No Links to Yelp?

[Carleton Wilkins]

With a few of our clients we have added Yelp icons along with all of their other social media (which all link to the associated pages of course), but I have just read a post that says you should not be linking to Yelp, is this true? I never thought/knew that it could be looked at negatively to just have a Yelp icon on a site.

A Review Handout Alternative: Try P&P To Get More Local Reviews

Here is the snippet where he says it: "It?s important to note: You shouldn?t link directly to your Yelp page. It?s against the Terms of Service for Yelp for businesses to ask for reviews, so a link to your page could get you into hot water. Instead, if you want to push for Yelp reviews, just show the Yelp logo (and don?t link it) along with some text that says something like ?find us on Yelp.? "

Thanks for any help or tips

 

[Linda Buquet]

Hi Carleton, that jumped out at me too but I'm no Yelp expert.

Greg seems to know what he's talking about though. Have you looked at the Yelp TOS?

 

[Blake Denman]

Taken directly from Yelp's Support Center:

How, then, can I get more reviews on Yelp?There are ways to let your customers know you're on Yelp without being overly solicitous. There is an important distinction between "Hey, write a review about me on Yelp," [BAD] and "Hey, check us out on Yelp!" [GOOD]. It's the difference between actively pursuing testimonials and simply creating awareness of your business through social media outlets.
The latter allows consumers to review your online reputation without feeling like they're being forced to write a review. To an established Yelp community member, a reminder of your Yelp presence can act like a dog-whistle prompting them to share their feedback about your business with fellow Yelpers.
Here are some ways to remind customers that you're on Yelp without being pushy:

• Put a badge and link to your Yelp listing on your website using Yelp's review badges - we provide the code, you just paste it into your website. The review averages and counts even update automatically as new reviews come in!
• Put a "Find us on Yelp" sign in your place of business, on the front counter or window. These have even been spotted on business-branded vehicles. You can make your own using our brand assets, or request one from Yelp using this form.
• Include a link to your Yelp business listing in your email signature with the words, "Check us out on Yelp!"

link: https://biz.yelp.com/support/review_solicitation

So you can link to your listing, but you need to separate it out and add wording above the badge/link stating "Check us out on Yelp!" or "Check out our reviews on Yelp!" If you do that, you are abiding by their ToS.

 

[Carleton Wilkins]

Ok awesome, thank you! That is quite the difference from his statement that makes it sound no link at all and just a picture... I will definitely look into their embedded code/icons as long as it's not too large and gaudy