Do you own a consumer focused business? If so, you are most likely trying to get in front of consumers when and where they are looking for a business like yours. There are no shortage of places to advertise, from ads on search engines to social media platforms and more. Yelp™ is another option that you most likely have come across. But what is Yelp Advertising all about, and is Yelp advertising right for your consumer focused business? In this guide we’ll discuss what you need to know about advertising on Yelp. Our goal is to help you better understand the option and make a decision whether it is right for you.
Let’s get started!
Yelp by the Numbers (Statistics)
Yelp is a powerful platform for certain types of local businesses. It is used frequently by consumers to look for and select many types of businesses. Yelp could be a good platform for your business. This is especially true if you fall within certain business categories. Some of these include dentists, restaurants, retail and services, such as landscaping, auto repair, and home services, such as HVAC, electrical, plumbing, etc.
Here are some pretty powerful stats from Yelp:
Almost 80 million unique visitors visit Yelp each month
-Yelp
85% are undecided about which business to select
– Yelp
About 97% make a purchase after using Yelp
-Yelp
These stats help show how being on Yelp gives your business the chance to not only gain exposure but also convert consumers looking for a solution.
FAQ About Yelp Advertising
What is Yelp?
Yelp.com is an online directory of local businesses. And it is as much a review site as it is a directory or listing site. Yelp is a helpful place to discover options for mostly every category of business in a given location. But it is also a useful place to see reviews and get detailed information, directions and more.
Can I List My Business on Yelp For Free?
Yes. You can claim your business and complete a profile on Yelp as long as it is not already claimed by another individual working at your business. If your business is already claimed you will need to request access. Basic Yelp business profiles (or listings) are free. There are optional “enhanced” profile features you can choose to pay for if you want.
Can You Advertise on Yelp?
Yes. You can advertise on Yelp. Like other pay-per-click advertising platforms Yelp offers profile owners to participate in paid advertising.
How to Advertise on Yelp?
Advertising your business on Yelp is pretty straight-forward, but it does require some upfront work to ensure effective results. You can hire a Yelp Agency Partner to ensure you optimize your campaign. Or you can set it up and monitor it internally. The process to start advertising is similar regardless. First, you need to claim, verify, fully complete, and optimize your Yelp Business profile. Then, you build your Yelp Advertising campaign from your dashboard.
How does Yelp Advertising work?
Advertising your business on Yelp allows you to get your listing in the sponsored results section of searches you target. This section is at the top of the search results. So your business gains more exposure to searchers. And this of course gives you a much better chance to get clicked on for searches looking for a category of business vs a specific business name.
How do you optimize your Yelp Ads?
You have the ability to change the ad image, ad text and other ad details, such as geo-targeting, and keyword targeting (as well as negative keywords). These factors help you get the right users and increase your click-through-rate (CTR). You also have the ability to optimize your profile to increase conversions. For instance, you can combine the advertising with paid, enhanced profile features to improve your conversion chances. Enhanced features include things like adding a call-to-action, removing your competitor’s ads, add business highlights, and more. Like any PPC campaign, you will need to consistently monitor, test, and optimize your Yelp Advertising campaign. You can also use a Yelp Partner Agency to help you.
Does Yelp Advertising include tracking?
Yes. To be honest the tracking and reporting are not as detailed as some other platforms. But you have the ability to adequately track and understand your results, ad spend and return-on-ad-spend. You can see your results for your campaign as a whole and for specific business categories. You’ll be able to see basic things like impressions and clicks. You can also see call tracking (including the number and call duration), link tracking, and mapped directions.
Need help setting up or Managing Yelp Ads?
Our company is a Yelp Partner Agency. If you would like help setting and optimizing either your profile or ads please contact us.
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