Yelp is a top consumer website for businesses and is given high priority by Google. In this article, we detail how you can improve the visibility of your business on this platform.
Introduction to Yelp
The popular online directory Yelp was launched in 2004 and assists users to easily find local businesses like electricians, plumbers, doctors, dentists, cafés, bars, restaurants, and others. The site hosts more than 1,200 categories of companies. It is a vital source for consumers looking for local services and firms.
In fact, you could say that after Google, Yelp has become the next best website for people searching for local businesses and services. Yelp permits users to comment, rate, and post pictures about the service quality they received from companies.
Importance of Yelp
Yelp is vital because it helps to generate new consumers and improve brand awareness. Customers looking to hire a service read reviews about relevant businesses so they can choose which one to purchase from. Yelp helps them in this regard.
Yelp is ideal for the following chief business categories:
Retailers
Nightclubs and bars
Food service and restaurants
General services: Pet grooming, dry cleaning, and computer repair services
Beauty services: Massage providers, spas, salons, and similar services
Fitness and health: Yoga studios, tennis clubs, fitness centers, gyms, and similar others
Auto services: Towing providers, parking firms, car washes, auto detailing and repair, and similar businesses
Home services: Movers, locksmiths, lawn care, home cleaners, plumbers, electricians, contractors, and others
Entertainment: Theaters, music venues, and comedy clubs
How to Include Your Company on Yelp
To start, check if your business has not been listed on Yelp already by viewing the free listing section before creating your firm’s profile. To add your business to Yelp, you can fill out the relevant form.
How to Use the App
Here are the steps to add your business utilizing the Yelp application:
Select the “More” image on the app
Choose “Add Business”
If you own the business or are an employee, choose the option that states you work in the company
Provide details about your company, including its name, business category, address, website, phone number and opening hours
Finally, choose “Add Business”
Yelp will ask you to verify your email address to complete the business submission. The platform might take a couple of days to manually review and approve your submission. It could also reject you if you provide incorrect information.
How to Improve Your Yelp Ranking
Keyword Research
It’s important to do keyword research for effective SEO practice. This is the same with Yelp also. Two categories can be used:
Keywords based on the service offered by your business
Keywords based on your location including city and ZIP code
Develop Your Profile
Create a thorough profile to inform Yelp about your business and what it offers to consumers. Your profile will be used by Yelp to rank your company. Complete the following sections in your profile on Yelp:
Company name: Ensure your company name is correct if you claimed an existing Yelp profile of your business. But if you crafted the business profile yourself, no action is required in this section.
Business categories: You can select up to three categories for your business. Ensure to link your profile to the right categories. This will help users find your business listing on Yelp. Select relevant categories for your company.
Address/location: Enter the physical address of your company. This is important as Yelp displays a map that pinpoints your business location. It also enables users to obtain directions to your address.
Business hours: Inform users about your operational hours for regular days and holidays.
Contact details: Add your email address and phone number to help users book your service or ask queries.
Website: Provide the correct website URL of your business.
More business details: You can provide added info about your business category. For instance, a restaurant can indicate if they have parking, offer delivery, provide Wi-Fi, accept payment via credit cards, and other details. You can include relevant information for your business category.
Company description: Provide your business description and offer details about your history, services, and other relevant information to users. Add keywords about the services you offer.
Image gallery: Add profile photos to illustrate your business location and services to users. You can upload a few good-quality pictures of the exterior and interior of your company location, and its services or products. Describe in a few words what is occurring in each image. For instance, yoga studio owners can use a photo title that states “yoga instructor in business location name.”
Gain Backlinks for Your Yelp Profile
You should get backlinks to your profile on Yelp to improve your listing’s ranking on Google. Start by placing a social platform icon on your site with a link directing to your Yelp listing.
Reviews
It’s important to have reviews posted on Yelp so that users can find your business. The absence of reviews will affect your rating unless you have limited competition in your category or operate in a small region.
Check-Ins
Similar to reviews, check-ins are also considered as a ranking element by the Yelp algorithm. They also assist to create social proof and buzz among the Yelp community.
Be Responsive and Active
You should provide prompt responses to quote requests and reviews on your listing on Yelp. In addition, you should reply to both negative and positive reviews.
Enhance Your CTR (Click-Through-Rate)
Your rating and number of user reviews also have an effect on your CTR. To explain, CTR is the number of occasions users looked for a keyword and interacted with your profile on Yelp rather than accessing the listing of a competitor. Positive reviews on the platform can make visitors click and remain on your Yelp listing. Yelp is also used by Bing to obtain review information.
How to Write a Review about a Business on Yelp
Use the search tool to find the name of the business you wish to review.
Choose the write a business review option
Provide a star rating for the company out of 5 stars
Use the comment section to provide your review. You can also view the other reviews received by the company. If you wish, you can upload a photo along with your review.
Finally, after preparing your review, choose the “Post Review” option.
Posting Business Reviews on the Yelp Application
The process for posting reviews on the Yelp application is almost the same as publishing on the site. The steps are detailed below:
Find the company name using the search tool
Rate the company out of five stars
Write your review
Attach images using the Camera picture
Choose the “Post Review” option
Yelp will then post your review live on the company profile. It can take a day to process your photo before publishing it.
Wrap Up
To improve your Yelp ranking, you should focus on obtaining consumer check-ins, developing your profile, and getting reviews. A high ranking on Yelp can assist your business to acquire an increased number of new leads.
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