We recently “Optimized” a clients Yelp listing and wouldn’t you know – it made an impact immediately! There were no other factors such as new Yelp reviews. So it is true that simply updating your listing will make an impact.
How to update your Yelp listing
Adding a bunch of new content & images to your Yelp listing will help it rank better on Yelp itself. So then you’ll rank better on those Yelp top-10 pages that frequently populate page 1 of Google searches.
- Completely fill out sections for “Specialties“, “Business History“, and “Bio“. Be sure to add as many keywords that apply to your services and don’t be skimpy – actually list your specialties with bullets if you want.
- Add photos! Don’t be shy here either. Add 20 to 100 images of your business. The best photos are of customers interacting with your business some how. We work with a lot of ice cream shops – smiling faces of ice cream cone eaters are what folks want to see.
- Add Image Captions. This step is a pain in the butt – but I’ve seen these images actually rank well on Google for specific searches. Add your “City, State” to the caption so that image will rank for local searches. If the image shows an Audi at your repair shop, then “best Audi transmission repair Portland, Oregon” is totally appropriate for the caption. Doing this can influence Google rankings for services in specific neighborhoods, surrounding towns, or nuanced specialty keywords.
- Enable Messaging. If messaging is enabled, Yelpers may message you from their app on their phone with some potentially stupid questions. Why don’t they just call or email? Well we’re not sure. But they are reaching out and they might just be a great new customer. **It’s important to respond via Yelp ASAP. Yelp tracks how long it takes for you to respond and actually displays that to other Yelpers.
You don’t need to love Yelp or even respect their obnoxious sales reps – but you can optimize your FREE listing to get a little more traffic and perhaps more customers. Hat’s off to Vivesse Med Spa for their uptick on Yelp and for actually reading our blog posts.
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Need help? Give us a call. We update Yelp listings all day long.
Jeffrey Magner
Local SEO Strategist
Jeffrey Magner has been focused on Local SEO since 2008 and has worked directly with thousands of small business clients. Jeffrey founded Trumpet Local Media in Boulder, Colorado as a local SEO agency that was sold to Ramblin Jackson in 2013. Bighorn Local SEO has offices in Portland and Sisters, Oregon and offers monthly packages focusing on marketing strategy for local business owners. Our actual testimonials show how some of our clients feel about working with us.
If you are looking for a trustworthy Local SEO professional, you must do your research first! Take a peek at who we are and what we've been up to. We're based in Portland, Oregon but work with clients from around the country. We're good at getting Google to trust your business and understand precisely what you offer and where you offer it. Then it's up to you to simply be awesome with all your new customers.