Yelp: Battle Royale Drudges On…
We have been following the Yelp lawsuits closely at UrbanBacon. As promised, we will occasionally keep you up to date with recent happenings…Check out their blog here for the full story.
This week Yelp decided to change their advertising structure. Businesses advertising with Yelp were previously allowed to highlight their favorite review at the top of their profile. A monkey could figure out why a business would want their best review displayed at top of the page. They are now removing this feature from their business model. Is it too late?
Yelp also filters their reviews. The filters sift reviews that are possibly posted by people affiliated with the business. This is for obvious reasons. Otherwise every business would have their entire family giving them 5 stars. In an attempt to add transparency, Yelp has added a section so users can view what their filters are catching. Now everyone can read reviews that were never posted.
When the lawsuits were brought about, we questioned the future of Yelp. One thing we can say is they are making efforts. Is it too little too late? While they have reached a settlement with these changes, the lawyers are proceeding with the class action suit. They are looking to collect damages which could come at a pretty penny. A scheduled conference has been set for April 26, 2010.
What do you guys think? Is Yelp doing enough to clear their name? Have they lost credibility? Please leave your comments below!
Disclosure: I am a member of Yelp, but am skeptical with their current business practices. As of now, my reviews will stay posted…as of now
Tags: lawsuits, settlement, small business, social media, yelp