Yelp: Is It Relevant for Your Business in 2025? (US vs. Thailand)

Definition

Yelp is a popular online platform and mobile application primarily known for hosting crowdsourced reviews and information about local businesses. It functions as a combination of a business directory, a social networking site, and a review forum, allowing users to discover, rate, and review businesses across a wide range of categories, including restaurants, bars, shops, beauty salons, dentists, home services, and more.

Users can search for businesses, read reviews accompanied by 1-to-5-star ratings, view photos uploaded by users and businesses, find operational details (hours, location, contact info), ask questions, and share their own experiences. Businesses can claim their free Yelp listing to update information, upload photos, respond to reviews, and track user engagement. Yelp also offers paid advertising products for businesses seeking increased visibility on the platform.

Is It Still Relevant?

Yelp’s relevance in 2025 significantly depends on the geographic market:

Highly Relevant in Core Markets (e.g., USA): In the United States and several other Western countries, Yelp remains a highly influential platform for local business discovery and evaluation. Reviews and ratings on Yelp often significantly impact consumer decisions, and Yelp profiles frequently rank prominently in Google search results for local businesses in these areas.
Low Relevance in Thailand (including Pattaya City): Yelp’s adoption and usage by both consumers and businesses in Thailand are considerably lower compared to its core markets. While Yelp listings for Pattaya businesses exist, platforms like Google Maps/Google Reviews, Facebook (including reviews and local groups), TripAdvisor (especially for tourism-related businesses), and local Thai platforms like Wongnai (particularly for food) are far more dominant and influential in how people discover and choose local businesses in Pattaya.
Niche Usage: Some Western tourists or expatriates in Pattaya who are familiar with Yelp from home might use it occasionally, but it doesn’t represent a significant channel for reaching the broader local or tourist market in Thailand.
Citation Value: From an SEO perspective, having an accurate Yelp listing can contribute as a minor local citation (mention of Name, Address, Phone number), which helps search engines verify business information. However, due to its low usage in Thailand, it’s a much lower priority than optimizing profiles on Google, Facebook, or other locally dominant platforms.

In summary, while globally recognized, Yelp’s practical relevance for customer acquisition and reputation management for most businesses operating *within* Pattaya is minimal compared to other online platforms.

Real-world Context

Dominant Platforms in Pattaya: A tourist looking for a good massage spa in Pattaya is most likely to search on Google Maps, check Google reviews, perhaps look at TripAdvisor ratings, or ask for recommendations on a Facebook expat group, rather than consulting Yelp.
Review Volume Discrepancy: A popular restaurant on Pattaya Beach might have hundreds or thousands of reviews on Google and TripAdvisor, but only a handful, possibly outdated, reviews on its Yelp page.
Business Focus in Pattaya: Local business owners in Pattaya typically prioritize managing their Google Business Profile, responding to Google and Facebook reviews, and perhaps engaging with TripAdvisor or Wongnai, investing minimal effort into their Yelp presence due to low local engagement.
Claiming for Consistency: A newly opened coffee shop in Pattaya might still claim its free Yelp listing primarily to ensure the business name, address, and phone number (NAP) are correct, contributing to overall citation consistency, even without expecting direct customer traffic from Yelp.
Contrast with US Market: In contrast, a similar coffee shop in a major US city would likely view Yelp as a critical platform, actively encouraging reviews, responding diligently, and potentially investing in Yelp advertising due to its high local influence there.

Background

Founding (2004): Yelp was founded in San Francisco by former PayPal employees Jeremy Stoppelman and Russel Simmons.
Growth & Focus: It quickly grew into a major player in the US online local review space, especially strong in categories like restaurants, shopping, and home services. It expanded internationally over the years.
Key Features: Introduced features like its mobile app, check-ins, Yelp Deals, online reservations (through acquisitions like SeatMe), quote requests for service businesses, and comprehensive tools for business owners (Yelp for Business).
Public Offering (2012): Yelp became a publicly traded company listed on the NYSE.
Review Filter Controversy: Yelp has faced persistent controversy over its automated review filter, which algorithmically hides certain reviews based on various signals (reviewer activity, review quality, etc.). Critics have sometimes alleged bias against non-advertisers, claims Yelp has consistently denied, stating the filter combats fake reviews and ensures reliability.
Competitive Landscape: Yelp operates in a competitive space, facing pressure from Google’s deep integration of reviews and local information into Search and Maps, Facebook’s recommendations and reviews, TripAdvisor’s dominance in travel/hospitality, and various niche or regional review platforms.

What to Focus on Today

For businesses considering Yelp in 2025, the strategy should be market-dependent:

For Businesses in Markets Where Yelp IS Highly Relevant (e.g., USA):

Actively manage your claimed Yelp for Business listing: ensure all information is accurate and complete, upload high-quality photos.
Develop a strategy to ethically encourage organic customer reviews on Yelp.
Monitor and respond professionally to all Yelp reviews in a timely manner.
Utilize Yelp’s free tools for business owners.
Carefully evaluate the potential ROI of Yelp’s paid advertising options based on performance data.

For Businesses in Markets Where Yelp has LOW Relevance (e.g., Pattaya, Thailand):

Prioritize High-Impact Platforms: Focus the vast majority of your local marketing efforts on Google Business Profile (optimization, reviews, posts), Facebook (engagement, reviews), TripAdvisor (if tourism-related), Wongnai (if food-related), and other platforms demonstrably popular with your target audience in Thailand.
Claim and Correct Your Listing: Claim your free Yelp listing mainly to ensure your business Name, Address, and Phone number (NAP) are correct for citation consistency. Add basic info and a few photos.
Minimal Ongoing Management: Unless you receive specific feedback indicating customers are actively using Yelp to find you, don’t dedicate significant ongoing resources to soliciting Yelp reviews or managing the profile. Check it infrequently for accuracy or stray reviews.
Avoid Prioritizing Yelp Ads: Investing in Yelp Ads in low-usage markets like Thailand is unlikely to be cost-effective compared to Google Ads or Facebook Ads.

General Advice:

Include Yelp in periodic brand name searches as part of your overall Online Reputation Management monitoring, regardless of your active participation level.

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