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How did Yelp initially market?

by onepagememories
10 replies
Hey everyone, I am new to the forum and came here by sheer luck. I've been doing a lot of research on Yelp to study and learn how they began their marketing, unfortunately I could not find anything on Google. Does anyone know how Yelp first started marketing, and how they evolved?
#initially #market #yelp
  • Profile picture of the author Red Eagle
    Originally Posted by onepagememories View Post

    I've been doing a lot of research on Yelp to study and learn how they began their marketing, unfortunately I could not find anything...
    You just need to learn how to research a little better, then you'll be able to find almost anything you want. Yelp started in 2004. So, pick a search engine and search, Yelp 2004, then Yelp 2005, etc., and just work your way forward.

    Also, visit archive.org. Type, Yelp.com in their WayBackMachine search box. Learn to use Archive.org well. You can explore Yelp and other sites as they were in the past, click their links, see their press pages, about us page, etc., and watch how their website and marketing evolved over time. Find out for yourself how they got started and marketed by searching for, 'Yelp founders', etc.
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    • Profile picture of the author onepagememories
      Originally Posted by Red Eagle View Post

      You just need to learn how to research a little better, then you'll be able to find almost anything you want. Yelp started in 2004. So, pick a search engine and search, Yelp 2004, then Yelp 2005, etc., and just work your way forward.

      Also, visit archive.org. Type, Yelp.com in their WayBackMachine search box. Learn to use Archive.org well. You can explore Yelp and other sites as they were in the past, click their links, see their press pages, about us page, etc., and watch how their website and marketing evolved over time. Find out for yourself how they got started and marketed by searching for, 'Yelp founders', etc.
      Thank you so MUCH for this site. I am going through to check their history.
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  • Profile picture of the author Matthew Trujillo
    I believe Yelp became popular because they knew exactly how they wanted to help people, and did an excellent job helping the people using there service. So because of that Simple word of mouth and getting the word out caused it to go viral, and because of that now it is a very popular place for it's users, it goes to show how the internet can go viral these days especially if you have a good offer, just look at how many go viral on YouTube!
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    • Profile picture of the author kilgore
      Yelp is a fantastic case study for anyone looking to gain traction in an area that requires critical mass. An old, but still relevant, article about how they grew early can be found at: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/0...hy-yelp-works/.

      A few of the highlights:
      • It focused on just one target market (San Francisco Bay Area) and then just a few more after that once the first one solidified. It's not only cheaper and more achievable to get critical mass in a single market, but you can learn from your mistakes and apply them to new markets going forward.
      • It focuses on getting a few "fanatic" reviewers and set up systems -- mostly non-financial (similar to "thanks" on WF) -- to reward the best reviewers
      • It added advertising slowly and even then in non-traditional ways

      Anyway, there's obviously a lot more to be said about Yelp, but this hopefully will get you started!
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      • Profile picture of the author onepagememories
        Originally Posted by kilgore View Post

        Yelp is a fantastic case study for anyone looking to gain traction in an area that requires critical mass. An old, but still relevant, article about how they grew early can be found at: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/0...hy-yelp-works/.

        A few of the highlights:
        • It focused on just one target market (San Francisco Bay Area) and then just a few more after that once the first one solidified. It's not only cheaper and more achievable to get critical mass in a single market, but you can learn from your mistakes and apply them to new markets going forward.
        • It focuses on getting a few "fanatic" reviewers and set up systems -- mostly non-financial (similar to "thanks" on WF) -- to reward the best reviewers
        • It added advertising slowly and even then in non-traditional ways

        Anyway, there's obviously a lot more to be said about Yelp, but this hopefully will get you started!
        Thanks Kilgore. I read through that article and that was exactly what I was looking for.

        Do you know if there are any other articles out there? (I'll do my research of course), and if Yelp did any sort of PPC or Billboard ads?
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        • Profile picture of the author kilgore
          Originally Posted by onepagememories View Post

          Do you know if there are any other articles out there? (I'll do my research of course), and if Yelp did any sort of PPC or Billboard ads?
          I'm sure there are other articles, but that's the only one I remember reading back in the day. One place you might look for articles is Google Scholar. As I said, Yelp is a really interesting case study (for so many reasons) and quite a bit of research has been done on it.

          Another thing that might be worth trying is giving Yelp a phone call. Try to figure out a person or a department that might be able to speak to the historical knowledge your looking for and see if you can reach them. I doubt you'll be able to reach the CEO or a VP, but you'd be surprised at how accessible even relatively senior people can be. It's certainly worth a shot at any rate.
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          • Profile picture of the author onepagememories
            Originally Posted by kilgore View Post

            I'm sure there are other articles, but that's the only one I remember reading back in the day. One place you might look for articles is Google Scholar. As I said, Yelp is a really interesting case study (for so many reasons) and quite a bit of research has been done on it.

            Another thing that might be worth trying is giving Yelp a phone call. Try to figure out a person or a department that might be able to speak to the historical knowledge your looking for and see if you can reach them. I doubt you'll be able to reach the CEO or a VP, but you'd be surprised at how accessible even relatively senior people can be. It's certainly worth a shot at any rate.
            I haven't thought of that...that's a good idea. Thanks Kilgore!
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  • Profile picture of the author CyberQuill
    In my research about Yelp, I found out that they watch the "new business" license records. Each new business is contacted directly from Yelp to gather important information that is loaded into the database. Business owners receive guidance for creating a profile at the critical grand opening of the business.

    Other local directories just wait for owners to visit and complete a profile.
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    • Profile picture of the author onepagememories
      Originally Posted by CyberQuill View Post

      In my research about Yelp, I found out that they watch the "new business" license records. Each new business is contacted directly from Yelp to gather important information that is loaded into the database. Business owners receive guidance for creating a profile at the critical grand opening of the business.

      Other local directories just wait for owners to visit and complete a profile.
      Hey CyberQuill, thank you so much for your input. Do you know how they accessed the new business licensed records? Is there a website for that?
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  • Profile picture of the author JohnnyPlan
    Any online review site that encourages real people who use local services and businesses to leave feedback is likely to be popular. And, Yelp just happened to be one of the first to offer this concept. So they are very popular now.
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