Is anyone advertising with Yelp? How has it worked?

[kevinfrye]

I have been getting calls from about 7 different Yelp reps for the last 2 weeks. I finally spoke to one today and she gave me a quick demo about advertising on Yelp. Of note, I was told:

* Yelp is the number one search engine (wow, what happened to Google, Yahoo and Bing???)
* People on Google that search rarely complete a transaction, while searchers on Yelp are almost always going to transact
* Basically $500 per month gets you 500 ads. I asked if that meant 500 guaranteed click-throughs or 500 impressions.

I was told I would get 500 impressions for $500. Wow, I can buy impressions for well less than a penny apiece, and Yelp wants a dollar apiece. I kept asking "are you sure you don't mean click-throughs", and I was told, no that's impressions. When I shared that this was very high, I was told this was because someone searching for something on Google rarely clicks through, while someone on Yelp almost always clicks through and transacts.

First - is anyone advertising with Yelp and seeing success? Would love to hear some feedback. And second, I have a great referral for a new sales rep if you need one as this Yelp rep was unbelievable!

 

[ddavis]

* Yelp is the number one search engine (wow, what happened to Google, Yahoo and Bing???)
* People on Google that search rarely complete a transaction, while searchers on Yelp are almost always going to transact

Must be a Democrat.

 

[JamieS]

&#*@ you Yelp........that is all

 

[Ryan Thompson]

I have been getting calls from about 7 different Yelp reps for the last 2 weeks. I finally spoke to one today and she gave me a quick demo about advertising on Yelp. Of note, I was told:

* Yelp is the number one search engine (wow, what happened to Google, Yahoo and Bing???)
* People on Google that search rarely complete a transaction, while searchers on Yelp are almost always going to transact
* Basically $500 per month gets you 500 ads. I asked if that meant 500 guaranteed click-throughs or 500 impressions.

I was told I would get 500 impressions for $500. Wow, I can buy impressions for well less than a penny apiece, and Yelp wants a dollar apiece. I kept asking "are you sure you don't mean click-throughs", and I was told, no that's impressions. When I shared that this was very high, I was told this was because someone searching for something on Google rarely clicks through, while someone on Yelp almost always clicks through and transacts.

First - is anyone advertising with Yelp and seeing success? Would love to hear some feedback. And second, I have a great referral for a new sales rep if you need one as this Yelp rep was unbelievable!

$1000 CPM.. I get push back on $10! Friggin Yelp

 

[Jeff Kershner]

It's been a while maybe close to a year since I will look at advertising with yelp, I just remembered that it was extremely expensive.

What peaked my interest was a larger dealer group in the Maryland area advertising on Yelp. What was really interesting: they had their banner ad linking to their Yelp page that had nothing but negative reviews. It was completely stupid.

If I get the time over the weekend I'll do a double check to see if that dealer group continues to advertise on Yelp and see if I can't get a few screenshots.

It's just so damn hard to get reviews for a car dealership on Yelp.

Kevin, keep us posted if and when you would consider moving forward with advertising on Yelp.

 

[yagoparamo]

What peaked my interest was a larger dealer group in the Maryland area advertising on Yelp. What was really interesting: they had their banner ad linking to their Yelp page that had nothing but negative reviews.

Jeff,

You must be wrong to the bone; a dealer throwing money into reviews/social media without knowing what they are getting? Impossible.

Jokes apart, could it be that was part of an ad package so the dealer didn't know about that placement?

 

[ddavis]

What peaked my interest was a larger dealer group in the Maryland area advertising on Yelp. What was really interesting: they had their banner ad linking to their Yelp page that had nothing but negative reviews. It was completely stupid.

Uniformity and conformity doesn't breed excellence. Most of us don't fear competition from the large automotive groups.

Using AutoNation as an example and only because of it's size. I have been in two large metro markets, represented by a lot of AutoNation stores. I have never seen one that has a dominant internet department. You would think that a company with roots in Blockbuster Video, with their failed bricks and mortar stores, would be keenly aware of the importance of the power of the internet. If they have benefited, I don't see any evidence of it. I have never worked for AutoNation and they might be able to point to stores that are exceptional. I have never competed against one.

Nobody can argue that these groups have an advantage. I have been told that AutoNation has built a CRM that is second to none. The larger the group, the stronger the buying power.

DealerRefresh is a community where people, that want to build their internet businesses, can gain new and fresh ideas. Most of the large groups, when they hire an aggressive, savvy Internet Director will either stifle their ingenuity or frustrate them by demanding conformity.

From personal experience, it isn't always good to stand out in a large group. If you manage to dramatically produce more than the other stores, in the group, the eCommerce Manager or Variable Operations Manager will start to feel pressure to bring the other stores up to your level.

The internet levels the playing field. You are able to attract customers from a larger geographical area. While you might not have the economies of scale, that the larger groups have, you have the flexibility to try things that corporate would view as "different". I'm convinced that many of the groups attract the average people. They don't want or encourage mavericks.

 

[ewalraven]

I was told I would get 500 impressions for $500.

Wow.

 

[joeyabna]

Many of the phone calls I get from reps from sites like yelp and other portal or third party sites do not have a clue about the terminology of the products they are trying to sell. Getting into discussions about unique visitors in a particular geo, no follow or follow links, ect. has confused many a rep that has contacted me from these types of businesses. It makes for a good laugh sometimes though.

To answer the original question, no I am not advertising on Yelp. Kevin, I will message you a dealer that is advertising on Yelp in my market.

 

[ddavis]

They often bounce in on you. Usually, the scenery is worth the time. I have never; however, based my purchasing decisions on a pretty face and big ta-tas.