If you have read Part 1 of the Houston Business Owner’s Guide to Success on Yelp, then you’ll understand the asset Yelp has become for local businesses, in addition to local Houston SEO and stellar website design. Not only does Yelp serve as a means to connect customers to new businesses, but it also serves as a way for business owners to showcase the best they have to offer, while also simultaneously strengthening their brand. Here are the next few steps you can take to be successful on Yelp.
Step 5: Remove SOME Reviews
This might be confusing since we previously told you to respond to both good and bad reviews. However, sometimes reviews are bad because the reviewer did not want to be honest or because others simply came in with unwarranted expectations due to a crazy misunderstanding. If this is the case, you can try reaching out to Yelp so they can evaluate the review. Sometimes these reviews may count as “irrelevant” and Yelp will remove them. However, this is not easily done and should not be done for all bad reviews. As a refresher on our previous blog post, we recommended responding to negative reviews in such a way that did not poorly reflect on your branding image. This is referred to as reputation management, one of the many services our Houston marketing agency offers.
Step 6: Find Hidden Positive Reviews
For “Yelpers” and business owners alike, Yelp’s review filter can be the cause of some irritation. This filter displays only those reviews that are currently recommended. People finding your Yelp page for the first time can still see these if they scroll all the way down and click the fine print that takes them to a page of reviews not currently recommended for your business.
The purpose of this filter is to flag reviews that seem fake or spammy, but unfortunately, people who always post positive reviews or have only reviewed a business once in a blue moon will be considered “not recommended”. This harms business owners because often times there are some stellar reviews hiding there, and those reviews do not contribute to your overall Yelp rating. To combat this, we recommend reaching out to those reviewers and letting them know why they may not be showing up. In doing so you may encourage them to post other reviews, eventually becoming recommended.
Step 7: Take Advantage of Yelp Offers
Yelp has this unique feature that allows business owners to post offers and deals on their page. These offers are only valid through Yelp and may include “BOGO” (Buy-One-Get-One) specials or even gift certificates for first-time visitors. Essentially, business owners are free to use this feature for anything that creates an incentive for customers to visit your location. Additionally, using the feature will result in Yelp showing your business page to more users, giving you the perfect opportunity to generate revenue and establish loyal customer relationships.
INFINI Marketing in Houston Can Manage Your Yelp Page and Brand Reputation
Since Yelp is a powerful social media asset, we understand this may be a lot, but there is still more to come in our Yelp series. If you would like help with your Yelp social media management and/or reputation management, please contact our marketing experts. We will tailor our marketing strategy and content to your needs and help ensure your brand's success on Yelp.
Want to learn more? Read Part 3 here.
