Turning the Tables on Yelp: It's Our Turn to Rate the Popular Review Site

Eric Groves
Mon, 11 May 2015 00:00:00 +0000

In the spirit of National Small Business Week, we turned the tables and gave small business owners the opportunity to rate one of the most powerful forces in the industry today—ratings and reviews giant Yelp. Over 450 small business owners on Alignable, The SMB Network, took the opportunity to give Yelp a Net Promoter Score. The result? A negative 64, or, in Yelp parlance, 1 star.

Yelp + Small Business: It’s Complicated

It’s no secret that small businesses have a love/hate relationship with Yelp. The app is undoubtedly popular among consumers, and businesses with high ratings often benefit from a flood of customers driven there by great reviews. As Brian, owner of a photography studio, put it, “I say it's a brilliant system for a referral-based business like mine. I've thrived for 18+ years on referrals. People no longer drive by my studio, look at the window, then pick me as their photographer. They look online, fully aware that they’re one tab away from a clean browser page to search up my reputation. It's not advertising, as far as I'm concerned, it's amplified referrals.”

Yet the overwhelming feedback from small business owners is that Yelp hurts as much as it helps—and not simply because it gives people a megaphone for poor reviews. Rather, it’s the way that Yelp decides which reviews are shown, and which are not.

Lies, Damn Lies, and Reviews

Yelp claims that decisions about which reviews are considered “verified” and which are not is determined by an algorithm that looks, among other things, at whether or not the reviewer regularly reviews businesses on Yelp in order to separate “authentic” reviews from those solicited by the business themselves. However, true or not, there is a widespread belief among small business owners—reiterated in hundreds of comments on the poll—that the true driver behind which reviews are shown is whether or not the business pays to advertise on Yelp.

Josh, who owns a self-defense training studio, tells a tale that’s echoed by many business owners: “Yelp has hidden EVERY GOOD review from site. Why? Because I refused to pay them. I used to get clicks and my reviews were visible. But the moment I told them I wouldn't pay, suddenly I stopped getting clicks and my good reviews were hidden. I've discussed this with the top professionals in my industry and the answer is always the same. STAY AWAY FROM YELP.”

Sour grapes from businesses with bad reviews? Most business owners acknowledge that reviews will be good and bad—and that’s ok. As Tiffany, a photography studio owner in NYC, says, “Yelp is great for consumers (for the most part) but hideous for business owners ... not from ratings (which are subjective but ultimately useful because you can see where you need to improve) but Yelp has become like the mafia intimidating business owners to buy their services. ... and when they don't ... look out ... all of a sudden you're unsearchable and all the bad reviews go to the top.” Teddi, who owns a tavern, says, “Every business wants honest feedback, but Yelp's approach needs fixing.” So far the courts have found no actual wrongdoing on the part of Yelp, so changes are not likely to come soon.

What makes a “legitimate” review?

Many business owners who commented on the survey take issue with Yelp’s prohibition against asking customers to rate you on Yelp. Cat, owner of a window installation company, says, “If you help someone and you provide excellent service, why can't you ask them to share that with others? We ask our customers for referrals (send us your family and friends!) if they are happy, why can't a business ask a customer to review and assist potential customers in finding your business?”

Others take umbrage with any kind of filtering, machine- or man-made. Angel, who owns a personal concierge service, says, “I don't think it's right that they filter reviews. They say they do this to weed out reviews that might be coerced, but what does this say about what they think of us, or even our customers. We get good reviews because we do good work. Everyone should be able to see them ... all of them!”

The other side

There’s clearly a lot of negativity surrounding Yelp. But many business owners also acknowledge that it’s brought them a lot of business. Spa owner Anik says, “Yelp has been a HUGE help for building our business. It still is. Daily new clients come from YELP.” And as Trifton, a photographer, points out, you can get this exposure completely for free: “Who else allows a business to list itself for free and get exposure to so many online users? I hope Yelp doesn't change its model for years. Facebook was free but they changed their news algorithm and forced businesses to 'Boost' and spend for advertising.”

Other see it as a necessary evil. Shawn, who owns a dollar store, says, “Yelp is here and people use it a lot so as a business owner it behooves you to tap into the potential that Yelp brings.”

Reading the tea leaves

So where does Yelp go from here? With a net promoter score of -64 from its paying customers, is it really any surprise that the company missed analysts’ earnings and revenue forecasts in the first quarter of this year? Is there indeed an overwhelming tide of small business owners refusing to advertise? Time will tell. But as Randy, owner of a martial arts studio, says, “We cannot control Yelp, but we can do our best to affect their company. 1) Stop paying for their business services (blackmail fees). 2) Do not use Yelp for yourself, and definitely do not click on any ads on their website if you do use it. 3) As business owners, encourage your clients to leave reviews on other platforms with incentives if necessary. If everyone stops giving the bully their lunch money, the bully will eat nothing but humble pie!”

Either way, it’s clear that Yelp has made a lot of small business owners very angry—and that can’t be good for business. It’s up to Yelp as to how to turn things around, but giving business owners the ability to rate Yelp was certainly cathartic in some way. As Adam, a jeweler, said, “Thanks for the opportunity to rate yelp—hoping they change the way they do business.”

Are you listening, Yelp?