There are a few different user-generated review platforms on the internet for things like restaurants, venues, museums, and things to do. Yelp is one of the original and still most popular when it comes to restaurant reviews and having a high Yelp score can be the difference between someone coming to try out your restaurant or not. In this article we will talk about how to get positive Yelp restaurant reviews.
Because over 75% of online customers seek some sort of review before they try a product, service, or restaurant, getting more and most importantly more favorable reviews on Yelp can be a huge asset to your restaurant. Here we’ll look at some ways to get more reviews following some best practices.
What Is Yelp?
Yelp is a social media platform website and smart-phone app which allows people to review various types of local businesses, most notably for restaurants, bars, and coffee shops. There is a huge number of new users visiting the website every month, nearly 50 million actually, and with over 150 million reviews. A huge portion (85%+) of people who use Yelp say reviews affect where they will eat or purchases they make.
Users can be rewarded by Yelp for regularly putting up reviews and provide them the title of “Elite Yelper” which gives their reviews greater pull and legitimacy. Yelp also provides information regarding store hours, type of cuisine, days of operation, address, phone number, and so on. By making sure you have a valid and informationally correct yelp profile, you will be able to get positive Yelp restaurant reviews.
Get Positive Yelp Restaurant Reviews
The more positive reviews you have the better. The more positive honest reviews you have and the greater positive effect it will have on your restaurant. The same goes for negative reviews, the more negative reviews you have the worse it is for your business. Here are a few things to remember if you want yo get positive Yelp restaurant reviews.
1. It Is The Diners Review, Not Yours: be sure you are not doing things to try and manipulate or influence your patron’s review. This is a no-no in the Yelping world and can be off-putting to customers. Focus on the food, service, and atmosphere and with those done well you can expect good reviews. It is that which will get them thinking in a positive way, not by you specifically asking them about writing a review.
Hiring a company to create Yelp reviews or writing some yourself is also a no-no. It takes away from your business and Yelp is wise to this sort of thing, so they can even remove your account for manipulation. Yelp will filter out reviews it deems to be fake and they’ve had many years to be able to spot a fake, so don’t even try.
2. Put A Yelp Sign On Your Door and Have Reminders: instead of asking individual customers to write a review, have reminders up on your door, even on the menu, and by the bar. This is a great way to inspire people to write reviews as it lets them know you find their feedback important. If you have a high score, you can even put that there, as a reminder but also as a way to attract passerby into the restaurant.
3. Use Yelp To Give Deals & Coupons: you can use the Yelp platform to list specials that are only available through Yelp or sell gift certificates and more. This way Yelp users can find even more incentives on the website to come to visit your restaurant. It’s a good way to get more people through the door who are then likely to give a review so be sure everything is up to par. This is one of the better ways to get positive Yelp restaurant reviews.
4. Respond To All Reviews – Not Just The Positive One’s: the more people who enter your restaurant the greater variation in personalities and points of view when it comes to dining out. Even if you have 99% high ratings, you are bound to get some less than perfect scores, it’s just part of doing business. You can’t please everyone perfectly all the time, there are just too many variables.
But, don’t let a negative review ruin your week, and do indeed reply kindly and appropriately to positive and negative reviews. Let the diner know their voice is heard no matter what they say and other users will take this into account. If there was a problem was it addressed? This is your platform to do just that. Do this and you will find it is a good way to get positive yelp restaurant reviews;
5. Keep Your Account Accurate: some restaurants who either don’t take Yelp too seriously or don’t know how to use it properly are guilty of listing wrong information. If your restaurant is not open at all on Tuesday yet your Yelp page lists open all day on Tuesday, you may get some people trying to come who clearly can’t eat at your restaurant because you’re not open.
Be sure all of your information is accurate, from the phone number, website, address, and business hours. If something changes in the restaurant, be sure to adjust the information on Yelp.com to keep it current and accurate.
Yelp can be a huge asset or a huge missed opportunity for restaurants in today’s modern world. Be sure to get your account established as soon as you open your doors and encourage people via the methods above to list a review. If you’ve done your job in providing great service, great food & drink as well as a great overall atmosphere and experience, you are sure to get positive Yelp reviews. That, in turn, will lead to an increase in your business and a greater reputation which is what you want when it comes to running a restaurant business.