Whether you’re on the hunt for the best nearby restaurant or in need of a reliable plumber, your decision-making process is crucial. You likely start by checking the review section, where the customers’ feedback on platforms like Yelp and Google can significantly influence your choice. These platforms are popular for their reviews, and many users find themselves comparing Yelp vs Google reviews to ensure they receive the best service.
This comprehensive guide will cover all the necessary information, such as how the reviews on these platforms work and their pros and cons. You will get a fair idea about both platforms and can make a better decision.
Yelp Vs Google Reviews
Yelp and Google are top platforms where users navigate to check reviews of specific places or products before investing. However, before getting a deeper understanding of Yelp vs. Google reviews, let’s uncover their basic differences.
- Control: Businesses leverage Google’s open field to manage their profiles and update the information widely. However, Yelp doesn’t offer control over the content on a large scale and limits content management.
- Ownership of Reviews: Reviews posted on Google are owned by the reviewers only and are limited to some Google guidelines. In contrast, Yelp owns its reviews and manages them accordingly.
- Mapping Feature: Google Maps is integrated for location and extensive navigation in Google reviews, but Yelp offers a limited mapping feature.
- Networking Feature: Google reviews do not offer social networking opportunities. On the other hand, Yelp offers social networking via connection requests and private messaging.
- Community Forum: Google Reviews only deals with reviews and does not have community forums, but Yelp shares a wider space with community forums.
Understanding Yelp Reviews
What Is Yelp?
Yelp is a business listing platform primarily open to local businesses. Reviewers leave feedback based on their experiences. This platform works like a host of user-generated reviews, where other users can see social proof to be confident about a particular product, service, or place. Furthermore, a 5-star rating system is available for users to share their valuable experiences.
How Does Yelp Review Work?
- Yelp allows its user to rate between 1 to 5, along with descriptive opinions depending on their experiences.
- Yelp’s posted reviews are readily available to all users, ensuring easy access to authentic information.
- Yelp reviews are visible without signing in. However, posting a review requires registration.
- The reviews offer upvoting and downvoting features to show users’ agreement and disagreement.
- Yelp offers a verified option to the business page, increasing reliance on the particular business.
- Yelp’s review algorithm is designed to prioritize the most trustworthy reviews, based on the user’s history and review relevance, instilling confidence and a sense of security in the information provided.
Advantages of Yelp Review Platform
User-Friendly Interface
Yelp offers a user-friendly interface that makes it easy for users to navigate the platform. Signing up or logging in is not required to see the reviews. Instead, it’s only required if you wish to interact with other users or businesses on the site.
Extensive Audience Reach
Yelp, a popular and focused business platform, plays a crucial role in the online business landscape. Recent data shows that Yelp is the 44th most visited website in the US, with over 178 million unique visitors monthly across all platforms. A significant finding from a Yelp survey demonstrates that approximately 57% of users reach out to businesses listed on the platform, demonstrating its relevance to the audience.
Recommendation Feature
Yelp’s recommendation algorithm enhances user experience by prioritizing the most relevant and useful reviews at the top of search results. It emphasizes detailed and descriptive feedback, ensuring that users get valuable insights. Furthermore, Yelp maintains a strict policy against fake or biased reviews, fostering a trustworthy review environment.
Disadvantages of the Yelp Review Platform
Potential for Genuine Reviews To Be Hidden
Yelp has a recommendation algorithm that gives reliable reviews a wider space. However, many genuine reviews are hidden in the ‘Not-Recommended’ section. However, the reviewers are visible and not deleted.
Getting Negative Reviews Without Being Listed
Yelp allows users to leave reviews about your business even if you are inactive on that platform. Businesses get negative comments unknowingly, which downranks them rapidly.
Expensive Enhanced Listing
It is free to create a business account on Yelp; however, the free version offers limited features. The advanced version starts with a monthly payment of $300, which is expensive for newcomers.
Understanding Google Reviews
Now, let’s learn about Google reviews and understand its features, advantages, and disadvantages. This explanation will provide complete knowledge about Yelp vs. Google reviews for making your further decision.
What Are Google Reviews?
Google offers its review section to businesses and users, providing fair information about specific products, places, and services. Users can share their experience via rating or explained reviews that assist other users in making an informed decision.
As the most popular search engine, Google reviews enhance business credibility and social media visibility rapidly. Furthermore, its wide integration with Google Maps fulfills the navigation gap when searching for a specific place or location.
How Does Google Review Work?
- Google Reviews, a powerful feature of Google My Business and Google Maps, offer businesses a platform to showcase their reputation and engage with customers.
- To activate Google reviews, you must have a Google My Business account to get listed and have visibility for your customers to engage in.
- Google gives its users an open space to see reviews about particular businesses.
- Users must log in to their Google account to see or post reviews on a particular listing.
- It simplifies the process by offering a straightforward “Like” option, making it easy for users to express their agreement with a particular opinion.
- A high volume of positive Google reviews accelerates the ranking of a business on Google SERPs through local SEO.
- Negative reviews can be treated via the option “Report Review.”
Advantages of the Google Reviews Platform
Enhances Local SEO
Google, primarily a search engine, also serves as a significant reviewing platform. Optimizing your content accurately can help rank your business at the top, and a high volume of positive Google reviews can enhance your business’s search engine visibility.
Positive reviews on Google are directly linked to local search rankings, providing businesses with a powerful tool to promote their products and services to local customers in real time.
Higher Volume of Reviews
As a global platform with a powerful market presence, Google gives businesses many times higher reviews than any other platform. Furthermore, Google has the largest market share globally compared to similar companies, so people rely most on Google reviews.
Disadvantages of the Google Reviews Platform
Limited Options for Removing Fake Reviews
Despite the continuous effort of Google against fake reviews, it is not uprooted at all, and fake reviews hamper businesses. You can’t delete any fake review directly, and it will be limited only to the ‘Report’ option.
Users can Post Star Ratings Without Leaving Any Comments
Leaving star ratings without accompanying comments often leads to a lack of context for the ratings, making it difficult for businesses to understand the reasons behind low or high scores.
Without written feedback, businesses cannot address specific concerns or improve their services based on detailed input. This lack of transparency and actionable information can undermine the overall usefulness and credibility of the review system.
Negative Reviews Affect Business’s Reputation
Negative reviews can impact a business’s reputation, often leading to a decline in customer trust and revenue. When potential customers encounter negative feedback, they may question the quality and reliability of the business’s products or services, opting instead for competitors with more favorable reviews.
Moreover, a series of negative reviews can be difficult to overcome, as they can persist online for an extended period, continuously affecting the business’s image and deterring new customers.
Google Vs. Yelp Reviews: Key Considerations
User Base Comparison
Google reviews focus on all types of businesses, including global and local ones, while Yelp focuses more on local businesses. Notably, Google witnessed a user growth surge from 81% to 87% between 2021 and 2022. Whereas, Yelp experienced a significant user loss of 53% to 48% in 2021.
Review Authenticity
Both Google and Yelp have strict guidelines regarding reviews. They use manual investigation and automated systems to detect and uproot fake reviews. However, Yelp stands out due to its active responses and steps towards complaints.
Yelp takes immediate actions like temporary bans on review posting, listing removal, search ranking penalties, advertising bans (minimum for one year), and, most importantly, continuous monitoring for repeated misuse, ensuring the ongoing integrity of the review system.
Community Engagement
With a community-driven approach, Yelp emphasizes community engagement via community forums and personal messages. However, Google lags in community engagement and focuses on a serviceable approach. So, this is another considerable factor when discussing Yelp vs. Google reviews, as the engagement on Google Reviews is less than on Yelp.
Wrapping Up
Both Yelp and Google Reviews are equipped with user-friendly features that can significantly enhance a business. However, Yelp, being a review-focused platform, offers unique benefits such as personal messages and the ‘Recommended’ section. In contrast, Google Reviews provide a comprehensive navigation experience through Google Maps, which can keep users and businesses well-informed. It’s important to note that both platforms have their own set of advantages and disadvantages, and it’s crucial to evaluate the above-discussed parameters on Yelp vs Google reviews, conisdering your requirements.
FAQs
What is Yelp?
Yelp is a digital platform that allows users to leave feedback about particular places, services, products, or businesses. It features a 5-star rating scale and a descriptive review writing space to share the experience in detail.
What are Google reviews?
Google offers Google Reviews and encourages users to leave their feedback about businesses, products, places, etc. Google reviews are integrated with Google Search Engine and Google Maps to widen navigation facilities.
What are the differences between Yelp and Google reviews?
The major differences between Yelp and Google reviews are:
- Yelp doesn’t offer navigation or mapping, while Google Reviews integrates with Google Maps.
- Yelp promotes social interaction via community forums and personal messaging. However, Google reviews lack social interaction.
- Yelp works more effectively in eliminating fake reviews, while Google reviews need improvement.
Is it better to leave a review on Google or Yelp?
Yelp and Google are good for sharing reviews. However, users must consider some factors.
- You must post your feedback on the platform where the business has an active official listing.
- It would help if you left your genuine feedback to avoid any penalty.
- If you want to share your thoughts globally, you can choose Google reviews, while Yelp works well for local reach.
Are Yelp reviews visible on Google?
Google doesn’t directly serve Yelp reviews to its users. However, you can get a glimpse of content like business information and reviews in Google search results, though it doesn’t match the actual content posted on Yelp.
Can Google and Yelp detect fake reviews?
Yes, both Yelp and Google can detect fake reviews using automated systems and algorithms. However, Yelp is more dedicated to eliminating fake reviews and building reliability.
Are Yelp reviews more reliable than Google Reviews?
Both platforms are reliable in terms of reviews. Since Google reviews get a high volume worldwide, sometimes it confuses users about which is real and which is fake, and it also often fails to detect fake reviews. On the other hand, Yelp has a lesser user volume and fewer reviews, leading to a more dedicated filtering of fake reviews.
How do Yelp and Google Reviews handle fake or spammy reviews?
Yelp and Google handle fake and spammy reviews through the ‘Report’ option used by users, and also automated systems work effectively. Both Google and Yelp use manual investigation and automated systems to detect and uproot fake reviews. However, Yelp has active responses in taking steps towards complaints.
Yelp takes immediate action, such as temporary bans on review posting, listing removal, search ranking penalties, advertising bans (minimum for one year), and, most importantly, continuous monitoring for repeated misuse.
Can users edit their reviews on Yelp and Google?
Yes, users can edit their reviews on Yelp and Google as per their choices.
Are Yelp and Google Reviews moderated differently?
Yelp has a concerning algorithm that often removes genuine reviews if they appear to be fake. However, Google reviews do not remove any genuine reviews.