What’s new with Yelp for Business | May 2021

As summer approaches and people feel more confident getting back to their regular activities, it’s important for you to keep customers up to date on the latest with your business. Log in to your Yelp Page, and make these seven free Yelp Page updates to ensure you’re prepared to fully reopen.

We’ve also made a number of recent updates to Yelp for Business:

New features on the Yelp for Business platform
Yelp Connect updates
LGBTQ-owned attribute
Asian-owned attribute
Yelp Kiosk for restaurants

New and improved features on the Yelp for Business platform

Unified Yelp Page setup flow

There is a new, simplified, step-by-step flow to help you more quickly and easily set up your Yelp Page—from uploading photos and setting a service area to creating an initial Yelp Connect post.

Yelp Ads

Custom Location Targeting

This update allows you to customize the specific geographic location where your Yelp Ads appear. This allows you to run ads in geographic regions where you conduct business (rather than around your physical location), allowing you to reach a wider and more targeted audience. Prior to this release, advertisers were only able to run their ads in a radius around their business location. Note: This is currently available to all new self-serve advertisers and will be fully rolled out in the coming weeks.

Budget design and infrastructure updates

You can now optimize your Yelp Ads campaign by leveraging budget recommendations generated through Yelp’s machine learning engine. It analyzes your business profile, historical campaign performance, and lookalike audience data to help you get the most out of your Yelp Ads.

Guidance on ad text

If you choose to write your own custom ad text, there are now tips and examples of ad text available to help you write engaging and effective content.

Improved mobile Yelp for Business Ad Dashboard

This new mobile experience gives you an in-depth overview of your Yelp Ads performance from the convenience of the Yelp for Business app. The release includes an entirely new design, new navigation, and new features that were previously only available on desktop.

Yelp Connect updates

These new Yelp Connect improvements will help businesses—especially those in service-based industries—reach a wider audience of high-intent consumers with options for more effective messaging.

Connect Audience Model

You can now expand the reach of your Yelp Connect posts to people who engaged with similar businesses or searched for relevant categories on Yelp. Previously, Yelp Connect only allowed businesses to target people who followed or bookmarked their business on Yelp as well as users located in (or near) their neighborhood.

Customizable Call to Action

Customize the call to action (CTA) button in your posts with the text of your choice.

LGBTQ-owned attribute

Business owners that identify as LGBTQ+ can now add the new “LGBTQ-owned” attribute to display on their Yelp Page. This free, searchable attribute helps consumers find and support local businesses that are owned by members of the LGBTQ+ community. The attribute is available today for business owners to select. See more LGBTQ+ information and resources.

How to add “LGBTQ-owned” to your Yelp Page

Log in to Yelp for Business (Business Information tab)
In the Amenities section, click Add or Edit
Select Yes next to “LGBTQ-owned”
Click Save Changes

Asian-owned attribute

Business owners with Asian heritage can add the new “Asian-owned” attribute to display on their Yelp Page. This free, searchable attribute helps consumers find and support Asian-owned businesses in their communities, which is particularly important at this time when Asians have become increasingly targeted for hateful acts of violence. The Asian-owned attribute is available today for business owners to select.

How to add “Asian-owned” to your Yelp Page

Log in to Yelp for Business (Business Information tab)
In the Amenities section, click Add or Edit
Select Yes next to “Asian-owned”
Click Save Changes

Asian-owned businesses and allies can also check out our resource hub, featuring business tips and tools, customer success stories, virtual events, and more—plus select translations in Chinese and Vietnamese.

Yelp Kiosk for restaurants

Yelp Kiosk is a self-serve seating assistant for restaurants that helps reduce the workload of your front-of-house team. Working in conjunction with Yelp Waitlist, Yelp Kiosk allows you to:

Capture party information without a host
Kiosk collects names, phone numbers, and seating preferences so you can spend more time with customers.
Provide accurate wait estimates
Give accurate wait times without doing math in your head. Let Waitlist tell guests how long the wait will be.
Text guests when their table is ready
Diners can check-in and be alerted when their table is ready so staff can focus on hospitality and not crowd wrangling.
Reduce questions from waiting diners
Let Kiosk answer questions like: How long is the wait? When will my table be ready? How many parties are in front of me?

Restaurants can try Kiosk free for three months*.

*Subject to available inventory. Must sign a 12-month contract to purchase Yelp Waitlist. $750 early termination fee applies. Kiosk must be returned or purchased at the end of the term. Subject to Yelp’s Master Services Agreement for Yelp Reservations and Yelp Waitlist.

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Looking for other new features and enhancements? Check out our past updates: