Dream Systems Media Blog

Yes we all know by now that Google Places has a new look for their SERPs (one which I really dig by the way) but I want to talk about who I still think comes out the winner in all this – Yelp.  If you remember, Yelp fought hard to get themselves removed from the “reviews” area of the Places page (or as I like to call it “reviews jail”), insisting that Google was stealing their content.  What it really boiled down to, is that people didn’t have to actually CLICK and go to Yelp to see any of the reviews, because they were right there in the Google Places listing for people to read.  Yelp ended up getting what they wanted, and getting the reviews removed from this “reviews jail”.

Yelp Google Places, google places serp, yelp

Let me give you a little perspective.   Lets go back to the real reason Yelp has been mad at Google for all these years.  It comes down to something very simple:  Google has been ripping off Yelp reviews.  When people are browsing Google and do a local search, then go into a Places page, (I have been told by Yelp) Yelp sees virtually NO traffic once that visitor is in that Places page (so there is absolutely NO BENEFIT).  The browser was seeing everything they needed with Google displaying those Yelp reviews right out in the open.  You see?  All that hard work of Yelp being ripped off with no benefit of traffic or people going to their site … reading the review is “from Yelp” while on Google is not the same as the user actually going to Yelp and reading the review.  If you think of all I am saying as a business owner, it makes sense.  This all changes today.

Google, Yelp Google Places, yelp

*this is a sarcastic post rant.

I have been watching a local businesses do things all wrong on Yelp over the past year and can’t take it anymore.  I really wanna help these guys out, and maybe educate them on how to do a better job when spamming Yelp.  So here goes….

The Culprit: On the image below, you will see a screenshot I took from the Yelp app on my iPhone.  The arrows are pointing to the number of reviews these “reviewers” have (all just 1).  I have circled the part that says “Matt is the best computer guy…”  No, it’s not me, just have the same name as this dude.   Here is the deal, I have been watching this guy spam Yelp for about a year now.  Every couple of weeks or so, he goes in and writes the most amazing 5 star reviews (always 5 stars, never 4 lol) and almost always uses the owners name (Matt) and every couple of weeks, Yelp finds out, removes them and he continues to be persistant and going through the whole cycle.   Over and over and over and over again, but I digress …..

Yelp yelp

I mostly use the mobile version of Yelp (except when publishing my reviews – gripe gripe) but noticed something I thought was cool, that will probably get Yelp more reviews (at least out of me).  Again, I am not sure how long this has been like this, (but I just noticed it), but it shows you places you have added pictures, or checked in too – and reminds you to “write a review” check out the screenshot below:

Yelp Features - Web Version

Yelp yelp

It is pretty awesome (to me) to see the turn that Yelp has taken lately to include features that social users love, in order to battle head on with location based gaming services/social networks like Foursquare and GoWalla.   We have all been hearing about the new titles & badges that Yelp has been talking about rolling out, but it was interesting for me to see it for myself on my phone.  Call me geeky, but it was kind of cool to see, and I think Yelp did an excellent job of keeping up (and listening to their users)  - in order to continue to dominate as the local front runner for “app phone” users.  I just look forward to finally start getting some badges and learning about how all that works.  Enjoy these screen shots I took, if you have not seen this program rolled out yet.

Local Marketing badges, location services, yelp

SMX mobile apps, SMX, SMX West, yelp

I was checking out some Yelp listings this morning, and come across something that made me wanna rant for just a bit. If you are going to participate in communities like Yelp, and leave your two cents (or reviews in the case of Yelp), then why not FULLY PARTICIPATE?  People are not going to give what you say a second thought if you are doing anything like Paul B. here:

How NOT to be a Yelper!

social marketing communities, social marketing, yelp

It’s no secret, I love Yelp, and have been an active Yelper since April of 2008.  I was reading a discussion on my local Yelp thread today about about a business going in and creating 9 different profiles, and submitting the same company (a computer repair service company – my guess was his) a 5 star review on each one.  I get it, you want to try and game the system, figure out how to push the boundaries … but cmon’ that’s just damn stupid!

Not only did the accounts all get removed and banned from Yelp, but the business then proceeded to get real reviews, (for doing so) from real – active Yelpers – and trust me … they are not good.   In less then a day, this idiot business owner has created himself a reputation management nightmare that will be very hard to overcome.  Yelp ranks well, as he obviously knew, but what he failed to understand is why it ranks so well (much trust), and how the community works.  These negative nasty reviews on his business listing (the real one finally – haha) will probably rank above his website, or close to it, and guess what?  It’s always going to be there!

Reputation Management reputation, Reputation Management, yelp

Yelp - For Local Reviews

Local marketing bliss is what I want to share! For those of you who own a local business, how would you like to get your business on the first page of Google today? In most cases, you will achieve top 5 results with out any real SEO! What if I told you, that you could achieve these types of rankings without having a website. You would jump on the opportunity right? Of course you would, so here are instruction on how to capitalize:

I, like many other people own an iPhone and have downloaded the Yelp app (a local review service). This app has an amazing feature that allows you to search for businesses and reviews near you. What I have discovered is that most local businesses are not even listed, nor are there any reviews. I had a blast over the weekend reviewing all the places I ate at during a little trip. (Most of these businesses did not have any reviews prior to mine.) So, if you own a local business, even if you do not have a website, you need to get your business listed and reviewed on Yelp.

Local Marketing local advertising, Local Marketing, yelp

Being in the industry I am, I talk with a lot of local business owners almost everyday about marketing (they are sniffing around for free tips, but I don’t mind sharing). In this economy, I have found the conversation sliding a little more to cost effective marketing tactics, if not completely free marketing suggestions. Hopefully I can help a lot of small local business owners with this post with some real suggestions that will help them get real results.

Here is the main question I get asked:

“What can a small local business do for marketing online if they have no budget?”

Believe it or not, there is plenty a small local business owner can do for online marketing that costs very little, or is completely free. I want to share these local marketing options with you.

1. Google Local – One of the first things I do for any clients local marketing campagin, is to make sure and get the business listed on Google Local ASAP. This almost gurantees a first page ranking for your most targeted local keyword. For example, if you lived in Lindon Utah, and were looking for a preschool, you would probably more then likely type in “Lindon Utah Preschool” – when you get the results from Google you will see how there is a big list of local options to choose from. (see picture)

Google Local

It gives you a list of results that are in, or close to Lindon Utah, as well as a map that if you click on will give you exact driving directions and more business information. So it gives you the option to check out all the local spots near you. It is very simple to add your business to Google Local, and the approval process does not take that long – all that FREE and an instant ranking!. If you are a local businesses that does not have a website, you can still get a Google Local listing and get customers from it because you have your address, as well as your phone number listed.

In many cases getting a Google Local listing can help you get multiple listings for your local keywords. If you look at the example picture above – My Smart World, has a #1 local listing, as well as a #1 natural ranking. This just makes you look that more credible in the eyes of potential customers.

Reviews about your business on Google Local can also be written, and the more reviews you have written about your business, the better it is for you (as long as those reviews are positive). You can have people you know that have used the products and services, go in and write the reviews for you. Tell them to be honest as you never want to fake any of these kind of reviews. The number of reviews does not help where your local ad is placed, it just helps out your credibility.

Most people don’t realize how easy it is to get a listing through Google Local, or that it even exists. They just see the results, every once in a while on a search, and often wonder; “How do they get those results there?” To sign up its easy, just go to http://local.google.com and click on where it says; “put your business on Google Maps” (see picture below)

Add Your Business To Google Maps

Once you get this far, you will be required to log into your Google accounts and they will walk you through the rest. From my experience it usually only takes 2 – 3 weeks to get included on Google Local and Google Maps. From everyone who I hve helped get on Google Local, they have told me they almost immediatly knew when the listing kicked in because hits to their website, emails or phone calls to their business. Yes, getting on Google Maps is 100% free, it is just going to take you a little bit of time and energy to get signed up with them and thats all! It is a pretty cool way of seeing your business in a top spot without putting much marketing efforts into it!

2. Yelp – Yelp is a great local review site that will help you find just about anything in your local area that can be reviewed. Getting your site listed on Yelp, and getting people to write positive reviews about you will help increase its chances of being picked up on the search engines (more reviews = more content = happier search engines). Check out the user-generated (content) reviews, and the set up of Yelp:

Reviews On Yelp

Yelp listings ranks well, and has many trusted users and is a well policed community (from my use anyway), and that is why (in my opinion) the search engines like them so much. Just check out this search result when I look for “Color Me Smart” a Queen Creek Arizona based Preschool -

Color Me Smart Yelp Listing

The owner of the preschool does not even have a website, but since they have a review of them in Yelp, they are getting a first page Google ranking for their business. Think about this, if they list with Google Local and Yelp, they can start to dominate the rankings for their name, as well as local keywords with ease. Again, all 100% free, it just takes some time to get accounts and register your business.

Yelp listings can even help with your Reputation Management by gaining another very valuable spot in the SERPs. For every single one of my businesses, a Yelp listing appears in the first 10 results on Google.

Local Marketing free local marketing, google local, Local Marketing, uscity.net, yahoo local, yelp