December 01, 2018 | By Peyton Sawyer
In 2017, Yelp had a monthly average of over 100 million unique visitors, either through the Yelp App or by mobile web. Think about those numbers. Imagine how those numbers could impact your business. With such an overwhelming amount of visitors and the online reviews they have access to, it is understandable how a site like Yelp, can make or break your business.
If you are a business owner registered on Yelp, then with them, you have the power to reach an unlimited amount of potential customers, or even customers that have already visited your establishment or used your services. Communicating on Yelp is quite easy. You have the ability to post photos of your products, list your location and contact information, as well as, receive an order and message your customers, all for free. With advertisements like that there can be some positives and negatives to using their service.
What a Bad Review Can Do to Your Business
While the Yelp service offers a free account for your business, the poor reviews and criticism that you may receive, are not free. Business owners can pay a high price for a bad review. It can mean, a spoiled name and reputation, as well as, a loss of income. Although you may try, it impossible to please every customer that frequents your location. Some people are particular about the food they purchase or the service they receive, and they may give you a bad rating, which cannot be helped, but if you do not keep your service and cleanliness up to high standards, then you can receive a much more devastating rating.
The Yelp account you established may have 50 good reviews and 5 bad reviews, but depending on what the bad reviews are, it can be detrimental to your business. Even if your bad reviews were dated back 5 years earlier, it can still come back to haunt you. One thing about the internet is once it is out there you cannot get it back. So, if someone were to state in their review that your establishment was dirty, and they will no longer be using your services due to a rodent issue, then that would harm your business far more than a customer who complained about a rude or inattentive employee.
How a Good Review Can Impact Your Business
While a bad Yelp review can obviously harm your business, a few good reviews can bring new business to your door in droves. The higher your average rating is, the more prominently your business will appear in the listings. That means anytime a customer searches for the type of service you offer on Yelp, you have a much better chance of winning their business. Because many users rely exclusively on the information listed on your Yelp page, be sure to keep important information such as business hours or holiday closures up to date.
Funding Yelp Ads with Small Business Funding
To further boost your potential for new customers, you have the option to increase your visibility on Yelp with Yelp Ads. While this option is not free, many businesses find the cost is more than justified by their increased sales revenue. If you are interested in advertising but do not have the working capital to invest to increase your visibility on Yelp, it may be advisable to explore small business funding. Whether you are just starting out, purchasing an existing business, or trying to attract new customers to your current business, there is no denying that Yelp and access to small business funding are two of your most effective means of increasing your visibility and revenue.
