Why you need to claim your business name on Yelp immediately

One of the first things you should do after starting your small business is claim your business name on Yelp. [Tweet this quote]

Yelp is still one of the best ways to gain visibility on the Internet. In 2013, the site reported an average of about 120 million monthly unique visitors. That’s, like, a lot.

And here’s something that might surprise you: Yelp isn’t just for restaurants. In fact, restaurants aren’t even the biggest category on the site anymore.

So it’s definitely worth your while to set up a Yelp page immediately. Why immediately?

Because if you don’t claim your business name, someone else will, and they might not be accurate, or even kind, when filling out the profile. I doubt you want customers thinking you’re only open from 4:26 to 5:37 a.m. Sundays, or that the business owner’s name is I.P. Freely.

So set up your Yelp page, and consider these tips while you do:

Optimize your page

To get the most out of your page, you need to make sure it is optimized. What does that mean?

• Fill in all info completely and accurately. There is plenty of space to include all the pertinent details about your business. Things like location, hours, methods of payment accepted, info about parking, Wifi availability … include every piece of information you can. Customers want to know everything about you.

One kind of weird thing about Yelp is that anyone can edit a page. So as I said above, if you don’t get in there and put in the correct information first, someone else might come along and put in incorrect information.

• Add good photos. This is especially important if you’re a restaurant. People want to see what you’re serving, so make it look good. Use high quality photos taken by a real camera if you have access to one. If you’re using your phone’s camera, make sure to present your food in the best light possible. Literally. Make sure the lighting is good. Dark, grainy photos won’t do you any favors.

If you’re not a restaurant, you can include photos of your products, or your staff, or the front of your building (which will help customers find you more easily). Again, use only better quality photos.

• Add a link to your website. This is important, so lemme talk more about that in the next section.

Connect your Yelp page to your website

Let’s just get this out of the way: as great as having a Yelp page is, it is not a substitute for having a website. YOU STILL HAVE TO HAVE A WEBSITE. Okay?

Here are some ways to connect your website to your Yelp page.

• Link to your website. So, as I mentioned briefly above, when you set up your Yelp profile, you need to add a link to your website. On your website is where you really convince people to use your company, so it is v. important you send them there.

• Place a Yelp button on your website. This is a good way to encourage loyal customers/website visitors to write good reviews about you.

• Use good reviews from your Yelp page as customer testimonials on your site. Customer testimonials are a great way to show social proof, something I’ve written an entire blog post about.

Check out a great Yelp page

Now that we’ve talked a bit about what makes for a decent Yelp page, let’s look at a couple of screen shots from the page of Sam’s Italian Deli and Market in Fresno, CA. Sam’s does a lot of things right, as you can see below.

Some things to notice:

• Complete location info with map and directions • Link to Sam’s website under the phone number • TWO links to Sam’s full menu. • “Learn more about Sam’s” link leads to more info about the store’s specialties, the history of the business and a little about the owner. • Lots of photos — some from the shop’s visitors and some from the shop itself.

In other words, Sam’s has a great, complete Yelp page — one you should strive to emulate.

Be responsive, but stay cool

Okay, so once you have your Yelp page all set up, your job is not done. You need to maintain that page to make sure it stays current (current hours, menu, products, etc.)

Another thing you want to do is be responsive. Yelp is a place for people to post reviews, both good and bad. It really looks good if you, the business owner, check in once in awhile to respond to both your fans and your critics.

Speaking of critics, it should go without saying, but I’ll say it anyway: Don’t lose your s*** over bad reviews. [Tweet this quote]

People can be real buttheads on the Internet. That’s just a given. If you get a bad review, answer the claims to the best of your ability without whining, or name calling, or putting down the reviewer. Getting into a fight on your Yelp page will not do your business any favor, so take a deep breath, walk away if you have to, and answer your critics when you’ve had time to cool down.

And that’s what it takes to set up a good Yelp page for your business. If your business has a page, feel free to include a link to it in the comments, so we can check it out.