'Net Features : review sites

Yelp Hits 100 Million Users

Allison Howen — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 16:15:00 GMT

Ever since Facebook launched the beta version of Graph Search, there has been some speculation around the ’Net that the social network’s new feature could end up being a Yelp and/or Foursquare killer.

If that is the case, Graph Search will have some big shoes to fill, because Yelp has announced that it received more than 100 million unique visitors in January 2013 (not including the 9.4 million users who used the mobile app during the same timeframe). While 100 million is still far from Facebook’s membership numbers, it does prove that Yelp has a very dedicated user base. Moreover, the engagement that came from these visitors was equally impressive.

Yelp reported that there were more than 4.5 million calls and more than 5.6 million directions generated from the Yelp mobile app in January alone. Additionally, the site received more than 1 million new reviews and had 475,891 local business listings submitted last month. It is also interesting to note that on average, customers who leverage Yelp spend $101.59 on their first visit.

The data seems to show that Yelp is helping millions of people make spending decisions each month, and business owners who are not already managing and monitoring their company’s presence on this platform are likely missing some valuable customers – who are ready to make spending decisions.

Check out Yelp's infographic below, which is based on metrics from Google Analytics and comScore, to discover more data about the local review service.

Get Ready for More Fake Online Reviews

Michael Garrity — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 21:30:00 GMT

Identifying – let alone actually combating – fake online reviews has been a constant source of angst for many business owners and marketers with an online presence. Now, I hate to break it to you guys, but it’s only going to get worse before it gets better. That is, at least, according to some new research unveiled by Gartner.

In the last few weeks, the publishing industry was rocked with news about authors creating fake accounts on Amazon and other sites to pad their product pages with phony positive reviews. The shock and awe, while upsetting to many in the field, was met with a blasé rolling of the eyes by restaurateurs, however, who have long had to deal with embellished (if not completely fake) online reviews, both good and bad, on sites like Yelp. Just ask the owner of a pizza restaurant who was photographed bear hugging President Obama, only to have his Yelp profile take the brunt of users upset by his encounter, who took to the page to post fake negative reviews to ruin his reputation on the site.

Unfortunately for pretty much all of us, this practice doesn’t seem to be going away. In fact, it will likely become more popular. Gartner predicts that by 2014, somewhere between 10 and 15 percent of all online reviews will be paid for by companies seeking to build bigger follower bases, generate video views, get Facebook Likes and, of course, display more positive online reviews. And they’re willing to solicit these things by offering coupons or special promotions or, in some cases, just straight cash.

With so many avenues on the ‘Net that businesses can use to deceptively control consumers’ perception of their brands, it begs the question, “Who can we trust online these days?”

Bing and Yelp Team Up to Take on Google Places

Michael Garrity — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 22:00:00 GMT

Last week, Microsoft’s Bing search engine announced a huge partnership with user review and recommendations site Yelp that could help position both companies to overthrow their common nemesis, Google, and its Google Places service, in particular.

Local businesses will likely benefit from this pairing, as it gives them an alterative or additional way to present their companies on a search engine and to increase exposure without relying solely on Google. In addition, having a Yelp listing could now get a business that is not currently in Bing’s database added to Bing Local, although this isn't a guarantee.

It should be noted that Bing is only using Yelp content from six different business categories: restaurants, arts and entertainment, beauty and spas, home services, shopping and local services. Right now, only about 30 percent of the business listings on Bing use Yelp content.

For the foreseeable future, the search engine will be using three types of Yelp content in its business listings: review snippets, business attributes and photos. The content is laid out with the attributes first (labeled as “Features”), Yelp photos interspersed with other images Bing has of the business and Yelp review snippets below the pictures.

However, while Bing will acquire basic business information like names, addresses and phone numbers from Yelp – mostly to ensure that it is showing reviews for the correct business – the data shown in its local listings will still come from the Bing Business Portal, InfoUSA and standard Web crawls, among others, so simply having a Yelp presence won’t replace the need to work with these sources.

While the partnership will only partially impact Bing Local business listings for the time being, I would expect to see deeper and more complex integration between the two services sooner than later.

Complaint Boards Put Scammers on High Alert

Linc Wonham — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 21:00:00 GMT

No business on the Web can afford to be on the receiving end of too many poor reviews or, worse yet, called out for unsavory tactics on an online complaint board. But these increasingly popular platforms provide an invaluable service for consumers, as well as for the millions of legitimate Web businesses that stand behind their practices, products and services.

ScamHunter is the newest entry into the online complaint board space, and the company claims to give more power to victimized consumers than other services of its kind. In addition to providing a platform for consumers to report suspected scammers and/or fraudulent behavior, ScamHunter actually provides information on how to get back at a company, individual or service that has allegedly done them wrong.

ScamHunter allows for the submission of complaints in the same manner that most other sites do, and also provides a section where consumers can peruse the latest reviews of companies, products and opinions of individuals who might be involved in scam-like behavior, a directory of businesses by industry and a breaking news feature that showcases recent arrests or other causal behavior of possible scam artists. The site also allows for users to search for specific scams before they enter into any agreement with a company, and even goes so far as to provide resources such as Eight Do-it-Yourself Steps to Consumer Revenge.

“Many companies have found it is so easy to take advantage of the consumer-base because people don’t know where they can go or where to turn to for help or to make a complaint,” says Michael Murray, director of public relations for ScamHunter. “There are other complaint boards online, but few have any pull as it relates to getting the attention of the guilty businesses. ScamHunter.com changes all that. There has never been a platform like this before, one that truly makes a jilted consumer’s voice heard, and gets the company in question to make amends.”

It’s definitely not the kind of site where you would want your Web company attracting a lot of attention, but chances are unlikely that it will if your business operates above-board and provides satisfactory service. Below are some other resources that consumers have at their disposal to help keep the Web free of scammers and frauds. In other words, more sites like ScamHunter on which you don’t want your business to appear.

Ripoff Report
One of the first and likely most well-known sites of its kind, the Ripoff Report has been around since the early days of the Internet – almost as long as online scammers themselves.

Complaints.com
Like the others, a trusted database of personal, first-hand consumer experiences with products and services to help visitors make better-informed purchase decisions. The site does, however, lack some of the additional resources provided by ScamHunter and the Ripoff Report.

The Squeaky Wheel
Every time a complaint page is viewed, it triggers an automatic e-mail notification letting the target company know that another potential customer has just viewed the complaint. Everybody knows what is at stake and how important it is to settle the complaint.

Complaints Board
A running list of consumer complaints that can be reviewed chronologically or divided into dozens of business categories ranging from airline travel to wedding services. Also includes resources such as Consumer Tips and Tricks, Suspicious Companies and the latest news stories.

My3Cents.com
Another leading source for consumer advice, complaints and reviews, with an interesting feature that lists the top 15 most talked about companies in 10 different categories.

For more on a related topic, please read 20 User Review Websites Critical to Small Business.