How contractors can use Yelp to grow their business

November 8, 2022

What are people saying about your construction company? What’s the word on the street?

Go to Yelp and find out.

Yelp is one of the largest user-generated review sites on the internet. People go to Yelp and leave reviews for businesses of all sorts: restaurants, auto repair joints, accountants—and, yes, contractors.

It’s word of mouth in the Internet Age.

What is Yelp?

Yelp started in 2004 by focusing strictly on restaurant reviews. It caught on quickly. Everybody was going to Yelp and asking “What should I eat?” It worked so well for restaurants, that the people behind Yelp decided to expand. Yelp boasts 142 million unique monthly visitors a month—generating more traffic than YellowPages.com and WhitePages.com, so it’s a great way to convert prospects into customers.

With trusted local business information, photos, and review content, Yelp provides a one-stop platform for consumers to discover, connect and transact with local businesses of all sizes by making it easy to request a quote, join a waitlist or make a reservation, and make an appointment or purchase.

Yelp has many detractors, though. Many small businesses openly complain about Yelp. “The review filtering is blocking all my good reviews!” some say. Yelp’s review filtering algorithm tries to ferret out “phony” reviews—for example, reviews planted by family and friends.

Also, small businesses have complained that Yelp is overly aggressive in selling its premium services. Some businesses are upset that Yelp doesn’t allow them to ask people for reviews. (What do they allow? They allow you to display your badge/widget on your website and at your place of business. The widget links to your Yelp profile. They also are happy to give you Yelp decals, which you can post on your windows at your place of business.) What’s worse, some businesses complain that unless a customer has used Yelp three to five times in the past, their reviews will never show up!

How Yelp works

Here’s how it works. After visiting any business, customers can rate their experience and leave their comments on Yelp. Businesses are given a star rating of one to five, one being the lowest. Once a review is written, it’s public and open for everyone to read. The idea is to help people to make educated decisions based on the completeness and conviction of the reviews combined with the credibility of the reviewer. These reviews are what is known as “social proof” in the world of digital marketing. The reviews allow customers to tell their side of your story—unfiltered—showing you’re a good choice for their next construction job.

First off, create—or “claim,” to use Yelp’s lingo—your business page on Yelp. You may find you already have a page! Customers are allowed to create pages for businesses they want to post a review about. To claim your business page, enter your company’s name into Yelp. Yelp will search its database for your business. If you already have a listing, you can claim it. If it doesn’t, just click “Add to Yelp for free.”
Now it’s time to “optimize” your Yelp page by filling in all your business details, such things as address, phone, hours, email address. You can also add photos—both of your storefront and of finished projects! Then categorize your page. There are 22 main categories and hundreds more subcategories on Yelp.
Complete your “About Your Business” section. This is a way to get that “extra” information in that shows how you separate yourself from the competition. You have 1,500 characters to explain to prospects that you’re the go-to local contractor.
People can find almost any type of local business on Yelp. They use the search bar near the top of the Yelp homepage to search for key terms (e.g., burger, plumber, delivery/takeout or the name of a specific business). Also, they use the location bar to set the geographic region they want to search (e.g., city, neighborhood or your current location). Yelk then displays the businesses that best match the person’s search term. The more positive reviews you receive, the higher your ranking in this list of results. The higher the ranking, the more it says “This business is the best.” For example, here’s the results page for “contractors-remodeling” in Grand Rapids.
Respond to reviews. The reviews on Yelp help you understand what customers think of your business. You can respond to customer reviews, both positive and negative, through a private message (this is best with a negative review) or by posting a public comment that everyone can see. What should you do if you get a negative review? First off, don’t take it personally. Use the review as an opportunity to avoid making the same mistake twice. Most people will reverse their review if they feel the company has responded to their review professionally.
A basic Yelp page is free but the platform also offers premium features. For example, for a dollar a day, you can add a Call To Action button, inviting visitors to book an appointment or obtain a quote. Also for a dollar a day, your can remove the “You Might Also Consider” section, which features links to your competitors.

Wrapping up

The goal of contractor marketing is to position yourself as the expert you are in your service area. In today’s competitive business environment, with online searching becoming the prevalent way of finding service companies, the new “word-of-mouth” referral method has become online reviews via Yelp. Consumers searching for home-service contractors are finding Yelp reviews especially helpful in making selections. If your business isn’t being represented on Yelp, you are at a disadvantage. In fact, to illustrate the impact star ratings have for businesses, Entrepreneur.com cited a study showing one out of three customers were dissuaded from patronizing a business when there was less than a 4-star rating. Get started on Yelp today!

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A group of construction workers wearing hard hats and safety vests are smiling.

Overcoming Common Challenges in Urban Commercial Construction

March 27, 2024

Urban commercial construction brings a whole set of challenges that contractors in the suburbs and rural areas never have to consider. But revitalization is extremely important for urban cores to survive and thrive, so these projects can be quite lucrative. Here are some common difficulties, along with tips to overcome them and remain on good terms with the neighbors. Tight Spaces In urban areas, there simply isn’t as much space to move around. You might have difficulty getting some of your heavy machinery to fit, or your subcontractors could be trying to paint an apartment the size of an average broom closet. Rise to the challenge by thinking outside the box. Carefully survey the entire space before you get started, and develop a detailed project plan in advance. Be sure to include entry and egress routes, alternative ways of getting things done, and even subcontractor schedules that minimize the number of people working in the same space at the same time. Local Regulations Many urban areas have byzantine construction regulations that are confusing and hard to follow. Take the time to research these regulations and understand what you need to do. Then, boil it all down into a simple, easy-to-read document that you distribute to everyone involved. Get to know the local authorities and find someone whom you can call whenever you have questions or concerns. Make sure your team members are ready to pivot if you find out that you missed or misinterpreted something significant. Always have a backup plan. Community Engagement Transparency can go a long way toward getting the local community on your side. Let people know what you’re working on and how it will benefit them. Explain why the project is happening, how long it will take, and whether it will impact their costs (such as taxes). If you’re redeveloping a historic building, be especially sensitive to the concerns of preservationists and meet with them separately to explain your plans. Noise Control You won’t endear yourself to the local community if you’re making a lot of noise when residents are trying to sleep. And remember, even if you’re working on an office building, there could be luxury apartments right next door. Use sound baffling measures to reduce noise. Whenever possible, work during daylight hours. Minimizing Disruptions No matter how careful you are, urban commercial construction projects are inherently disruptive to the neighborhood. But you can mitigate this with careful planning. Try not to block streets during morning or evening rush hours. Be considerate of any upcoming local events. Do your best not to interfere with vehicular or pedestrian traffic patterns. When you do need to create a blockage, be sure to put up signage and work as quickly as you can without compromising safety. Need a Skilled Trade Professional? At Great Lakes Skilled Trades, we specialize in connecting contractors with professionals in the skilled trades throughout the Great Lakes region. If you need a skilled tradesperson, learn more about our services, and then contact us today!