How to Get Started With Yelp in Three Steps and Increase Revenue

How does an extra $8,000 of revenue sound to you? According to a Boston Consulting Group Survey, that’s the average revenue per year that small businesses bring in when they have a Yelp account. That’s a pretty significant amount of extra revenue for not having to commit a lot of time or effort (and who doesn’t like the sound of that?).

Start Your Account

If you don’t already have an account, we recommend starting one. It’s easy to set up and will be well worth it in the long run.

1.  Go to https://biz.yelp.com/ and click “Sign-Up” in the upper right-hand corner of the page.

2. Enter your business information (first name, last name, email address and create a password).

3. Add your hours, business information (e.g. takeout available? Parking? Kids welcome?) and specialties.

4. Add photos of your location (including your slots!), food, drink specials, etc. Side note: If you use photos with people in them, you should get permission to post.

Yelp has evolved since it’s inception, and almost operates as a mini-website for your business. You have the option to create a Call-to-Action (urging customers to make a reservation, use a coupon, etc.), create check-in offers, unlock review badges and monitor analytics. We wouldn’t recommend using this in place of a website, but it’s a good place to start to get noticed!

Encourage (but don’t ask!) for Reviews

Now that your account is set up, let your customers know they can review you (it’s not considered best practice to ask for reviews). Make sure to display that you are active on Yelp by promoting it on your website and other social media platforms. Place a Yelp sticker on your front door. Include the Yelp logo on your menu. Advertise reviews that you receive on Yelp on your other social media platforms. This should prompt more people to submit their own reviews. By working to promote your Yelp page, you’ll start to see more and more activity.

Stay Active

You should be checking reviews every week and addressing each one you receive (yes, whether they are good or bad). Keeping up with your reviews is easy - you will receive a notification via email anytime your business is reviewed. If you want some guidance for dealing with online reviews, download our guide.

Eventually, as you receive more reviews, you’ll be able to unlock “badges” on Yelp. According to Yelp, “Review Badges allow you to showcase your business's reviews from Yelp on your own website, and the counter updates every time you get a new review. If you don't have any reviews yet, it's also a good way to drive traffic to your Yelp Business Page. These are a free feature that you can set up by going to the Review Badges section of Yelp for Business Owners”.

For more information on all things Yelp for Business, visit https://www.yelp-support.com/Yelp_for_Business_Owners?l=en_US.