Yelp

[hogjowl]

Yelp hasn't "made it" to South Alabama in any big way yet, but the cover story in Cleanfax got me to thinking about the day it does. I know Mikey has a lot of Yelp customers and I'm sure many more of you do, as well. I have an account on Yelp and I went and reviewed it this morning. What I found was, somewhere around two years ago, I set up my account and offered a 75 for 100 dollar certificate. Thank goodness nobody claimed it, because I would have received $52.50 for that $100 worth of cleaning.

So, I guess my question is:

Are you people CRAZY?

 

[Mikey P]

I dont offer coupons or deals on my page.

Not a requirement what so ever.

 

[Mikey P]

That is a good article btw

 

[hogjowl]

I quickly took mine down.

I have to wonder though, how you keep getting Yelp customers over those guys who might be paying for leads?

 

[Mikey P]

Because I have twice as many reviews as the next guy down.

If you're on top advertising is not necessary, but it does allow you to put more info and photos on your page



Dont worry Marty, spring is almost here so you can go back to ignoring your business and focussing on prespray and O rings again..

 

[hogjowl]

God ... between you and Boyle, it's a wonder I have any self-esteem left.

 

[Desk Jockey]

God ... between you and Boyle, it's a wonder I have any self-esteem left.

Hey hey hey you left me out!

 

[hogjowl]

You and Ladwig are in a "special" category all your own.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Thanks! Its been that way my whole life, I was always in the "special class".

I've lead a charmed life I guess.

 

[Dmreed4311]

Yelp is a non factor in Florida and I hope it stays that way.

 

[hogjowl]

Yes, I hope so too. Those fruitcakes from California and Massachusetts can stay away, if I have any say in the matter.

 

[Papa John]

Odd! last night I finally discovered that 2 of my "yelp competitors" ( not Ofer) who are rated 5 stars and best of yelp-- DO have some negative reviews. but they are rated 5 stars and me 4.5 stars!? WTF!
We do have about 80 reviews more then them though.. maybe they spend more on advertising with yelp?

 

[Blue Monarch]

I'm interested to see how this film turns out....

 

[Hoody]

Thanks! Its been that way my whole life, I was always in the "special class".

I've lead a charmed life I guess.

My momma always told me that I was her special little boy so I would request to be called "Special Steven" to make my momma proud. When I was in school no body could ever get my name right. For whatever reason, they kept calling me Ed and I would protest that my name was Special Steven, not Special Ed. Apparently they were all from some type of weird karate club because they kept karate chopping their chest while saying my name wrong. Buncha weirdos.

 

[Desk Jockey]

 

[hogjowl]

I doubt they were all that weird, relatively speaking.
None of us are anything to be compared to.

 

[Desk Jockey]

I beg your pardon bubb! I'm special!!!

 

[TimM]

I just got my daily call from Yelp as I am reading this post. Maybe they are part of the Gubberment watching us.
Yelp is not that big yet here in Utah but I have been seeing a big push from them and I do get a few jobs a month off of them.

 

[Ron Werner]

I got a call a couple weeks ago to look at Yelp. They wanted a couple hundred a month for a marketing budget. The Yelp site doesn't really come up in searches up here so I'll be letting it pass.
What I did notice in looking at my page was I had a nonshowing negative review. When I looked at it, it had nothing to do with carpet cleaning at all. And it was some guy in the US on the opposite side of the continent! He had probably read some facebook posts and took offense, tracked my busn page and made a neg review.

 

[Ron Werner]

I got a bad review on Yelp, some guy in Toronto that apparently didn't like some posts I made on Facebook (the only explanation I can think of)

Yelp called me a couple weeks ago. They wand a couple hundred a month for marketing. They don't come up enough in local searches to make it a concern.

 

[ruff]

You do not have to offer coupons or any discount on Yelp. Some do to promote their business or to help them get more clients and potentially more reviews.
Due to the fact that I am allergic to discount seeking clients I never offered any.

If Yelp ever makes it in your area, Marty, it may be a good idea to get a head start on your competition and try and get more reviews etc. It will greatly help in the long run if it does get hold there. As far as I know Yelp does not manipulate the ratings or placement of reviews.

Odd! last night I finally discovered that 2 of my "yelp competitors" ( not Ofer) who are rated 5 stars and best of yelp-- DO have some negative reviews. but they are rated 5 stars and me 4.5 stars!? WTF!
We do have about 80 reviews more then them though.. maybe they spend more on advertising with yelp?

Dang, John. I've been sending so much business your way, that you should write me a five star review, just as a way to increase your income

 

[Papa John]

I got a call a couple weeks ago to look at Yelp. They wanted a couple hundred a month for a marketing budget. The Yelp site doesn't really come up in searches up here so I'll be letting it pass.
What I did notice in looking at my page was I had a nonshowing negative review. When I looked at it, it had nothing to do with carpet cleaning at all. And it was some guy in the US on the opposite side of the continent! He had probably read some facebook posts and took offense, tracked my busn page and made a neg review.

Ron-- you can Flag that and get it removed-- we were able to get that negative review about TM noise removed.

 

[Papa John]

Dang, John. I've been sending so much business your way, that you should write me a five star review, just as a way to increase your income

Ofer-- Buddy--Ill buy you some drinks and wings at The Wing House in Clearwater if you going to Convention.

It just bugs Me That Oscar's and Red Rugs have so many positive reviews when They have never been to CC school!-- Oscar's wife was at Proline and heard me taking about Classes and She Asked: " why do you need to take classes??? OMG!!-- I SAID-- "To stay out of court for one thing!"

 

[Goomer]

You do not have to offer coupons or any discount on Yelp. Some do to promote their business or to help them get more clients and potentially more reviews.
Due to the fact that I am allergic to discount seeking clients I never offered any.

If Yelp ever makes it in your area, Marty, it may be a good idea to get a head start on your competition and try and get more reviews etc. It will greatly help in the long run if it does get hold there. As far as I know Yelp does not manipulate the ratings or placement of reviews.

I agree.

Irregardless of it's short-comings, Yelp should not be dismissed

Yelp is a MAJOR player, and if it is not popular in ones area as of yet, rest assured it will be.

Anyone not seeing Yelp's presence on first page search results, better check again as a completed Yelp listing can rank very high just on it's own, and this could mean no competitor in your area has yet to take advantage, which could be an opportunity for you.

You do not necessarily have to offer any type of deal, but everyone should have a business page/listing with photos, service radius, and all up to date info.


You can see from my example that my Yelp listing (Pelham Bay) ranks even higher than my web page.

They also have a cool phone app that shows daily activity and views of your listing.

 

[WillS]

F Yelp. Check this out: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/244166

"
Yelp shares were down as much as 4% in afternoon trade on Thursday, and traders are pointing to this Kickstarter project seeking to fund a documentary showing alleged abuses by the customer review service.

On Wednesday, Prost Production, which is raising money for the project, sent out a press release announcing the project.

Last week, we highlighted an interview with Kaylie Milliken, a documentary filmmaker involved in the project.

News of the release, first reported by The Fly, is putting Yelp shares under pressure on Thursday.

In a statement to Business Insider, a Yelp spokesperson said: "The director has a conflict of interest, as she has a history of trying to mislead consumers on Yelp. There is no merit to the claims they appear to highlight, which have been repeatedly dismissed by courts of law, investigated by government regulators, including the FTC, and disproven by academic study."

As of around 1:30 pm ET on Thursday, the movie had raised about $8,600 of its goal amount of $60,000 for the film.

Year-to-date, Yelp shares are down about 18%, and over the last year, the stock is down almost 50%. "

I donated $100.

 

[Papa John]

F Yelp. Check this out: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/244166

"
Yelp shares were down as much as 4% in afternoon trade on Thursday, and traders are pointing to this Kickstarter project seeking to fund a documentary showing alleged abuses by the customer review service.

On Wednesday, Prost Production, which is raising money for the project, sent out a press release announcing the project.

Last week, we highlighted an interview with Kaylie Milliken, a documentary filmmaker involved in the project.

News of the release, first reported by The Fly, is putting Yelp shares under pressure on Thursday.

In a statement to Business Insider, a Yelp spokesperson said: "The director has a conflict of interest, as she has a history of trying to mislead consumers on Yelp. There is no merit to the claims they appear to highlight, which have been repeatedly dismissed by courts of law, investigated by government regulators, including the FTC, and disproven by academic study."

As of around 1:30 pm ET on Thursday, the movie had raised about $8,600 of its goal amount of $60,000 for the film.

Year-to-date, Yelp shares are down about 18%, and over the last year, the stock is down almost 50%. "

I donated $100.

Why donate!? Angie's List, Diamond Certified and The BBB will probably fund the rest... Cuz these companies are hurt by Yelp...
Even though I have Bad reviews on Yelp-- I still like them. they make business owners try harder to please their customers-- and That's good for everyone.

 

[Mikey P]

I've seen none of the alleged claims on my end.


But I do pay them each month.


and I also have had bad reviews (that I personally got removed) and I have great reviews filtered for no reason, and certainly don't fit any perceived algorithms.

 

[kingjoelking]

Just a suggestion. But Both Google and Yahoo search are giving Yelp higher rankings. So get some customers to leave Reviews. Let Yelp spend their bazillions of dollars to work SEO for you for free. My website sucks horribly and have no SEO to speak of. But I am listed first in My Area Because of Yelp and Facebook.

 

[Mikey P]

words of wisdom

 

[smastio]

Ofer-- Buddy--Ill buy you some drinks and wings at The Wing House in Clearwater if you going to Convention.

John - I'll bet I've sent you more and I LOVE wings!!!

Yes I'll be there. ..