1. Log in to Yelp a get and account set up so you get established as a business or a person that reviews businesses.

2. Sign up for an account to run ads from the ads platform. Like all adverting campaigns take it slow so you don't spend a lot of money up front. Take notes as you start advertising while using Yelp. when you see good results or return on investment, expand your campaign for growth.

3. Ask your customers to take a little time to sign up and review your business. It may not always be a perfect review but it will allow you to look at your company and make improvements. The goal is great service and more traffic to your website.

4. Don't ask friends to review your business so you can avoid having conflicts with yelp. They believe in limiting your reviews because they could be fake and set up by your best friends.

5. Be sure to check out every detail of any advertising offer they give you. We think they limit the amount of review that can be shown for your business. If you advertise with them they might show more reviews; almost like a pay off of sorts. This it the feed back we get from various business owners so be careful and look for some success stories of advertising with yelp.

Yelp is an American company founded in 2004 by former PayPal employees Russel Simmons and Jeremy Stoppelman. with corporate offices located in San Francisco, California. It develops ways for consumers to provide reviews of their favorite or not so favorite restaurant. Of course they have a mobile app that allows that allows you to publish crowd-source reviews about local businesses as well as an online reservation service that features an online food delivery service Eat24.

The company also trains small businesses how to respond to reviews, hosts social events for reviewers, and provides data about businesses, which includes health inspection scores. Yes there is also a european version of Yelp as well. Google once negotiated to acquire the company but Yelp held out. It eventually became profitable in 2014 after going public for others to invest two years prior in 2012. The mains source of revenue comes from businesses that advertise with them.

You Can not connect with friends or follow others when using Yelp. Not true. The Yelp app allows you to allows you to connect with friends and follow reviewers of your business. You can not use it to redeem coupons or purchase gift certificates. Also False. It has a app with features that helps enhance the desktop version. You can use it to redeem or purchase gift certificates from your favorite business. You can not order food using the Yelp app. Another Myth. Truly, you can place orders with nearby by restaurants from your smart phone. Try using it by posting a message or discover how to attend an offline event. Discuss your town or, ask other Yelper's about their own city or town.

According to Yelp, they are not the bullies some people say they are. The truth is, Yelp has taken a large amount of internet real estate without the consent of the owner of businesses that receive regular reviews from people who visit those businesses that can effect the amount of traffic your business gets. Not much can be done about it because there is a law that protect them from being sued. Countless business complain yearly about the control Yelp has over their business with bad reviews. The best advise we can give is to be sure to make your product or service satisfy your customers and you'll avoid conflict with very large company. As for traffic, you can become a reviewer of products and services in your market. Once set up, add a link from Yelp that goes back to your own website; like the Amazon way for traffic. And as always, be sure the content fill your website with is always well done so it can be easily found in search engines.

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5 Steps to Getting Your Business Ranked in Yelp.