As we officially became a Yelp Partner, I believe I have found the secret sauce for a successful Yelp Ads setup. If you are currently running Yelp Ads or considering for the future, this article will guide you through some of the essential points you need to know about.
Yelp Ads basically puts your business above the search results. Also, on your competitors’ page. What this means is that customers are more likely to find you when they search for the services you offer.
Types of Yelp Profile
There are 3 types of yelp profiles –
- Basic
- Branded
- Enhanced
These three profiles gradually increase in price, from a free basic profile to the Yelp enhanced profile. When you create a yelp profile, you will get the basic one for free. But if you become a yelp advertiser, they will give you the option to add what they call – an enhanced profile. It will add a prominent call-to-action feature to your profile. Besides, you will be able to upload videos, slide shows, etc., and just enhance your profile. So, if you are willing to pay more, Yelp will give you more options to make your profile look better. Here you can find more details about the types of Yelp profiles.
Messaging Feature on Yelp Ads
It’s very important to understand how the messaging feature works. When this feature is enabled, you are eligible to receive leads from your competitors. For example –
Let’s call your company ABC Pest Control. Someone named Susan goes to yelp and searches for pest control service. She finds an Ad or listing from XYZ Pest Control and clicks on it. So, she goes in and in the end, just before submitting, there will be a check box that is automatically checked which says, they will send the information to, for example, 5 different companies including ABC Pest Control!!
Now, what happened is, Susan was not looking for you but you got charged for that lead! You have to now message them back through the App. From my experience, the chances of Susan getting back to you is close to none because she was not looking for you in the first place. Besides, she probably got messages from other companies as well.
This feature is an automatic add-on and I think, it’s a hit or miss! The quality or the responsiveness of the clients decreases while your expense just increases. So, I would suggest turning the messaging feature off and simply have people click on ads directly on your listing. This way, you will get good quality leads, while also spending less which is always a good bonus.
Keywords
You can set up the keyword for which you would want your company to show up. You can select the right categories for your business and the keywords from that section will be automatically added.
Can I Set Negative Keywords?
Yes, you do have the option to set up negative keywords. However, it will not be applicable if you have the messaging feature enabled from your competitor’s site.
Suppose you have “Weed control” set as your negative keyword. Susan, from the previous example, searches for weed control and goes to XYZ Pest Control, the same thing would happen to you again! Even though you have weed control set as a negative keyword.
So, if the messaging feature of enabled, it doesn’t really do much!
Also, the negative keywords can be set as exact only. You could still show up for weed control near me if someone searched for weed control. So, if you are setting up your negative keywords, try and make sure to add as many of the variations as you possibly can to get the best results.
Search Term Report
Sometimes, Yelp representatives do not send their clients the search term reports. However, I would suggest strongly demand a search term report. As a client, you should know exactly what you are paying for, So, if you are running Yelp Ads, definitely try to receive the search term report.
Should you work with a Yelp Partner?
Yelp partners get the enhanced profile for free. They can also get the search term reports easily. They have access to detailed location targeting. Now that we have become an official Yelp Partner, we can assure you that there are lots more advantages of running a Yelp Ad through an agency that’s also a Yelp partner.
If you are looking for potential Yelp Partners to help you, you can certainly reach out to me. Also, if you have any other questions, send us an email or message us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or Twitter at PCIM Podcast.