Our team at Atabey often gets asked by potential clients if Yelp is still a viable site to advertise on. The answer is often more complex than pointing at a case study or performance metric. Similar to when doctors have patients asking about the latest advert they saw on TV with these miracle drugs and their dozens of side effects, it is an agency's role to advise their clients on advertising platforms that are best suited to their business. Instead of asking whether "Is advertising on Yelp worth it?", let's try to delve into the question "Is my business a good fit to advertise on Yelp"?
Before going any further, Atabey is a proud partner of Yelp's Partner Program but this article is not sponsored by Yelp. We aim to inform our audience, prospects, and clients on how to best invest their ad budget.
Where is Your Audience Located?
To begin with, the most critical detail before utilizing Yelp is to determine where is your audience located. If you are an e-commerce store that has a global footprint and you want to target your entire country or region, then Yelp is not where you want to put your investment. But if you own a restaurant or have a home-service business and your audience is local, then you can find value by trying out Yelp.
As the old real estate saying goes, location, location, location.
Even if you are not yet ready to advertise, your Yelp listing serves as an extension of your local SEO strategy. It provides a valuable backlink from one of the most visited sites in North America, and customers can find insights in your listing reviews, picture uploads from the menu, haircuts, amenities, and any other service or product result your customers feel proud of sharing.
What to Invest In? Essential Yelp Features
Yelp possesses many paid perks to boost your listing, but it can be non-intuitive for a small business owner to know which feature to start with. Knowing which paid features you can begin with can be the breaking point for success.
Page Upgrade Package
One of the first questions we often receive at Atabey from small business owners looking to set their listing on Yelp is if they should get the Page Upgrade Package or buy the listing upgrades separately. The Page Upgrade package is a bundled service that, at the time of writing this article, costs CAD$6 per day. Let's explore each of the page upgrades:
Logo: Adding a distinctive logo to your Yelp listing enhances brand recognition. For small business owners, investing in a recognizable logo helps establish a professional image and makes your business easily identifiable to potential customers. Consider the budget allocation for this feature, ensuring that the logo aligns with your brand identity and resonates with your target audience. Assess whether this investment in branding will yield value in terms of increased visibility and customer recognition.
Yelp Connect: This feature allows direct communication between businesses and potential customers through updates, offers, and messages. For small business owners, engaging with customers through Yelp Connect can strengthen relationships, address concerns, and promote special offers. Consider the time and effort required for regular engagement to ensure it aligns with your business's communication strategy. Evaluate how utilizing this tool can cultivate a more personalized connection with your audience and whether it aligns with your customer engagement goals.
Slideshow: Incorporating a slideshow enables showcasing multiple images of your products, services, or past projects. Small businesses can use this feature to highlight their best work, display a variety of offerings, and visually captivate potential customers. Assess the visual assets available and consider how effectively showcasing these through a slideshow could impact customers' perceptions. Determine if the investment in a visually engaging presentation could increase customer engagement and interest in your offerings.
Portfolio: This feature enables businesses to exhibit a collection of their best work, services, or products. For small business owners, showcasing a portfolio on Yelp can demonstrate expertise, quality, and the range of services offered. Consider whether your business has a portfolio or collection of work that would benefit from being displayed on Yelp. Evaluate how this feature could differentiate your business from competitors and whether it aligns with your business's strategy to attract potential customers.
Remove Competitor Ads: This option eliminates competitor advertisements from your Yelp page, ensuring that potential customers solely focus on your business. Small businesses can benefit from this by minimizing distractions and directing the spotlight entirely on their offerings and brand, potentially leading to increased conversions. Assess whether removing competitor ads aligns with your branding strategy and whether the absence of distractions could significantly impact potential customers' decision-making process.
Business Highlights: Utilizing this feature allows highlighting specific attributes or services offered by your business. Small business owners can strategically emphasize unique selling points, positive customer feedback, awards, or special services, providing potential customers with compelling reasons to choose your business. Consider which attributes or services would be most impactful to highlight, keeping in mind your target audience's preferences and whether emphasizing these aspects would influence their decision-making positively.
Call to Action: This feature enables businesses to prompt specific actions from visitors, such as booking appointments, making reservations, or visiting the website. Small businesses can utilize this tool to drive conversions directly from their Yelp page, guiding potential customers toward taking desired actions effortlessly. Assess which call-to-action option aligns best with your business objectives and customer journey. Determine if facilitating direct actions through your Yelp page could enhance customer engagement and conversions effectively.
Yelp Ads
Now you have enhanced your profile and are already spending CAD$6 per day to have your listing ready fully optimized to receive volume. What's your next step? Invest in Yelp Ads.
Remember the "Remove Competitor Ads"? Yes, your ads will show in competitors' listings and within searches oriented to the services you provide and location targeting of your choice.
Yelp Ads is also where an agency partner like Atabey comes as an added advantage. While the Yelp Dashboard is intuitive, and the campaigns configuration are easy to follow, ensuring that you get the most for your buck is better left to a Yelp Advertising Partner. You could start with a CAD$5 budget minimum, but do you know how many searches and your average cost-per-click will be? Yelp proudly has an easy to use platform, but for advanced analytics and strategy planning, an agency is your best bet. Even though we are biased, feel free to chat with any business owner that has used an agency and they will all agree that having an expert behind your ads will guarantee better results. Just ensure they are certified.
Should you choose to hear more from us about Yelp Advertising and other branding, web design, and ad solutions, feel free to book a personalized free consultation here.
Remember, investing in Yelp can be beneficial for your business, especially if your target audience is local. It's not just about having a presence; it's about strategically using the available features and ads to maximize your visibility and engagement. As with any advertising platform, understanding your audience, budget, and goals is key to making the most out of your investment.
At Atabey, we're here to guide you through the process, whether you're considering Yelp or exploring other digital advertising avenues. Feel free to reach out, and let's discuss how we can elevate your brand and help you achieve your business objectives.
Happy advertising!