Tag Archives: yelp

Frustrated with Yelp?

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Businesses have tried to make it easier for customers to review their business on Yelp, by having a laptop set up in their place of business.  Problem is with reviews coming from the same IP address (an address  related to your internet connection) these are snagged as fake reviews by Yelp and thus, filtered aka “not recommended” and do not factor into your overall star rating.  Be aware of what is acceptable, and do not purchase services claiming to remove your negative reviews.  Deception and gaming Yelp does not work.  Here’s Yelp’s idea of how to garner reviews.  Read more.

Ignoring your Yelp reviews sends a poor message to potential clients.  Responding gives you control.  A disgruntled reviewer opens the discussion to explain your business practices and customer satisfaction goals.  When you have tried unsuccessfully to rectify an unhappy client there are so many opportunities to put out a positive message – seize it.

A free listing on Yelp is a good value.  If you don’t have the time to manage your online reviews (Yelp and all others) give me a call to discuss my Webmaster Services.

drive-your-website

 

Negative Reviews

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Monitoring your online reputation is very important for businesses.  Ignoring online reviews sends a message to prospective clients, even if you are new online and didn’t realize all this existed, the message of silence gets interpreted by the reader…any way they choose.

When my clients receive a negative review we gather the facts, and address each one – turning it into a positive message.  While you can’t expect to change a reviewer’s mind the bigger opportunity is to reach the potential reader who is researching your business. Reviewers often are emotional, and it’s important not to respond with like emotion, but keep to the facts.

One client had a reviewer say a subsequent car repair (different from the one fixed by the repair shop) was going to cost 10 times what he paid for the initial repair, and he was quite unhappy.  Turned out the customer brought in his own part, and was charged $45.00 for the repair. Without the details a reader would’ve been left wondering how high the bill could go – when in fact, he’d gotten a very good value for this first repair.  This creates a positive: the business owner was willing to let you bring in your part, thus saving you money and at an extremely reasonable rate when most auto repair shops charge about $90.00/hour.

My clients are frustrated by not being able to remove incorrect/negative reviews.  Recently a business owner sued a Yelp reviewer in Virginia and won the case.  Accused of theft he said the review was wrong and caused him loss of business.  The bad news: the decision was overturned in Virginia’s Supreme Court as “free speech” until such time as a trial can prove the business owner’s claim.  You can read more about this.

It stings when your business is unfairly attacked, but if you can look to pull the positive out of it – get your message through – you’ll make good use of these negative reviews!

Google Trends

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As small business owners you need advertising, and so become inundated with calls soliciting your ad dollars.

The phone book has been dead for some time. Read this article from American Express, dated Nov. 2009! 

How do you decipher where to put your ad dollars?

The above article mentions Yelp. Yelp began slowly years ago as an online directory. If you have been in business for more than 5 years you are probably already listed. Years ago I began suggesting clients fill out a free listing on Yelp and including their website address, photos and other info. But Yelp has succeeded in moving ahead of the pack of online directories and is a viable player.

Google trends allows you a real look at comparisons. Once you arrive: type in: yelp, yellowpages, manta

(Don’t forget the commas)

You’ll see a graph of how each is doing. You can do this for any of the sources soliciting your ad dollars: supermedia, etc. You can finally see how well a company is doing, and by using a comparison you’ll finally have some idea how much of the online market they are reaching.

Google is terrific at giving us tools – they love data!!

Reviews, Yelp, Google, Yahoo

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Online reviews drive websites. This is such good news for website owners: clients who are happy can make a difference in your business.

But how to get reviews: ask. Attach a note/flyer to every invoice leaving your shop asking for a review.  Begin by asking clients to use their favorite review source (such as Yelp!) or ask them to find you on Google Maps, Yahoo Local, Bing Maps, Facebook – any place your business is listed.  Put buttons on your website with a direct link to your Google Maps/Places Yahoo, Yelp and other directory listings. Make it easy for your clients. If they are not computer savvy – ask them to email or hand write it for you – and post on your website. They will enjoy being part of the Internet, and sincere testimonials are wonderful additions to your website. All this can be simply put in a note/flyer to hand out with invoices. Include an email address – if you have a web designer send these to him/her.

You may never have heard of Yelp.com but they have been an online business directory for years. In the past year Yelp! has moved ahead of the pack in delivering reviews along side your Google Places/Maps listing – this is where the “driving” comes into the picture. The more reviews – the better for your website. Even bad reviews count – so far Google can count, but doesn’t have an opinion :)

What to do about bad reviews? Address them. See where they came from – if from Yelp – create a yelp account and go to your listing and respond to the complaint. Don’t get angry – represent yourself well, and that stance alone will go a long way in representing your side of the equation. Some of my clients have no invoice from a complainer…state that: “We cannot find a record of your visit to our business, perhaps you have confused us with another business?” The public knowsthere are customers who will never be happy – so don’t feel badly if you cannot resolve a bad review. Addressing it is the critical step to take. 

If the review contains foul language you can report to Google and it will be removed.

It is good to get people talking about your business and happy customers like to help and point others to your business…engage!