Yelp's "Best 10" lists?

[j_holtslander]

Can anyone tell me more about how Yelp generates their numerous "Best 10 ______s in _______" pages?
They all include paid advertisers at the top of the pages. Is that all it takes for the page to be generated?
What paid option in Yelp results in this?

Trying to find more info on "Yelp's Top 10"s on Google is an exercise in futility.

 

[Colan Nielsen]

Hey @j_holtslander The Yelp Best Ten.. subject came up at the recent LocalU. I haven't spent a whole lot of time analyzing them but the consensus seemed to be that reviews were the main influence that determined which businesses get included.

 

[adammaxum]

ditto colan

reviews on yelp influencer you're rankings within yelp...

you can also rank your own yelp listing for keywords and your brand name with link building strategies but that's more advanced.

if you're asking how yelp creates the pages themselves...they just take businesses that are listed on yelp and create these top 10 pages to dominant the search results...using their website authority, it helps all these top 10 pages rank for keywords in each of the markets you see them in.

 

[JoyHawkins]

you can also rank your own yelp listing for keywords and your brand name with link building strategies but that's more advanced.

You're referring to ranking on Google right? I just wanted to clarify if having links to your Yelp page helps it rank better in Yelp's search results and top 10 pages.

 

[adammaxum]

Hey Joy,

I was referring to within the Google search results. I've never heard of Yelp basing rankings on outside factors, but I wouldn't know for sure.

 

[davidmihm]

AFAIK these pages are purely an SEO play on Yelp's part. Isn't it just their standard algorithm with 'Best' in the Title?

 

[JimFranco]

I rank number 1 for my cleaning business in my town while there are big competitors underneath me. I have like only 2 reviews. I did build some backlinks to my yelp profile and has been on there for many years.

Maybe age or backlinks help ? I know I do not have reviews really that are not filtered out.

 

[j_holtslander]

I rank number 1 for my cleaning business in my town while there are big competitors underneath me. I have like only 2 reviews.

How many reviews for the competitors?

 

[JimFranco]

the two below me has 15 and 170

 

[j_holtslander]

the two below me has 15 and 170

Oh now that’s interesting!

 

[JimFranco]

Oh now that’s interesting!

I also rank in top 5 at varying degrees in the towns around me

 

[chrish]

Found this post while researching and wondering if anyone else has thoughts here? The specific query I'm looking at is "custom jewelry denver". One of the listings has 1 review, one has 3 reviews and one isn't in Denver (it's in a suburb, Arvada). Here's the page ranking #1 organically: Top 10 Best Handmade Jewelry in Denver, CO - Last Updated July 2019 - Yelp

Don't really see anything else that sets the listings apart from one another.

 

[Rich Owings]

Recency of reviews perhaps?

 

[CraigJMount]

I'm pretty sure sites like Yelp & Trip Advisor use systems with exponentially weighted moving averages. Which in this case would mean review frequency over time.

I'm sure there are other factors for Yelp lists like keyword usage within reviews, reviews left by the site's "Yelp Elites", and behavioral signals of users on a profile page.

But again I'd wager that most reviews over a period of time is the key signal.

 

[Stefan Somborac]

I rank number 1 for my cleaning business in my town while there are big competitors underneath me. I have like only 2 reviews. I did build some backlinks to my yelp profile and has been on there for many years.

Maybe age or backlinks help ? I know I do not have reviews really that are not filtered out.

All the ideas about reviews (frequency, recency, keywords, left by "Yelp Elites", etc.) seem like reasonable assumptions.

How about something a little less "organic": have you ever paid for some form of Yelp advertising?

Wondering if perhaps money influences these Top 10 pages.

 

[CraigJMount]

@Stefan Somborac I have a strong suspicion advertising has no direct benefits, but indirect benefits. If you advertise you're more likely to get reviews, which would indirectly lead to rank through the methods mentioned.