Yelp may be known for being the place to go for restaurant reviews, but what is often forgotten is that the site covers a huge variety of services businesses – including salons, movers, plumbers, hotels, and much more.
Now, the company is releasing a slew of new features for all of these businesses, like custom search filters, new ways to drive reviews, Project Cost Guides, and ads themed around what makes your brand great.
Project Cost Guides
To help consumers make informed decisions before they hire a professional, Yelp is introducing new Cost Guides which show the average cost of specific services in your area. These prices are based on data pulled from Yelp’s Request-A-Quote service, which has facilitated “tens of millions” of projects.
Along with these pricing averages, these pages provide tips and cost-saving methods for consumers.
Currently, unique Cost Guides are available for around 20 categories, more than 90 service types, and 150+ cities.
Custom Search Filters
Users can filter businesses based on their specialties or unique abilities, such as filters for:
- Fast-responding businesses
- Businesses who offer virtual consultations
- Specific types of jobs or repairs
- And more available for services including movers, plumbers, HVAC, auto repair, roofing, real estate agents, home cleaners, painters, electricians, landscaping, pest control, and flooring
Themed Ads
Services businesses that are running search ads can now take advantage of themed ads to highlight what makes you stand out from your competition.
The currently available themes include brands that reply to Request-A-Projects within two hours, businesses that have special offers, or those that provide free consultations.
Running themed ads costs nothing extra and Yelp says it plans to introduce more themes in the future.
Automatic Review Prompts
After users submit a project with Yelp’s Request-A-Quote tool, the platform will now use this information to generate a prompt for users to write reviews.
For example, prompts may ask a series of questions about their experience to kickstart the review process and drive more thoughtful informative reviews.
You can find out more about these new features for services brands in the official announcement from Yelp here.