Yelp ads were completely ineffective for me as a business. I was paying about $900/mo for 3 months (they force a contract) and literally got 0 leads (calls, clicks, messages, etc...). If I was even able to get a project from Yelp ads it would have been worth it. I can't imagine if you're a restaurant (where the average sale is a _lot_ less than web design/development services) that you can make any money advertising on Yelp. No surprise that ad sales are going down/staying stagnant.
Yelp craters 30% as advertisers abandon the site
181–190 of 464 posts
Re: Yelp craters 30% as advertisers abandon the site
#182I 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 think one of the most interesting/telling user experience things in the industry today is why people feel so strongly about not installing apps. It seems like it spans most people, from novice users all the way to technology experts.
Personally, I've never understood it, since nearly every mobile website is terrible. I prefer installing the app.
Seems like a key problem for mobile OS vendors to solve.
If you don't like it, why not?
Re: Yelp craters 30% as advertisers abandon the site
#183Earlier 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.
I typically use the reviews you get from Google. No review site is flawless, they all have fake or bogus comments. I just look for patterns. For example, I was recently debating on going to a recently opened Asian restaurant so I looked at the google reviews. A majority of the negative reviews pointed out the same flaws, that to go orders were often wrong, dine in food often came out cold/nasty, and the sole manager that handles day to day operations generally refused to help anyone that had an issue. It wasn't just "The manager sucks", it was detailed accounts of how horrible of a person this manager was and how she routinely screwed over customers. I decided not to go. There were some good reviews too, but knowing my luck I didn't want to chance having an issue and needing to deal with this manager.
Re: Yelp craters 30% as advertisers abandon the site
#184Earlier 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!!!!
Technically everyone on iOS is using Safari - Firefox, Chrome, and Edge all use the same rendering engine.
They're not just different chrome over Safari. At least networking can be different, and Chrome at least does use it's own networking code.
Re: Yelp craters 30% as advertisers abandon the site
#185Earlier quoted context omitted.
Google maps reviews is just as good if not better in some ways IMO. That's what I use as an alternative.
This is really really not true. I did a local comparison any Google map reviews were REALLY REALLY bad whereas Yelp knew what the good restaurants were. Not even close, at least in my area.
While I use google reviews more often than other review sites, I know it is a problem. A big chunk of the issues has to do with the whole "local guide" or whatever its called program. People are incentivized to leave reviews anywhere they can because it makes them seem prestigious, so they spam all the restaurants they've not been to or don't care for with negative reviews. This is also a rampant issue for tourist destinations, entertainment locations, local businesses, etc.
Re: Yelp craters 30% as advertisers abandon the site
#186Shareholders let out a yelp when they saw the numbers!
Re: Yelp craters 30% as advertisers abandon the site
#187I 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 think one of the most interesting/telling user experience things in the industry today is why people feel so strongly about not installing apps. It seems like it spans most people, from novice users all the way to technology experts. Personally, I've never understood it, since nearly every mobile website is terrible. I prefer installing the app. Seems like a key problem for mobile OS vendors to solve. If you don't…
Because most apps require far more permissions than what is necessary in a browser. Who knows what they are sending over from your phone.
It's akin to having to install a program on your laptop to view a website instead of using the browser.
Re: Yelp craters 30% as advertisers abandon the site
#188I 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…
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.
None of this is true. Stop repeating rumors.
Source: I worked there, on the systems in question, and know for a fact that the things you're asserting are not true.
Re: Yelp craters 30% as advertisers abandon the site
#189I 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 think one of the most interesting/telling user experience things in the industry today is why people feel so strongly about not installing apps. It seems like it spans most people, from novice users all the way to technology experts. Personally, I've never understood it, since nearly every mobile website is terrible. I prefer installing the app. Seems like a key problem for mobile OS vendors to solve. If you don't…
Because I don't want to install an app on my phone for something I use once a month.
And if you can structure a restaurant review site for mobile, you have no business building anything.
Re: Yelp craters 30% as advertisers abandon the site
#190Does anyone else find that their best restaurant experiences come from places that only show up on a yelp search several pages down (if at all)? A number of years ago I stopped using yelp to find places to eat in my hometown because I found that the app completely overlooked smaller, locally run places for big name places near tourist hot spots.
Small, locally run places don't deal with Yelp's extortionate practices if they don't have to. If they've already got a regular clientele, they can tell Yelp where to go.
IMO, the best ways to find restaurants are Google reviews or OpenTable/Bookenda/Resy/etc...