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Yelp craters 30% as advertisers abandon the site

cnbc.com

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Re: Yelp craters 30% as advertisers abandon the site

#131

Post by kadabra9 »

mlrtime wrote: post #9

I don't have any sympathy for a site that purposely cripples the web mobile site to force you to install their app. They lock you out of pictures after around 20 so you have to go to desktop or install their crappy app. Yelp will not be missed.

I couldn't agree more. Hopefully this is a wakeup call to Yelp and other slimy sites that try to extort users into downloading their app.

Also, small pro-tip for anyone unaware. If you are on mobile web and on Yelp, but don't want to download the app, hold down the refresh button, and select 'Request Desktop Site' - this will load the non mobile version of the site that will not force you to download the app. The UI isn't as great as the mobile optimized site, but hey at least you can read reviews without being extorted into downloading an app.

Re: Yelp craters 30% as advertisers abandon the site

#132

Post by ubercore »

stcredzero wrote: post #104
ChuckMcM wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't disagree, what I wonder about is how management sees this as a better alternative than serving their customers. I expect it is a "damned if you do damned if you don't" type situation. They are at a tremendous disadvantage as a 'web' experience because you're getting there through Google, Facebook, or Bing rather than landing directly on their page so they have already paid that platform to put you in front. T…

So at some point I presume the go full "Yellow Pages" and just charge venues a monthly fee to appear at all in their pages. That works if they are generating significant foot traffic into the venue but fails if they can't connect the app/website use with the visit. I think it's useful at this point to ask why various directories had value during their heyday. The "Yellow Pages" had value, simply because there wasn't…

> Could AI identify long lines outside of restaurants

Google already gives you the hours that restaurants are busiest, so they basically have this info

Re: Yelp craters 30% as advertisers abandon the site

#133

Post by notyourday »

sharemywin wrote: post #3

I don't understand why they don't offer delivery like grubhub?

In my view Yelp's first real product is their credit card rebates. That's what they need to concentrate on. Speaking with owners of a few places that are using it, they are super happy. It actually gets customers in and they (owners) are in complete control of what kind of discounts they give to people without having those people use coupons or otherwise jeopardize full value sales to those who aren't using it.

Re: Yelp craters 30% as advertisers abandon the site

#134

Post by Scoundreller »

makecheck wrote: post #95
mlrtime wrote: post #9

I don't have any sympathy for a site that purposely cripples the web mobile site to force you to install their app. They lock you out of pictures after around 20 so you have to go to desktop or install their crappy app. Yelp will not be missed.

Mobile browsers should differentiate the style of links with URLs that resolve to apps. I am tired of tapping links expecting to remain in Safari and having useless “open in app?” prompts instead. I’m not IN an app, I’m in a browser; I want to use the browser. And when cancelling the prompt gets you nothing, it really feels like Yelp is screaming “NO SOUP FOR YOU!”.

My guess is that it’s harder to block ads on an app.

And apps can track more details about you, yielding more revenue (or potential revenue to an acquirer).

Investors probably ascribe more value to apps-based services than web-based.

Re: Yelp craters 30% as advertisers abandon the site

#135

Post by Eridrus »

allochthon wrote: post #86

I can't relate to the negativity I see here. I like Yelp quite a lot. There have been a number occasions where I've found an excellent local restaurant that I wouldn't have otherwise found. Admittedly, you have to know what you're doing. If you're in a food desert, like some parts of the US, you'll need to take those 4 and 4.5 star restaurant profiles with a grain of salt. What I would really like: the ability to sel…

I was a pretty heavy Yelp user when I lived in SF, but I found the ratings not really that helpful elsewhere, even in NYC.

I mostly use Google Maps these days, and while I don't necessarily trust the user ratings or it's personalized score that much more, the fact that it will link you to, e.g. Eater listicles that mention a place is a super strong signal that a place is good in an area you don't know.

Re: Yelp craters 30% as advertisers abandon the site

#136

Post by Scoundreller »

untog wrote: post #125
Scoundreller wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Reddit keeps asking me if I want to download their app or Open in Safari... regardless of which browser I’m using. Not every iOS user is using Safari!!!!

To be fair, iOS offers no capability to list the browsers a user has installed on their phone. So they have to assume Safari, which is a fair assumption for 90% of users, I imagine.

Doesn’t the browser string make it clear which browser is being used?

Re: Yelp craters 30% as advertisers abandon the site

#137

Post by prepend »

untog wrote: post #125
Scoundreller wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Reddit keeps asking me if I want to download their app or Open in Safari... regardless of which browser I’m using. Not every iOS user is using Safari!!!!

To be fair, iOS offers no capability to list the browsers a user has installed on their phone. So they have to assume Safari, which is a fair assumption for 90% of users, I imagine.

To be fair, asking this for every single session ignoring my answer that has been the same the past 1000 times makes it a stupid, anti-user action.

Re: Yelp craters 30% as advertisers abandon the site

#138

Post by citrablue »

JustSomeNobody wrote: post #113
mlrtime wrote: post #9

I don't have any sympathy for a site that purposely cripples the web mobile site to force you to install their app. They lock you out of pictures after around 20 so you have to go to desktop or install their crappy app. Yelp will not be missed.

Can someone in marketing help me make sense of this, please? If I'm accessing a site on the web, what makes them so sure I'd access them more frequently if I had their app? Personally, if I'm on a web page, I am actually much more likely to never install their app if I have a bad experience.

Because the company can control the experience more than in a browser. No need to worry about AdBlocking. Also, they can nag you to allow push notifications.

Companies like reddit and yelp are not focused on the customer experience. They're trying to boost their KPIs. Perhaps, early on, those were customer-centric, but we now live in an age where a path to revenue is more important than ever.

So we get obnoxious nagware. The only thing is to look elsewhere.

Re: Yelp craters 30% as advertisers abandon the site

#139

Post by dsfyu404ed »

nosequel wrote: post #65
vinceguidry wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The actual mob still seems to be doing well.

Is it? The NY and Boston mobs are pretty well dead these days.

They've just pivoted into "legitimate" government. The middle bunch of the org chart of some government departments in MA is sprinkled with these people.

Edit: some vs most. I can't speak for all of the departments.

Re: Yelp craters 30% as advertisers abandon the site

#140

Post by [deleted] »

rwbt wrote: post #49
faitswulff wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What do you use instead?

This might not be helpful, but I decided to rely on serendipity. Sometimes I feel like we think too much about finding the best of the 'best' and we rely on expert opinions of the crowd instead of taking a chance ourselves and trying out new things.

[deleted]
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