The year on Yelp for Business: 2023 in review

From phone calls to direct messages and quote requests to website visits, millions of consumers connected with local businesses on Yelp in 2023. Seeking restaurants, hair salons, and everything in between, they’re engaging with businesses, sharing with friends, and becoming customers.

Let’s dive into the connections business owners and consumers have made this year*—and reveal 2024’s predicted trends.

Consumers want to know more about local businesses and how to contact them

Consumers use Yelp to learn more about—and contact—local businesses. In 2023, Yelp users opened the map 55 million times to get a closer look at business locations and checked out menus nearly 13 million times.

Many of these first glances led to contacting businesses, including millions of phone calls, messages, and requests for quotes.

Customers are sharing their favorite spots with other Yelp users

The interactions don’t stop at first contact. Customers are visiting businesses and sharing their experiences. This year, they posted 19 million photos and racked up nearly 10 million check-ins to businesses, letting everyone on Yelp know where they’re choosing to spend their time and money.

Users are also creating and sharing lists of businesses they’ve visited or want to visit in the future. More than 42 million collection items and approximately 15 million bookmarks were added this year.

Businesses are engaging with customers and using Yelp to showcase their level of customer service

Business owners and managers wrote over 3 million review responses, engaging with their customers and communities in meaningful ways.

A business's response to a user's Yelp review

Check out these resources for responding to reviews:

Businesses are using attributes to help their target audiences find them on Yelp

In an effort to broadcast their authentic selves, businesses also self-identified with minority-owned attributes nearly 400,000 times this year. Adding attributes and amenities to your Yelp Page helps you showcase specific characteristics of your business so you can attract customers based on their needs and values.

Bonus content: Check out the most popular Yelp business attributes of 2023.

Metrics showing the increase in Yelp attribute adoption — Increase in attribute adoption between January 1, 2023 to December 19, 2023

Restaurants are reaching and seating millions of customers with Yelp Guest Manager

Yelp Guest Manager is a front-of-house system that automates operations to help staff greet, seat, and turn tables faster than ever.

In 2023, 5 million reservations were made on Yelp for seated parties (excluding no-shows). Plus, 33 million diners have been seated via Yelp Waitlist, including both diners who joined the waitlist remotely and walk-ins.

Consumers are looking for food, home services, and more

Yelp users are searching for more than restaurants—they’re researching local plumbers, beauty salons, and mechanics. By adding categories to your Yelp Business Page, you’ll help potential customers find you when they’re searching Yelp for the product or services you offer.

Businesses on Yelp are standing out from the competition with photos

Photos from INI Ristorante on Yelp

Meet one of the most photographed restaurants of 2023: INI Ristorante, a Japanese-inspired Italian brunch spot owned by the restaurant group Kei Concepts. INI Ristorante’s photogenic interior, dishes, and plating inspired customers to add 4,510 photos to its Yelp Page in 2023—making it the third-most photographed restaurant in 2023.

Bonus content: Read more about how Kei Concepts’ owner Viet Nguyen is not just building a restaurant group—he’s building a legacy.

Looking forward: 2024 trends for home, beauty, and food

2023 was an amazing year for making connections between businesses and consumers. Read what’s in store for 2024 to get ahead of upcoming trends and entice new customers:

Metrics on Yelp trends, including search volume increases for specific terms

How did your business do in 2023?

Log in to your Yelp for Business account to check out your performance dashboard, from how many page visits you got to how many leads you attracted. Filter your stats by “this year” and see how your business did in 2023.

*Yelp Internal Data. Based on data between January 1, 2023 and December 19, 2023.

Data collection and editorial contributions by Emily Moon