What Are Yelp Ads For Auto Shops? We Explain. 

Yelp Activity Numbers That Matter For Automotive Companies

If we’re going to talk about monetizing Yelp for your automotive business, we need to mention the massive number of people using Yelp every day and why.

• Eighty-one percent (81 %) of consumers searching online for automotive businesses turn to review sites.¹
  • Ninety-two percent (92 %) of consumers searching Yelp for auto service providers make a purchase after using the platform.²
  • Unlike deal sites, 80 percent (80%) of Yelp customers are looking to make a long-term relationship.³

These numbers are why Yelp ads present a major opportunity for certain automotive businesses.

Keep reading to learn which kinds of auto facilities might be best suited to take advantage of Yelp marketing (and which ones should steer clear of Yelp ads).

Now let’s talk Yelp ads.

When people search Yelp for an automotive service or product in their local area, Yelp serves up a list of local businesses that meet that category requirement.

The Yelp business profiles with the best average star rating are listed at the top of the “organic” search results (called “All Results”), and at the bottom of the list are companies with the lowest average star rating.

Ads show at the very top of the page, under “Sponsored Results.”

Yelp allows companies paying for Yelp ads to have their Yelp profile and star rating pushed to the top of the search results.

For example, a quick lube won’t show up in a brake repair search unless they have the “Auto Repair” category on their Yelp profile.

A shop that focuses only on oil changes will typically only have the “Oil Change Station” category at the top of its profile.

There is a major advantage in appearing at the top of the search results:

• Beating the competition: If your competitors have a better star rating and reviews, then Yelp ads can give you a fighting chance at getting in front of people searching for your services and not being pushed to the bottom pages of organic search results because other companies rank higher on Yelp.
• Standing out in a large crowd: If you’re in a large market where numerous competitors appear in searches for your services and users have to wade through a number of pages of search results to find your company, then Yelp ads help you jump to the front of the long line to get exposure to Yelp users.

Don’t have a great Yelp star rating?

If your Yelp profile currently has a 2 star rating or less, please read here: If you don’t have a great star rating (at least a 2.5), we strongly recommend these specific review management strategies to help you begin to build your reputation on Yelp back up before you spend money on Yelp ads.

If your star rating is 2.5 or higher, please keep on reading here: Yelp ads also help auto shops appear in the areas where users are showing serious interest.

When Yelp users request a quote from a business from the “Request a Quote” button on a Yelp business profile, Yelp shows the user other competing businesses (Yelp advertisers) from whom they can simultaneously request a quote.

Yelp allows advertisers to have their ad appear on the business profile of non Yelp-advertisers. (If you haven’t taken the steps necessary to remove competitors from your profile, then yes, we are referring to the other competing businesses who appear on your Yelp profile now. This can be done by investing in an Enhanced Profile feature on Yelp.)

So, we covered what Yelp ads do. The next step to getting a full understanding of how Yelp ads work to make money for auto businesses that are best suited for Yelp advertising.

Here’s The Most Critical Thing To Know About Yelp Ads And Your Yelp Profile

Now that you’ve learned the ins and outs of Yelp ads, there’s a super important factor in deciding if Yelp ads are for you. It’s the type of service you offer.

Since Yelp ads are served at the category level, they are best for auto businesses that offer general auto repair. If you offer your services to a small subset of vehicle owners, then you maybe at a disadvantage when you advertise on Yelp.

Take the example profile in the image. The label under the business name says “auto repair,” but this is a German vehicle service provider with a very specific type of customer. – people who drive German cars. So, not just any Yelp user looking for car repair can use this shop.

However, when they advertise on Yelp, they will show up for every “auto repair” search and are likely to waste their money from clicks received by non-German auto owners as well.

This is why we have curated a list of auto service business types that are likely to benefit from Yelp ads. We hope this will save the rest of you some money!

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Already know that Yelp Ads can work for your automotive business?

If you operate a general auto repair business or have downloaded the list and confirmed that Yelp ads could work for your shop, then we recommend that you read the following article:

¹Source: Nielsen survey for Yelp, 2016.

²Source: Nielsen survey for Yelp, 2016.

³Source: Nielsen survey for Yelp, 2016.