Yelp Official Blog

Yelp in the Land of Oz

Coming to you live from Australia -- I'm proud to share that Yelp is officially live in Oz. I've been traveling throughout this great country for the past week and while the downpour of rain was impressive, so were the vibrant cityscapes and friendly locals.

Starting today, we hope that Aussies will find Yelp.com.au to be a fun place to share their thoughts on who has the best cup of coffee or where to find the most eclectic collection of local fashion designers. Over time, we'd expect that Yelp will help people find a great dentist or mechanic.  No local business is too small to be reviewed, and therein lie the hidden gems.

As we ramp up our efforts we plan to focus on Sydney and Melbourne first, and as some astute press have noted, we're also looking to get this party started in other major cities as well. But you don't have to wait for us, users can log on to the site from anywhere in Australia. For those who live by their smartphones we have a spiffy little Yelp app available for iPhone and Android devices as well as our robust mobile site.

For all you small business owners out there, be sure to claim your free Yelp business profile page at biz.yelp.com.au and learn all about the appropriate ways to use the site and tools to help you make the most of your listing. (free photo uploads, business description etc.)

Looking back on Yelp's international expansion, I can't think of a city where there was as much interest in when we'd be launching as there is here. So to that we say -- The FTR (first to review) honor is yours for the taking and we hope you like what we've built for you. Please shoot your comments and suggestions to feedback@yelp.com.au -- we're interested in hearing what you think of the site.

Yelp in Your Words: The Positive Side of Negative Reviews

Is there something to gain from negative feedback? According to celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay and a group of business owners from across the country, the answer is yes.

While many of the reviews on Yelp are positive or three stars or higher, even the best businesses can get hit with negative reviews. The reason is simple: It’s impossible to please everyone 100% of the time. Hear how these business owners use negative reviews to improve their business and get more customers.

We regularly meet with business owners all over the world to get feedback and ideas on improving Yelp. A common theme has been the need for more tools and resources about best practices on the site.

The Positive Side of Negative Reviews is the inaugural video in our “Yelp in Your Words” series. This series not only features business owner topic suggestions, but their own words. If you are interested in being featured, or have a topic idea, email us at outreach@yelp.com. 

No, Really. We’re Not Just a Restaurant Review Site

If I had a dollar for every time someone has said “Yelp is a restaurant review site,” I’d be rollin’ in Benjamins. While restaurants do account for a good portion of our 22 million reviews, we’re so much more than that!

Now, the diversity of Yelp’s content is reflected even more in our overall review distribution: shopping is now on parity with restaurants as the most reviewed business category on Yelp, each representing twenty-three percent of reviewed businesses, respectively.

Check out the pie chart below, and then think about your experiences with various businesses over the course of any given week. While you may have to see your doctor or auto mechanic, hopefully you’re paying many more visits to local shops and restaurants.

Reviewed Businesses in Every Category on Yelp

As of September 30, 2011

Now more than ever we’ve seen efforts by consumers that demonstrate they want to keep their hard-earned paychecks close to home by supporting their local businesses. We’ve always been proud of the depth of content our yelpers provide that, in turn, helps others find anything from an organic plant nursery to a vintage boutique to, yes, an amazing restaurant. So next time you’re looking for -- well, anything -- don’t forget you can most likely find it on Yelp!

Yelp is Challenging YOU to Shop Local

This year, Americans expect to spend an average of $712 on holiday gifts according to the first Gallup holiday spending survey of the 2011 season.

Starting on November 16th and running through December 26th, Yelp is challenging you to spend your holiday shopping dollars with boutique and specialty neighborhood merchants, by taking the Yelp Shops Local Pledge!

What does this mean?

Think of the Yelp Shops Local challenge like a local economic stimulus program -- one that not only supports your community and keeps your hard earned dollars close to home, but hopefully also results in some unique, one-of-a-kind gifts for friends and fam. Even buying one gift locally makes a big difference in our communities. Yelp is already helping consumers find and support local businesses, so just imagine what sort of impact we can all make if we strive to support local merchants this holiday season!

How can you get involved?

Connect with your community: Any yelper can take the Yelp Shops Local Pledge, and over 30 of our Yelp Communities are spreading the local cheer via holiday markets, stylin’ shindigs, holiday card creations, gift wrapping parties, shopping crawls, community events and more. Check out the list below to see how easy it is to cross all the names off your list...locally! If you don’t see your city listed, check out our Yelp Shops Local Event listing on Facebook or start a Talk thread on Yelp in your area to encourage local shopping.

Plan your list: Who do you need to buy for, and what gifts can you shop locally for? Mom, Dad, husband, wife? What about your postman, doorman, or neighbor? Good thing we have Yelp Gift Guides chock full of great ideas coming out in our communities throughout North America on November 16th.

A little goes a long way:  If you can’t break your mouse clicking habit completely (and that’s OK!), pledging to spend even a few bucks still makes a difference. Just think, if even 5% of the approximately 61 million yelpers who came to Yelp on average per month last quarter spent that amount at a local business, that would equate to over $30 million back into local economies.

Spread the word! Download the Yelp Shops Local Pledge graphic above and post it to your Facebook wall or Twitter feed and let your friends and family know you’re taking the pledge.

As 2011 comes to a close, let’s all take the pledge to “Shop Wisely. Give Locally. Yelp On!”

Yelp App to be Pre-loaded on Select T-Mobile Phones

Beginning today, a special version of the Yelp app will be preloaded onto the Samsung Exhibit^™ II 4G, T-Mobile^® myTouch^® and T-Mobile^® myTouch^® Q. And we have to say, it's pretty darn cool to see these devices in T-Mobile stores and www.T-Mobile.com, with the Yelp app already loaded on them! 

Existing T-Mobile customers with Android devices are able to download the free app which features new advanced filters to make searching for a business easier and faster. Additionally, there is a new “saved search” functionality, which allows users to save search filter settings (e.g. open now, free wifi, price range, and outdoor seating) and use the same criteria over and over without having to re-enter the specific filters, for frequent searches. 

We could explain how these new bells and whistles work, but we thought a quick demo video would sum it up nicely.

There's no doubt we're thrilled to be working with T-Mobile! In fact, to help promote the release of these new smart phones with the pre-installed app, we'll be engaging in an integrated marketing effort (can someone say Yelp Elite Parties) in Austin, Denver, Detroit, Honolulu and Sacramento.