When making a decision about what to buy, 92 percent of people trust the opinions of friends and family more than advertising, according to recent surveys. And more than 7 of 10 people trust online reviews more than advertising, up more than 15 percentage points over the past four years.
Put these two statistics together and what do you get? The fact that you should not forget about Yelp.
A local directory service with social networking and user reviews, Yelp had more than 100 million monthly unique visitors as of January 2013, up from 71 million on the same time last year. And by the end of Q4 2012, “Yelpers had written more than 36 million rich, local reviews, making Yelp the leading local guide for real word-of-mouth on everything from boutiques and mechanics to restaurants and dentists.” -Yelp.com
Business pages on Yelp also rank well in Google search results. For example, a search today for CAWOOD Eugene, Oregon puts our Yelp page at No. 7 on Page One of said results.
Much like having a presence on Facebook, claiming and optimizing your Yelp business page is becoming a must for any B2B or B2C organization. By claiming your page, you can brand it with your logo, company photos and a link to your website. Yelp also includes areas on the page where you can provide company and owner information.
When someone reviews your business, Yelp allows you to thank or respond to the reviewer. So if someone posts a review that is not of 5-star caliber, you can leave a reasoned response.
If you haven’t yet, it’s time to claim your business page. Once that’s done, encourage friends, family, clients and customers to post reviews.
If you need some help along the way, let us know!
