The Retail TouchPoints Network

Making Sure Your Business Is Visible On Mobile

By Darnell Holloway, Senior Manager of Local Business Outreach, Yelp

It’s no secret that consumers are turning to their smartphones and tablets to find amazing businesses like yours. In fact, people called businesses through Yelp’s mobile apps 200,000 times a day and generated over 250,000 directions per day in Q4 2013. Given this growing use of mobile devices, have you ever wondered how you stack up against your competition when it comes to capturing the attention of these potential customers?

An easy way to check is by using the Yelp mobile app to search for retail businesses like yours near your current location. Take a look at how your competitors appear on the Yelp app to get an idea of what you could possibly add to your own Yelp listing.

If you need some additional motivation, check out the example below of a Yelp listing that has been fully optimized for mobile.

This business is doing a great job of providing potential customers with:

Vivid photos to help the consumer visualize their experience as a potential customer.
Promotions to entice the customer to choose this particular business.
A correct address and phone number so mobile shoppers can easily call and/or find this business.
Content in the “From this Business” section where the business owner describes their specialities, history, and bio information.

Once you’ve completed your listing, make sure that you’ve also looked over our general tips for a fully optimized Yelp profile to ensure you’re putting your best foot forward for customers who are discovering you across various platforms:

1. Post A Check-In Offer: Posting a check-in offer allows you to attract potential customers who are on the go and searching for your type of business with Yelp’s mobile app. Structure your check-in offer by selecting the offer type from the drop-down menu (percentage off, price off, fixed price, free item) to get started.

2. Describe Your Business: The more information a consumer has when making a buying decision, the better. For those using Yelp’s mobile application, make sure to add your web site, business hours and other basic business information.

3. Publish Photos: No matter what kind of business you own, adding photos is highly recommended. In fact, people searching Yelp to find a business that fits their needs spend two and a half times as much time on a business page with photos as opposed to one without. Headshots, staff photos, your business’ storefront and before-and-after photos are good starting points in showing off the great business you run.