A Yelp Elite and Community Manager answers your burning questions about reviews

As one of Yelp’s 85 community managers, Bailey Dixon is on the ground with Yelp reviewers and business owners in Cincinnati, Ohio. She spends her time managing social media, supporting business owners, and planning events for Cincinnati’s Yelp Elite Squad—but her favorite part of the job is writing Yelp reviews. It’s the way she expresses gratitude for life-changing experiences at local businesses.

“I think of it as a love letter to that business, a thank you note for that experience,” she said. “I can’t wait to come back.”

A Yelp Elite herself, Bailey has reviewed over 200 businesses and understands the review process inside and out. For Bailey, reviews are a bridge between Yelp users and business owners—a way for customers to show appreciation and give constructive feedback, while also providing detailed information that can help business owners in the future.

Below, Bailey answers business owners’ burning questions about what motivates Yelp reviewers.

How do customers browsing on Yelp pick a business?

I love using Yelp as a research tool. Obviously I look at star ratings: five stars, four stars, even three and a half usually are going to be a safe bet. But I also scroll through reviews and look for keywords, like “reservations.” Does that spot need a reservation? That is something you might want to keep in mind, especially if you’re trying to visit a place on a weekend.

Do they have Yelp Waitlist? This is really cool if a spot does not take reservations, but you might be able to plan ahead and say, “Oh, I know I wanna go to dinner at seven.” If they have Yelp Waitlist, I can join the waitlist at 6:30, and then we leave the house and get seated four minutes after we show up. It’s perfect.

The last keyword I look for is “parking.” If you’re like me, you like to plan ahead a little bit. Especially if a place is downtown, I get a little bit nervous if I’m like, “Oh, I need a parallel park.” So if there’s a parking lot nearby, if there’s a lot right next to the business, even better.

Pro tip: You can include keywords that Yelp users like Bailey are searching for by filling out your Yelp Page with up-to-date business information, photo captions, amenities, and more.

What parts of a business are typically mentioned in reviews?

I obviously talk about the food whenever I’m at a restaurant. I am going to mention the service and the ambiance. Those three are the “big three” that [community managers and Yelp Elites] always like to include [in our reviews].

Sometimes I’ll mention if a business has something really cool about it—if they have cool neon signs on the wall, something that makes them really unique, or there’s a favorite dish that everybody recommended to try, something they’re known for.

[For service businesses, I typically] start with how I booked that service. Did I have to call or did I do it online? What was the price, comparatively? The details matter, but the details are different depending on what business you’re reviewing.

Pro tip: Try analyzing your reviews to discover which details stand out to reviewers and matter most to your customers, whether it’s your service, ambiance, or product.

In our digital world, we often have courage behind a screen that we may not have in person. That’s something I try to keep a conscious effort of whenever I’m having a [negative] experience with a business. If your chicken comes out cold, that’s something [a business owner] can fix within 15 minutes. If somebody said something negative to you, or whatever that experience may be, you can have a conversation about that that will solve your immediate situation, your immediate experience.

But if it’s something [a business owner] can’t fix within 15 minutes, then maybe [reviewers won’t] share it at that time. When [most Yelp reviewers] do leave a bad review is after they’ve had that conversation and the situation was not made right—whatever that “right” looks like for them—and whenever that experience is going to impact other customers.

So if I had poor service one time because maybe the waitress wasn’t in the best mood, I might not even mention that because she might be totally a bubbly, different person the next day. I still had a great meal. I still liked the restaurant. It’s those small things that it’s like, “Okay, is this really going to impact other customers?”

Pro tip: Responding to critical reviews can help boost trust in your business—in fact, 87% of review readers say they’re more likely to look past a critical or a negative review if they see that the business has responded and adequately addressed the issue.*

Why do Yelp users leave reviews?

Our words matter. Our words have meaning. Our words make an impact. When you have a great experience, you thank someone for it, right? When I have a great experience at a business, local, traveling, whatever that may be, I want to go a little bit further and leave a good review so that business knows that they made an impact on me. Since they made an impact on me, I can help them by sharing how fantastic that experience was. It’s not just about the stars.

I tell this to business owners all the time: It’s not about the stars. It’s about the people that you made smile, you put a beautiful dish in front of them and it reminded them of their childhood—whatever that experience may be, that review can go on not only to brighten that business owner’s day, but to help someone else make an informed, conscious decision about where they want to go to have that experience.

Did you know? Even business owners can write reviews of their own experiences with other businesses. Get familiar with the Yelp app and write your first review.

If you’re a business interested in hosting a Yelp event and would like to connect with your local community manager, please submit an inquiry. Plus check out www.yelp.com/events to see local events happening in your area.

These lessons come from an episode of Behind the Review, Yelp & Entrepreneur Media’s weekly podcast. Listen below to hear more from Emily and Bailey, or visit the episode page to read more, subscribe to the show, and explore other episodes.

*Material Survey 2022. This survey was fielded by Material among 2,000 people aged 18+ in the United States. The survey was conducted online during the period of August and September 2022 and has a margin of error of +/- 2%. Results of any sample are subject to sampling variation. The magnitude of the variation is measurable and is affected by the number of interviews and the level of the percentages expressing the results.