Announcing winners of the first-ever Yelp Advertising Partner Awards

The Yelp Advertising Partner Program is proud to announce the winners of our inaugural Yelp Advertising Partner Awards, or YAPAs, which celebrate the most outstanding, innovative, and impactful work from our digital agency partners this year.

The YAPAs recognize Yelp’s network of digital agencies, who support and promote Yelp advertising solutions to their local business clients, across six categories: Best in Client Service, Best in Core Values, Best in Innovation, Best in Lead Generation, Best in Verticalization, and Partner of the Year. Over 150 nominations were received this year during an initial submission period.

The Winners

Partner of the Year

We are thrilled to announce two co-winners for Yelp’s 2023 Partner of the Year, which recognizes partners who best demonstrate all-around advocacy and expertise of the Yelp platform, including driving results for and retention of clients on Yelp, and engagement with the Yelp Advertising Partner Program.

Our first Partner of the Year is iCatch. “In 2017, iCatch joined forces with Yelp to support companies in the home services and construction industries. iCatch has made it a top priority to excel in delivering and optimizing Yelp Ads, making Yelp a cornerstone of their clients’ lead generation strategies. The strong, collaborative bond they maintain with their dedicated representatives and the client success team at Yelp is just one of the reasons why iCatch is one of our amazing Partners of the Year,” remarks iCatch’s aligned Partner Sales Director at Yelp, Mark Veralli.

VIIRL is our next deserving co-winner for Partner of the Year. As part of the dedicated Yelp account team working directly with them, Partner Sales Director Ryanne O’Donnell says, “For half a decade now, VIIRL has proven themselves as a trusted partner of Yelp by generating outstanding results for the hundreds of clients they service on the Yelp platform. Their vast knowledge of Yelp Ads, in addition to world-class ad copy and visuals, allow them to consistently add new Yelp clients to their portfolio while retaining existing clients. VIIRL’s innovative proprietary technology helps their clients maximize Yelp results by providing advanced analytics and proving true ROAS. We look forward to many more years of success with the VIIRL team, and are proud to honor them as Partner of the Year.”

Partner of the Year Finalists: Ad Leverage, Champions Group, and Leadhub

Best in Client Service

Best in Client Service recognizes the partner who best demonstrates an outstanding commitment to providing superior client service, and is awarded to Blue Corona. They are described as a true “team player when it comes to driving leads and owning results and data,” by one of their clients, who also adds, “I couldn’t recommend them more!”

Best in Client Service Finalists: Custom Marketing Solutions, Everdean Marketing, Phoenix Online Advertising, and Shane Arts

Best in Core Values

Best in Core Values recognizes the partner whose work is a shining example of Yelp’s core values (Authenticity, Be Unboring, Be Tenacious, Play Well with Others, Protect the Source) and diversity & inclusion priorities is awarded to Three D Media. They describe their association with Yelp as more than a mere partnership. “It’s a celebration of shared values and vision. Recognizing Three D Media for the Best in Core Values award [is not just an] acknowledgment of our milestones but an affirmation of the principles that guide and define us,” they write in their nominated entry.

Best in Core Values Finalists: Ad Leverage, Cybertegic, Data Genomix, and 1SEO Digital Agency

Best in Innovation

Best in Innovation recognizes the partner with the most innovative, creative, or unique approach to driving results for their clients—either on or off Yelp—and is awarded to 1SEO Digital Agency. “At 1SEO Digital Agency,” they write, “we pride ourselves on being at the forefront of innovative solutions that drive exceptional client results.” Their use of AI amongst other creative approaches to their clients’ advertising strategies is what made 1SEO stand out to our judging panel.

Best in Innovation Finalists: Blue Corona, Iron Fist Consultants, NZ Design Marketing, and VIIRL

Best in Lead Generation

Best in Lead Generation recognizes the partner who demonstrates a truly exceptional ability to drive a significant number of leads for their clients on the Yelp platform, and is awarded to Leadhub. In their short time as a Yelp Advertising Partner, Leadhub has proven their effective approach of “marrying marketing and operations” for lead generation, and that when it comes to identifying the Best in Lead Generation winner for 2023, “it’s in our name!”

Best in Lead Generation Finalists: Data Genomix, Ferocious Media, Ideology Studio, and SlveX

Best in Verticalization

Three winners were named for Best in Verticalization, which recognizes partners who demonstrate unmatched expertise in specific industries, as evidenced by the successful results they deliver for clients in those areas:

Champions Group, for HVAC & Plumbing. Exclusively dedicated to supporting the home service industry, Champions Group’s specialization in HVAC & Plumbing empowers them with “an unparalleled understanding of the unique challenges, customer behaviors, and market dynamics within this vertical” that explains their consistent “history of elevating online visibility, boosting customer engagement, and significantly enhancing conversion rates for clients,” as noted in their nominated entry.

DeMarketing, for Contractors & Roofing. As a specialist in the construction industry, DeMarketing stands out for their deep understanding of the types of leads their contractor clients desire and their exceptional ability to make connections with the right customers based on critical factors like project size, location, and custom expertise. DeMarketing notes, “This focus on creating the best possible matches has been key to our high client satisfaction and retention rates within the construction industry.”

Legal Lead Pros, for Lawyers. In an almost unheard-of scenario, Legal Lead Pros was once asked by an attorney client to pause a successful campaign because it was “over-performing,” and overwhelming the client’s team with new consultation requests that they didn’t have the time or staff to handle. Demonstrating their in-depth expertise in the law firm field, Legal Lead Pros instead took the opportunity to recommend streamlining improvements to their client’s consultation process, successfully resulting in a more efficient intake flow, higher retainer refills, and more investment from a satisfied client.

Best in Verticalization Finalists: Blue Corona, Ferocious Media, and Ideology Studio

Please join us in congratulating our 2023 YAPA finalists and winners! If you are part of a digital agency interested in joining the Yelp Advertising Partner Program and being considered for a 2024 YAPA, get started at partners.yelp.com.

Methodology

An objective panel of cross-functional Yelp leaders independently evaluated each submission, which was anonymized, on its content, adherence to the prompt, compelling storytelling, and overall appeal, to arrive at a shortlist of finalists, and ultimately, winners for each category.

In addition to submitting a written nomination to be considered for Best in Client Service, agencies in contention participated in a voting period, during which their clients could voice their support and affirm the service they receive from their Yelp Advertising Partner.