews and make the suggested improvements before too many bad reviews accumulate - they can really cost you!

We hope this closer look at Yelp has given you a better idea of what the site is and what it can do for you and your business. Feeling overwhelmed about managing Yelp by yourself? Call BusySeed today at (888) 353-1484. We are experts in online reputation management and we know how to navigate the world of customer reviews. We will monitor your Yelp account, respond to reviews, and inform you of any criticism that you can address with your staff. We’ll worry about your reputation online so you can focus on making improvements to your business.