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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

#201

Post by apl002 »

jkchu wrote: post #194
kadabra9 wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

This may be an unpopular opinion, but is Yelp really being slimy by pushing users to download their app? Seems to me it's more that they are being too cheap/lazy to properly maintain both a mobile app and a mobile site. Certainly not behavior that benefits their users, but I feel slimy implies that they are doing something dishonest.

"Seems to me it's more that they are being too cheap/lazy to properly maintain both a mobile app and a mobile site."

The article is talking about their financial struggles but they are too cheap and lazy to maintain multiple platforms?

Re: Yelp craters 30% as advertisers abandon the site

#202

Post by apl002 »

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 certainly like a world with yelp vs one without it. I dont get the hate in here either. They've done some shady stuff in the past but i think every single reviews platform has issues with fraud

Re: Yelp craters 30% as advertisers abandon the site

#203

Post by oh_hello »

sharemywin wrote: post #3

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

One time I used the Eat24 service built into Yelp's app to avoid a difficult phone call with a nearby restaurant. I waited a while then drove to the restaurant. When I asked about my order the hostess told me the FAX had just arrived and they would get started on it. Terrible.

Re: Yelp craters 30% as advertisers abandon the site

#204

Post by swaggyBoatswain »

ghaff wrote: post #18
duxup wrote: post #4

I abandoned Yelp as a user pretty quick as it was just too much to filter through so many reviews by people who 1) Had some one off bad experience that is probably not representative of anything. 2) Wished that place they reviewed was like some other place that is kinda the same but ... it's twice the price so why are you comparing?

It's not great but TBH I still find it to be better than nothing. You've pretty much described every review site on the Internet. "My hotel room in Manhattan was small." You don't say. I still prefer Zagat (though it's not what it was when it was pretty much limited to foodies) where it's available. But if I'm in an area I don't know well I still will take Yelp over picking a restaurant on total whim or because it ha…

I looked up local Zagat best in "XYZ" type reviews in my citiy, all the top listings are completely off by a wide margin in multiple categories. Some popular restaurants aren't even on there.

That being said I usually use whatever has the best content available

Re: Yelp craters 30% as advertisers abandon the site

#205

Post by acdha »

DerfNet wrote: post #123
dunpeal wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yelp was involved in more than a few shady dealings over the years, and most people remember that. They manipulate their own rating for money, and for that reason many consider these ratings - their core product - to be unreliable and misleading. They will not be missed.

I don't think "most people" are even aware of Yelp's previous issues. It's probably more just Google eating their lunch.

I don't know, I've heard an awful lot of people who aren't tech/privacy nerds joke about how Yelp allows you to pay to remove bad reviews or add fake ones. It seems to be a common belief in at least the food industry and that employs an awful lot of people who may hear and propagate it.

Re: Yelp craters 30% as advertisers abandon the site

#206

Post by thanatropism »

Scoundreller wrote: post #163
oh_sigh wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yup, and even when you switch to old mode it frequently reverts when you use the back button. They are intentionally making the web mobile experience horrible because they think that you'll be more engaged if you use the app.

So now that reddit’s Death has begun, what’s our alternative?

Old Reddit died with the Ellen Pao fracas. New Reddit is doing well; the new web UI is still weird for people with an Old Reddit background, but on mobile you don't confuse it with the website you loved in 2008-11 -- yet it's pretty good at what it does: entertainment for the broader public.

Re: Yelp craters 30% as advertisers abandon the site

#207

Post by huehehue »

jkchu wrote: post #194
kadabra9 wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

This may be an unpopular opinion, but is Yelp really being slimy by pushing users to download their app? Seems to me it's more that they are being too cheap/lazy to properly maintain both a mobile app and a mobile site. Certainly not behavior that benefits their users, but I feel slimy implies that they are doing something dishonest.

Here's a screenshot of the mobile site: https://i.imgur.com/WDDnKJk.png

In the top left, there's an "open in app" button. It's not very intrusive, it's just sitting there in the header to remind you that there's an app. The rest of the website looks usable, right? Nope.

Click on "open in app": redirected to app store

Click on user's avatar: redirected to app store

Click on "read more": redirected to app store

Click on one of the reactions: redirected to app store

It's dishonest because the site isn't interactive at all -- there's a huge overlay that prevents any meaningful interaction with the site. It's quite the opposite of lazy, because there's a functional site under there, they just refuse to let people use it.

Re: Yelp craters 30% as advertisers abandon the site

#209

Post by kibwen »

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.

Let's also call out Venmo and Google Pay (nee Google Wallet) in this hall of shame, both of which removed the ability to send and receive funds from their website (both mobile and desktop) in favor of strongarming you into installing the app to do so (get bent if you don't have a smartphone, I guess?). It would seem that "entering a number into a form" is a feature that is too sophisticated for the web platform to properly support (alternatively, perhaps we are meant to believe that such a thing is beyond the abilities of Google engineers?).

Re: Yelp craters 30% as advertisers abandon the site

#210

Post by vikingcaffiene »

Good. Yelp is utter trash. They've shaken down several friends of mine who own and run restaurants. Either you pay for their premium services or a bunch of 1 star reviews start magically appearing on your business Its a well known racket and they should be run out of town on a rail for it.

On a more personal note, they also refused to adequately protect my wife when we encountered and reported an unscrupulous vendor who threatened my wife and exposed her personal information on the site.

There is a very real need for this kind of thing but Yelp has proven time and time again that they can't be trusted to deliver it.

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