Seven Ways To Yelp for Success on Yelp.com - Yelping For Dollars

Since Yelp.com is growing rapidly in popularity - according to Quantcast.com, Yelp's traffic doubled from October 08' to March 09' - I'd like to discuss some strategies and tips for using Yelp.com to promote your business.

Step One: Get your business on the list. Start by registering on Yelp.com and searching the directory for a listing for your business. If you find one, claim it and set up your business' profile. If you don't find a profile, you can also create one. The best part? It's free.

Step Two: Begin Yelping. Set aside an hour a day each week to get used to how Yelp works. Get a feel of Yelp.com by reviewing a favorite bookstore or coffee shop. Get more perspective by reading other reviews by your fellow Yelpers.

Step Three: Get yourself reviewed. Once your business is listed, you can now get reviews. A good way to get positive reviews on your profile is to solicit them from your family and friends. There's nothing wrong with this (it's a good way to jump start your profile), but you must tread carefully. Yelp.com's system deletes reviews that don't seem "normal." Here's how you can make sure reviews from your friends and family aren't automatically deleted:

Yelp.com's platform works against spam reviews by deleting reviews from users who don't "act" like regular users, i.e. leaving only one review, never visiting the site more than once, only leaving positive reviews, etc. If you're going to solicit reviews from people close to you, make sure they act like "normal" Yelpers - ask them to review half-a-dozen or so other businesses (along with your business) over the course of a couple of weeks. This will likely keep Yelp's system from deleting reviews.

Step Four: Build a killer profile. Many business owners make the mistake of thinking that their business hours and products are enough for a good profile. This isn't so. Take the time to make your Yelp.com profile informative and interesting, and don't forget you can advertise a coupon for your business for free.

Step Five: Be active in the community. Your business profile allows you to recommend 5 other businesses. While it's most logical to recommend the businesses of your own acquaintances, it's actually a better practice to use your recommendations wisely and recognize other active Yelpers who would might reciprocate with a link or a good review.

Step Six: Keep the reviews coming. Spread the word around - ask your loyal patrons to stop by Yelp.com and leave a friendly review. Yelp gives your satisfied clients a venue to compliment you where they might otherwise be too shy to do so in person. Tell everyone that your business is on Yelp.com, and they will just do the rest.

Step Seven: Network. Networking is both fun and easy. You can exchange great feedback with other businesses. Utilize all of Yelps resources to the hilt. Gain more friends, and get them to have a taste of what your business can offer. Your profile is made all the better when you have a good network of friends on Yelp.com.

As Yelp continues to grow, complete business profiles with good reviews are leading to more and more new customers. Participating on Yelp.com now, and encouraging your customers to leave you positive reviews, will pay big dividends later as Yelp continues to grow.

Check out the SporkMarketing.com blog for more internet marketing tips.

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