There are many places to advertise online. But that doesn’t always mean they are the best methods for you. Some online advertising platforms are far superior to others and produce much better results.
So if you’ve been advertising on Yelp, Angi, or HomeAdvisor and paying huge amounts for a high cost per lead — or worse, getting no leads at all — you’re not alone. These ad platforms are well known in the marketing industry for their expensive billings, high cost per click, and minimal, if any, results.
We’ll cover the problems with Yelp, Angi, and HomeAdvisor. Then we’ll talk about how to better use your marketing dollars.
Why Yelp Is Terrible for Small Business Advertising
To get online advertising, you need to be present in search engines and online classifieds sites. But knowing where to invest your advertising dollars can be tricky. Let’s first look at some facts and figures about Yelp.
When you’re looking for the best local businesses, you’re likely turning to one of two places: Google or Yelp. Google processes 3.5 million searches a day. That’s 1.2 trillion searches a year. And 58.4% of those searches result in a purchase.
But while Google returns results for millions of queries, Yelp doesn’t even rank in the top 100 most visited sites on the Internet , where Google ranks 45th.
So if you’re considering where to advertise based on statistics alone, it seems clear that you’ll get more results by investing in your presence on Google than on Yelp.
This is why investing in Google through SEO, content marketing, and PPC is much more valuable than advertising on Yelp.
1. Yelp uses a questionable algorithm to sort reviews
Your business works hard to provide excellent customer service and then to collect legitimate reviews from them. Yet many reviews are relegated to job function email list the bottom of your page under very small text that says “Other reviews not currently recommended.”
While Yelp maintains its algorithm, no amount of proof that the customer is legitimate or the history of the profile that posted the review matters. In fact, many businesses find that their positive reviews appear in the “Other reviews that are currently not recommended” section when they pay for advertising, and their negative reviews pop up when they no longer pay for advertising.
The Daily Show aired a segment on this issue: Is Yelp Extorting Businesses? It looked at one small business’s claim that its overall rating increases do people really click on google ppc ads? when it pays for advertising and decreases when it doesn’t pay for advertising. Other small businesses have made similar claims.
There seems to be no logic or reason for why reviews end up at the top of a Yelp profile, as some of them may be years old. While Yelp’s algorithm has survived lawsuits , that doesn’t make it a fair and honest way to do business and calls into question the limited data you get once you run an ad.
2. Yelp’s strategy is a “pay for rating” strategy.
And when you invest money, it doesn’t necessarily do anything to improve your organic rankings on the platform. On the contrary, when you invest in Google, the increased traffic to your site helps your SEO. And driving traffic to specific keywords through paid targeting can support your organic efforts. Organic advertising and pay-per-click advertising on Google go hand in hand, creating a comprehensive marketing strategy.
3. Yelp lacks detailed statistics and information about your listings
Even if you are a paying customer, you only get information about impressions and clicks. It is difficult to understand what the user does after japan business directory that and attribute the lead to Yelp. So, although you spent money on the company, they do little to tell you where that money went or how it was spent. This lack of information makes it difficult to measure ROI and decide how best to proceed.
4. The cost per click is often astronomical
The average cost per click on Google search is $2.69, while for display ads it is $.63. In contrast, the average cost per click on Yelp is $3-$4. Search Engine Land conducted a comparison between a Google Ads campaign and a Yelp campaign for the same company. They found that Yelp advertising resulted in a cost per lead that was 3 times higher than the Google Ads campaign.
5. There are many open complaints against Yelp.
The company has a C+ rating on the BBB with a history of frequent complaints. And its rating is 1.13/5 stars, which we would call terrible at best. If you look at Consumer Reports and the Better Business Bureau, you will learn about some surprising business practices that the company uses.
Yelp makes you pay for the top spot without providing any guidance on how to earn that spot organically. It’s a process where the top spots go to those willing to pay the most. Google rewards good customer relationships and strategy by ranking top spots both organically and through advertising.
