The news has been buzzing the past few weeks about Yelp - and some small business owners are very upset with the service.
According to this critical piece in the East Bay Express, some businesses are claiming that Yelp sales reps are promising to remove negative reviews if the business will advertise with them.
Many business owners I’ve talked to are frustrated because some of the reviews customers have left for them are disappearing with no explanation. And there is no way to appeal this to Yelp to get the reviews added back in.
Other articles, like this piece in the New York Times: The Review Site Yelp Draws Some Outcries of Its Own take a more balanced view of the situation (unfortunately registration is required to view this article.) And Greg Sterling added some thoughtful perspective in this article: The Long Knives Out for Yelp.
It seems that Yelp is trying to fight dishonest reviews, and seems to be aggressively tuning their algorithm to drop off any reviews that may not be legitimate.
Relying on online directories and review sites
Whatever the reasons for these problems, they underscore the importance of taking control of the online presence for your business. (more…)