One of the top Yelp questions I get is “How to Respond to Yelp Reviews?”, so I decided to write a blog to help guide you through what you should do. I’ve said this once… or twice… and i’ll say this again:
If you have a business, you should be on Yelp.
It’s a great way for people to find you! And the best part is that you don’t have to pay to set up a profile and manage it!
I find that most business owners / entrepreneurs have a hard time managing social media, if its Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Yelp. And I get it, its another (sometimes timely) task to take care of. But it’s oh so important.
When using social media and Yelp specifically, you do not want negative reviews to go unanswered. This will look bad for your company and can have a negative effect on your business. So, always respond to negative reviews. I recommend either trying to help the person that had a negative experience or apologizing to them… but DO NOT leave negative reviews unanswered.
Here is a super quick and simple guide to where you need to go to respond to reviews:
Step 1
Log in to your Yelp business account
Step 2
Go to the menu on the left and select “Reviews”
You’ll be sent to the Reviews page, where you can see all your reviews.
Step 3
Press on “Add Public Comment” or you can send a “Direct Message” to respond to a review. I recommend making the comment public so everyone can see that you are trying to help your customer.
Step 4
When you press “Add Public Comment” a box will open up below where you can respond to the reviewer.
Step 5
After you write your comment, press Preview
Step 6
Your comment should show up like the above image. If you like what you see press “Post Comment”
You’ll see a confirmation that your comment was posted.
So remember, always respond to Positive and Negative comments. But especially the negative comments! If you leave it up to Yelp viewers they will most likely side with another Yelp reviewer. If a Yelper sees that you are trying to make a negative situation into a positive then it will look good for you and your business.
Good luck!