Is Yelp an effective lead generation and marketing tool for contractors?
Bruce from Genesis Construction Services IL, LLC weighs in.
Here's what he had to say: waste of money.... 2 reasons. 1) my business doesn't get foot traffic. People don't find contractors to renovate bathrooms there. 2) they charge by the click or phone call. I was charged for hundreds of calls or clicks during the time I had Yelp. I never once got a call and never booked an appointment on-line. I say they are fake. They did not offer any refund and held me to the 90 day contract or pay the fee to get out. I did the math.... they screwed me out of alot of money either way. DO NOT use Yelp."
What do you think about Yelp as a contractor? Do you agree with Bruce's view that Yelp is ineffective?
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60 Comments
Answers (11-20)
I got on Yelp thru a different lead generating company. I also did not receive any phone calls for my services thru Yelp. After my contract was up I never went back. There are several other good wed based sites to get leads for contractors
Yes, and Porch is similar company. They say they will 'refund" the costs of the 'lead" but if you do not get a call back from potential customer or the potential lead is just looking for a 'free' opinion, I have file for refund and have to do it 2 to three times, then have to call then. When I call; they try to 'sell" me a program, wherein, the want a deposit from $250 to $4,000 then they will give you 'preference" for the potential lead..However, they give this same potential lead to out to minimum of 4 others contractors... Porch, like Yelp, is just into the money..not the potential lead, not the services, etc.
Their ad agent was really sweet until I said I only thought of Yelp for restaurant reviews and didn't think it could help my cleaning service. Then she got really aggressive and condescending. She made it sound like I didn't know how to spend my advertising dollars if I didn't advertise with them. I do not do business with companies that allow that sort of sales tactic!
We have no interest in using Yelp. Have not heard anything good about it.
I don't see it that helpful except maybe for residential small stuff.
In the commercial world its about contacts, relationships, and referrals.
No
Nope, never. I'm skewed a bit in that I have a healthy distaste for resellers of my business that started with Service Magic (now Home Advisor) years ago, went on to Home Depot, the great indoors (now defunct). I'm the commodity you're selling and you're charging me for the thrill. I doubt most consumers of these"free" services know that we pay for it.
The other issue is that a lead only becomes one if it is qualified. Just because you see my name and call my number does not make us potentially compatible. So, if you're looking for a low end bathroom and call me, that's not my niche and I just got to pay for it. Makes no sense.
Advertising on Yelp is a BIG waste of money! I've gotten some customers from Yelp, but not from advertising with them. My customers got my name from other sites, then looked on Yelp to see some of my customer reviews. It doesn't cost anything for people to review you on Yelp.
I think customers stopped trusting Yelp around the time that they started manipulating their review system by allowing contractors to pay. Still, it is a well-known app, particularly for the food industry, and it is a way that people are finding out about services in their area (i.e. does that cafe have a vegan option). Like many free social media platforms, my company does have a free presence on Yelp, with the idea to try to drive Yelpers to my website. My website analytics, show that Yelp isn't good for that. Rather Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are much more likely to bring traffic to my website. Also, in my industry, Yelpers are not likely to make a public review about a private session and tend to leave more meaningful reviews on more annonyous platforms.
Just do the free listing with them ,I haven"t had any luck with them either! Presently I have a website Thru Rheem websuite costs me about $500 a year , which I get coop of half of that back. I don't pay anything else! The thing that drives customers to me is people giving ratings on Google.Make sure you claim your free google business listing and get on google maps. This makes you show up on peoples cell phones. I think they give you 5 headings. Make sure your business Hours are listed a little longer than normal (If your business is closed you want show up On google til you open!