Online reviews have never mattered more. They shape whether a potential customer trusts you, and they directly influence how visible your business is in local search. The question for most small businesses isn't whether to care about reviews, but where to focus.
For years, Yelp was the name people associated with business reviews. Today, the center of gravity has shifted decisively to Google. So let's start where it matters most, then talk about where Yelp still fits in.
Start with Your Google Business Profile
For most small businesses, your Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) is the single most important place to manage reviews. Here's why:
- It's where your customers already are. Most people have a Google account they use for Gmail, Maps, and YouTube, so leaving you a Google review takes seconds. Google is also the most-used review platform: in BrightLocal's research, 71% of consumers say they primarily read reviews on Google.
- It shows up right where people decide. When someone searches for your type of business, your profile appears in local results and on Google Maps with your star rating, address, and contact info, right next to your competitors and their ratings. That rating is often what tips a new customer toward you or away from you.
- You're allowed to ask. Google lets you request reviews from customers (you just can't offer discounts or freebies in exchange). That makes it far easier to build a steady stream of recent, genuine reviews.
If you do nothing else, claim and actively manage your Google Business Profile, and make asking happy customers for a Google review part of your routine. For a full walkthrough, see our guide to your Google Business Profile.
Where Yelp Fits In
Yelp still matters, especially in categories like restaurants, bars, and some home services, where plenty of people search there first. It's worth claiming and maintaining your Yelp page. But treat it as a secondary platform, and understand that it works very differently from Google.
The big difference catches a lot of business owners off guard: Yelp uses automated "recommendation software" that decides which reviews to show and count toward your star rating. Reviews it doesn't recommend still exist on a separate page, but they don't factor into your rating. The software tends to filter out reviews from brand-new accounts that haven't reviewed anything else, which is exactly what happens when a happy customer creates a Yelp account just to review you and never uses it again. That review may quietly get hidden, which is why so many owners feel their Yelp reviews "disappear."
Even more important: Yelp explicitly asks businesses not to solicit reviews, and its software actively tries to detect and discount reviews that look prompted by the business. So the Google playbook (ask every happy customer) is the opposite of what works on Yelp, where you're better off simply doing great work and letting reviews come naturally.
How to Handle Reviews Everywhere
Whatever platforms you're on, a few rules apply across the board:
- Never pay for or incentivize reviews. It violates both Google's and Yelp's policies and can get your reviews removed or your profile penalized.
- Monitor and respond. Thank people for positive reviews, and respond calmly and professionally to negative ones. Other prospects read your responses as closely as the reviews themselves.
- Focus where it counts. For most businesses, that means leading with Google, keeping an eye on Yelp and any industry-specific sites, and not spreading yourself thin across platforms your customers don't use.
Which review channels you prioritize is ultimately up to you and your industry. But for the large majority of small businesses today, the answer starts with Google.
For help managing your online reviews and local marketing strategy, see how we can help. We're here to help you get found online, so you can focus on what you do best.
Reviews are just one piece of the puzzle. See our full guide to marketing your small business online.
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