Free Assessment: How does your sales & marketing measure up?

Get Started
Close

Free Assessment:

How does your sales & marketing measure up?
Take this free, 5-minute assessment and learn what you can start doing today to boost traffic, leads, and sales.
Get Started
Iris Hearn

By Iris Hearn

Aug 28, 2019

Topics:

News Marketing Strategy
News  |   Marketing Strategy

Yelp Adds Personalization Features For App Users

Iris Hearn

By Iris Hearn

Aug 28, 2019

Yelp Adds Personalization Features For App Users

Yelp has announced that its app will now offer a personalized experience based on users’ interests. 

Rather than business listings being ranked by rating or popularity, the app’s homepages and search result listings will be tailored based on personal preferences 

In a blog post published Tuesday, Yelp describes the update as a broader initiative to turn Yelp into a “personal concierge for all things local” rather than simply a business directory and review platform. 

In other words, Yelp doesn’t just want to show you popular listings, but help you discover new places that fit your lifestyle or interests. 

How does it work? 

You would think that a feature like this would be algorithm-based — however, personalization preferences are actually manually entered in a quick questionnaire Yelp says takes “less than two minutes.” 

This model actually makes sense for Yelp, as it allows users to indicate exactly who they are or what they’re looking for in a restaurant or local business — something most algorithms can only guess at. 

Users can indicate interests across five categories: 

  • Dietary Restrictions (vegan, vegetarian, keto, gluten-free, or other specialized diet) 
  • Food/Drink Preferences (specific favored cuisines, places with special offerings like happy hours or brunch) 
  • Interests (things like hiking, kid-friendly activities, live music, “date night” spots) 
  • Lifestyle (like parent, pet owner, single) 
  • Accessibility (wheelchair accessible, gender-neutral restrooms, etc.) 

Once you indicate these settings, your entire feed is updated to reflect businesses that best match your preferences. 

To make it even easier for users, Yelp also highlights specific attributes about each business to show why you may like it. 

Here’s a quick video from Yelp that explains how the process works: 

Takeaway for marketers 

Previously, the biggest thing that mattered on Yelp was your rating. 

Now, the personalization feature makes this a bit more complex. 

Marketers with a presence on Yelp should take a second look at their profile to ensure that all offerings are accounted for. 

For example, if someone has indicated they’re vegetarian, they won’t see your listing unless your profile states that your restaurant has vegetarian options. 

Not only do you risk losing customers seeing your listings if you leave details like these off, but having them on there can be a big factor in someone choosing your business over a local competitor. 

Of course, getting positive reviews is still a vital feature on Yelp, but businesses should do a quick check that their profile accounts for everything their business offers. 

Free Assessment:

How does your sales & marketing measure up?
Take this free, 5-minute assessment and learn what you can start doing today to boost traffic, leads, and sales.

Related Articles

INBOUND 2021 Recap: Takeaways, Speakers, and Lessons Learned

October 25, 2021
John Becker John Becker

Drift report on pandemic fallout reveals seismic shift in marketing strategy

September 9, 2021
Paul D. Grant Paul D. Grant

Google Shares New Tools to Audit Website User Experience

August 12, 2021
Paul D. Grant Paul D. Grant

Google: Website Content Quality More Important Than Quantity

August 10, 2021
Paul D. Grant Paul D. Grant

New HubSpot CMS Hub Starter Tier Released for Growing Businesses

August 6, 2021
Paul D. Grant Paul D. Grant

Why most marketing 'news' doesn't matter to inbound marketers

August 3, 2021
Liz Murphy Liz Murphy

Gartner: Slashed 2021 marketing budgets increases in-house ownership

July 30, 2021
Liz Murphy Liz Murphy

How to Optimize Videos On Your Business Website for Search

July 23, 2021
Liz Murphy Liz Murphy

Data: 'Funny' seniors imagery is not only demeaning, it's inaccurate

July 21, 2021
Liz Murphy Liz Murphy

Google: 'Here's how to prepare for the future private web'

July 16, 2021
Liz Murphy Liz Murphy

How Facebook's news feed algorithm works and prioritizes content

July 14, 2021
Liz Murphy Liz Murphy

Too many internal links in content can confuse Google about site structure

July 9, 2021
Liz Murphy Liz Murphy

Data: Facebook is No. 1 in revenue value for publishers, Twitter is a bust

July 7, 2021
Liz Murphy Liz Murphy

Google July 2021 core update rolling out over next 2 weeks

July 2, 2021
Liz Murphy Liz Murphy

Google punts third-party cookie ban to 2023 for 'responsible planning'

June 25, 2021
Liz Murphy Liz Murphy

Finally, Google page experience core update is rolling out

June 18, 2021
Liz Murphy Liz Murphy

Apple Mail privacy news spooks email marketers, newsletter creators

June 16, 2021
Liz Murphy Liz Murphy

Google June 2021 core update live, July core update coming

June 4, 2021
Liz Murphy Liz Murphy

You can boost LinkedIn posts and promote events, marketers

May 28, 2021
Liz Murphy Liz Murphy

Google's June page experience core update will be mobile first, then desktop

May 21, 2021
Liz Murphy Liz Murphy

Best times to post on social media in 2021 (new data)

May 19, 2021
Liz Murphy Liz Murphy

Deeper content engagement is up on desktop (new pandemic data)

May 7, 2021
Liz Murphy Liz Murphy

Google confirms demise of Q&A search feature, Question Hub lives on

April 26, 2021
Liz Murphy Liz Murphy

What is the new HubSpot Operations Hub?

April 23, 2021
Liz Murphy Liz Murphy

Big Google algorithm update moved to June with new performance report

April 21, 2021
Liz Murphy Liz Murphy