Yelp Is Ruining My Business
“Help! Yelp is ruining my business!” This is the tearful phone call I get every week. Another struggling business owner, failing, due to an unfair negative review. Feeling helpless, alone, attacked, the emotion coming through the phone line sounds a lot like the rape victims I counseled in college. The same questions: How did this happen? Why me? And worse, why won’t anyone help me?

Why is it my phone that rings? Because I answer the phone when Yelp won’t. I listen when Yelp won’t. And I know, with the right guidance, they can overcome the attack, can regain their confidence and go back to being a rock star business. But for some, there will always be scars, and fear that it could happen again. The disgruntled customer who just can’t be satisfied, the new competitor moving in down the street… always causing a little catch in the throat and a slight flinch… wondering, is today the day it will happen again?

I know I’m going to get a lot of flack comparing Yelp to a rapist, but really, I’m comparing them to the gun the rapist is holding that allows them to commit the act in the first place.

I’m here to tell you, it doesn’t have to be that way. There is a reality where you can life fear free without the risk of sites like Yelp taking all your business away, and causing the phone to stop ringing.

Using Search Engine Optimization, you can ensure that you are on page 1, and yelp is nowhere to be seen. To do that you need a lot of fresh, relevant content, sharable, social, and directed back to your site. And Media attention!

I’m interviewed by the media at least once a week. Three times this week so far! Yesterday somebody said something about this site. I don’t even know where yet because my news clipping service hasn’t sent it. But they did, and 10,000+ new visitors arrived yesterday and viewed an average of 4.91 pages. They were reading about YOU, and your troubles with Yelp. Imagine if that media coverage was about your business. When those new visitors land on your site, what will they find? How long will they stay? And will you be building relationships with them from the moment they arrive?

There is a new book on this subject you should read, You Stock: Increase Sales Conversions by Branding with Personalized Marketing Photography. It’s on Amazon, and today it’s free. The key is to user your face in your branding, you are uniquely you and your competitors will only ever be able to be a paler lesser version of you. So why not use your most valuable asset to build brand trust with your customers?

And for those of you that want media coverage, please Tell Your Yelp Story! The more thumbs up you get, the higher the story will go in the media meter and more likely it will get mainstream coverage. The media is looking everyday for your story, make it easy to find!