Yelp Empowers Multi-location Brands with New Features and Enhanced Tools

Yelp announced today its Summer Ad Product Release, designed to deliver greater value to multi-location service businesses and national brands through a series of  new features and updates. This latest rollout includes tools for multi-location service businesses to generate and manage high-intent leads, such as the newly introduced Request a Quote for Brands with a new Leads API, and the extension of Yelp Guaranteed, Verified License, and Portfolio to national service businesses. Additionally, Yelp has expanded its offering for national advertisers with new and enhanced ad formats and measurement tools, including Spotlight video ads, Yelp Audiences for audio and connected TV platforms, and a new conversion API that improves advertiser measurement.

Enhancing Lead Generation for Multi-Location Service Brands

Yelp’s Summer Ad Product Release aims to revolutionize how multi-location service brands generate and manage leads. Craig Saldanha, Chief Product Officer at Yelp , told Street Fight “Yelp has long been committed to providing multi-location advertisers with innovative products and features that enable them to reach and engage our high-intent audience at the local level.” This commitment is evident in the expansion of Request a Quote, now available for multi-location brands, allowing them to better reach Yelp’s high-intent consumers and manage leads across all their locations within their existing customer management tools.

Key Features for Service Brands

• Request a Quote for Brands: Initially introduced in 2016, Request a Quote is now available for multi-location brands. This feature enables national service businesses to manage leads within their existing customer management tools through Yelp’s new Leads API, eliminating the need to manage leads from multiple Yelp pages.
• Yelp Guaranteed: As part of the Request a Quote for Brands suite, Yelp Guaranteed offers up to $2,500 back if something goes wrong with a customer’s project. This program is now available for eligible projects with national services businesses that advertise and activate Request a Quote in popular categories.
• Verified License and Portfolio: National service businesses are now eligible for Yelp’s Verified License program and Portfolio feature when they enable Request a Quote. Verified License helps consumers find businesses with valid trade licenses, while Portfolio allows businesses to showcase their specialties through a photo collection of projects.

Early adopters of these features have already seen significant benefits. “As we aim to attract more potential customers interested in moving services, Request a Quote has become an important part of our lead generation strategy,” said Ross Sapir, President of Roadway Moving. “Yelp’s Leads API enhances our ability to manage leads from Yelp by enabling direct communication with our customers across multiple locations and managing these relationships in real time. This streamlined process makes it easier for our sales team to use, and ultimately drives more business.”

Expanded Ad Formats and Measurement Tools for National Brands

Yelp’s Summer Ad Product Release also introduces new and enhanced features for national brands, helping them reach and engage high-intent audiences more effectively. The company has expanded Spotlight Ads video placements, introduced Yelp Audiences for audio and connected TV platforms, and launched a new conversion API.

Key Advertising Features

• More Spotlight Ads Placements: Yelp expanded Spotlight Ads video placements to appear within the Yelp business page photo grid, a highly trafficked destination. Originally launched in 2022 on Yelp’s home feed, these video and photo Spotlight Ads have proven effective for national location and non-location-based businesses.
• Yelp Audiences for Audio and Connected TV Platforms: Yelp Audiences now have an extended reach on connected TV (CTV) and audio platforms. Audio ads enable advertisers to reach more consumers on streaming music platforms and podcasts, while CTV offerings have been made more cost-effective without compromising on premium inventory sources, including platforms like Hulu, Disney+, and Paramount+.
• New Conversion API: The new conversion API (CAPI) offers advertisers with national brands a more accurate way to measure the value of Yelp Ads while future-proofing their measurement strategy. CAPI allows brands to analyze any conversion from lead to transaction, providing a comprehensive measurement solution without relying on cookie signals.

Early results from these enhancements have been promising. “When we measure our return on ad spend from a last-click perspective, we’re about 2x to 4x on Yelp,” said Paul Baumgarthuber, Chief Marketing Officer at LaserAway. “When we matched the data to understand how Yelp Ads influences our customers, we’re at about 8x return on ad spend using Yelp’s conversion API product.”

Paul Baumgarthuber told Street Fight, “LaserAway has a unique relationship with Yelp users because they come to the platform with a clear purpose: to research and educate themselves about their needs. By the time they reach LaserAway as a destination, they’re well-informed and ready to make a purchase. This makes Yelp users particularly valuable to our business. When we analyzed our data using Yelp’s CAPI product to understand how Yelp Ads influence our customers, we found that 60% of our new customers viewed or clicked on an ad before making a purchase.”

This Summer Ad Product Release from Yelp, continues to deliver on the company’s commitment to to support multi-location, national brands looking to connect with consumers and optimize their marketing strategies in our ever-changing digital landscape.. In our conversation with Craig Saldanha he stated “through streamlined lead management, as well as our expanded offering of advertising solutions and measurement tools, Yelp is empowering national businesses to thrive and delivering more value to advertisers, while helping consumers make informed decisions with confidence.”