To increase the chances that a prospect/client finds your local business, begin by optimizing your Yelp page listing. Here’s our guide to help you rank higher on Yelp:
Yelp is one of the most popular review sites out there. It works perfectly because it doesn’t seem like a search engine on the surface, and it looks like reviews; right manage it?
If you see ads on a page and a search function is available, it’s safe to say that the website has an algorithm. The ranking system isn’t just about which businesses have reviews; instead, they use this data as one factor in their overall determination of what pages should be higher ranked than others when someone searches from their browser or mobile device through Google (and Bing).
That’s why you need to be tactical in optimizing your Yelp listing!
Basics Of Yelp Optimization
As it turns out, there’s quite a bit we still don’t know about how Yelp’s search algorithm works. If you head to Google, type “How does Yelp Search Algorithm work?” The most recent answer you will get on the internet will be that of 2013.
What we know helps comes from trying and experimenting with various things within the Yelp platform.
However, There Are A Few Tips That We Know Are Crucial When It Comes To Yelp Search Ranking:
Fill Out All Your Details
Like Google, Yelp regularly comes with its updates and algorithms to offer its users a high-quality experience. Thus, the more information you fill out in your Yelp listing; thus, your listing will rank higher than those that are not fully optimized.
Sounds familiar yet? Just like Google, the reader’s experience matters!
Add Photos
As the cliché goes, a photo is worth a thousand words. Thus, Yelp seems to give more preference to web pages that have lots of photos. This includes both your uploaded images and other reviewers’ contributions- encourage everyone involved in this process!
Respond To All Reviews
As a local business owner, it is crucial to entice positive reviews so that more prospects/clients will be inclined to visit your page. But how do you get tons of good Yelp reviews?
Here are some tips to help you attract great reviews:
- Request your satisfied clients to leave an honest review after every transaction
- Make it easy for customers to review your local home service business
- Showcase your Yelp star rating around the home service business
That said, negative reviews are part of running a local business; though they sting, you can use them to show your prospects/customers that you care.
One of the golden rules of being a home service contractor is that you should always respond to bad Yelp reviews. Another rule to help you succeed in your local business? The customer is always right. Thus, never argue with a client when responding to a review.
If you are new to Yelp, you must claim your local business. Understand more about how to create a Yelp page or claim your local business listing here.
Take Your Yelp Search Rankings to the Next Level
Once you have gotten the basic right and a few reviews here and there, go after your competitors and leave them begging for mercy!
Here are a few tips to help you become tactical in your Yelp SEO efforts:
Optimize For Keywords
Keyword research is an important part of any successful SEO strategy, and the same applies to Yelp. Just like with other search engines, you want to write helpful content to readers and not the search engine bots, implying no unnatural writing or keyword stuffing is allowed.
Thus, you need to take the content you publish on your page very seriously, especially your business description.
Since you don’t have as much information as when creating a blog post, ensure that you include as many details as possible that will help your business rank higher on Yelp.
Figure out a few key phrases you wish to show up when people search for your business, and ensure your content accurately depicts those search terms.
Also, consider Local Yelp SEO and use those phrases in your content.
Select Yelp Categories Carefully
One of the major blunders we see customers make is that they want to include as many categories as possible, believing that it would help them to solve a specific problem in the future.
This is sad news. Irrelevant categories can adversely impact your rankings. You are given an option to select three categories, but that doesn’t imply you have to choose all of them.
Improve Engagement And Earn Backlinks For Your Yelp Page
Like Google or Bing, getting quality backlinks to your page helps show the search engine algorithm that you are an authority in the industry.
While backlinks may not be as important to other search engines like Bing or Google, backlinks drive massive traffic to Yelp (which Yelp loves) since they show you are an authority. It’s that simple.
A few ways to get backlinks to your Yelp Page include:
- Place a Linkable Yelp Badge on Your Website
If you want reviews, ensure that people know you have a Yelp page. This badge is a good way to prove legitimacy, so it is a must-have platform if you care about Yelp SEO.
- Encourage Check-ins
Yelp provides check-ins to help people get rewards, remember where they have been, and still recommend their friends to use Yelp.
As a local business owner, you can encourage prospects/clients to visit your business and check in by providing special promotions. Allow them to check in and obtain the promotion, and everyone wins.
- Add the Yelp Link to your Email Signature
This is another awesome way to remind people to review your business on Yelp.
- Request for Reviews in a Drip Campaign
Asking for reviews is a great way to show your customers that you care about their experience and will go out of the way not just because it’s expected but also one it shows authenticity. I love to request people to check out our Yelp reviews during the initial stages of email interactions (proving that you are legit) and ask them to review your business after booking a service.
This doesn’t apply to all businesses, but it’s another way of getting your page in front of prospects/clients, hopefully resulting in a link or a traffic spike that looks perfect in the eyes of the Yelp algorithm.
Keep Your Yelp Listing Updated
This is something that most business owners always forget. After you are satisfied with the way your yelp listing looks, you need to stay on top of the changes to keep it properly updated.
This means you keep adding photos, responding to reviews, providing check-ins, and improving your content to rank higher on Yelp search rankings.
Yelp is not a set-it-and-forget platform, so you need to stay abreast with the changes and updates that the platform offers from time to time.
Summary
Yelp SEO for a home service business doesn’t have to be hard.
Optimizing your Yelp listing is one of the easiest search optimization tasks to handle; consider the Yelp page as low-hanging fruit and get your listing to the top!
If you are interested in learning more about how to optimize your Yelp listing, call us at +1 865-205-8822 or schedule a free strategy session online today.
Happy Optimizing!
