Think Yelp Doesn’t Matter for Your Local Business? Think Again!

You may have heard that Yelp was yesterday’s news, and that it wasn’t important to your small business today. That’s likely your competition talking!

If you have a local business, Yelp is more important than ever before for the reputation and marketing of your business, and if you don’t believe us, just ask your competitors! We would like to present you with a load of reasons why your business should concern yourself with Yelp. We hope it opens up your eyes about the opportunity that is still on Yelp. Here goes!

A ton of reasons to use Yelp

• 90 percent of Yelp users state that positive reviews influence their buying choices, and the majority of those reviews are written ones.
• 93 percent of those who conduct research on review sites typically buy things at the businesses for which they search.
• There is an $8,000 average improvement in annual revenue for small businesses that use Yelp for their business.
• There is a $23,000 average improvement in revenues for businesses that advertise on Yelp.
• 77 percent of Yelp users report an improved focus on customer service after using Yelp.
• Despite all of this, 87 percent of small businesses still haven’t embraced Yelp in a meaningful way.
• Reviewers that praise your “customer service”: are more likely to offer 5 star reviews.
• Each star earned results in a 5-9% jump in revenues earned.
• Yelp favors small businesses over large chains.
• Yelp’s new “Call to Action” button will bring customers directly from your Yelp page to your website where a transaction can take place.

Yelp is far from history the online review space. It still provides a tremendous opportunity for small business. As many online shoppers investigate online reviews and base their buying decisions on them, it is fiscally careless to not use such a fantastic site for positive feedback about your brand. Yelp also offers you the chance to engage with the public you seek to attract in a substantive and palpable way.