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State of the Industry, Digital Marketing Part Four: Yelp Pages

This is Part Four of our in-depth analysis into the veterinary industry’s digital marketing. To benchmark the industry and its use of best practices, we analyzed the digital presences of 1,000 accredited veterinary hospitals around the country. We chose to look at accredited hospitals because their hospitals range in size and because we believe they are the best veterinary hospitals in the country. All hospitals reviewed serve companion animals; we did not include equine, emergency or specialty hospitals. Our study is the largest, most comprehensive and most in-depth study ever completed in the veterinary field. All checkpoints were based on yes or no questions. We used only fact to build this study—no judgments. We also broke this data down by the marketing provider, so we could see how veterinary service companies score when it comes to getting their veterinary hospitals up to speed in the digital space. We’re presenting it here to show all veterinary hospitals where they can look to improve their digital game. Our four-part series will cover veterinary websites, Facebook, Google, and Yelp. In the final part, we’re looking at Yelp pages.

Veterinary Yelp Business Pages

After we analyzed hospital websites, Facebook pages and Google pages, we researched Yelp. With 142 million unique users per month, Yelp is a powerful tool for gaining new clients and managing your reputation. Similar to Google, Yelp thrives on customer reviews and claiming your Yelp listing, which allows you to personalize your page and make sure your content is relevant. You can also use Yelp ads to grow your hospital and target customers who you usually wouldn’t reach. Much like your website, Facebook page and Google page, it is essential to properly utilize the tools offered by Yelp to maximize your hospital’s online presence.

82.2%

822/1000

Had Claimed Their Yelp Business Listing 100% of iVET360’s tested clients met this requirement.

Claimed Yelp Business Listing

It is important to claim your Yelp page so you know that you are updating your hospital’s listing rather than some stranger or competitor. According to Yelp, “On average, businesses with complete profiles receive five times more customer leads per month.” With a claimed Yelp page, you’ll be able to update business information, respond to reviews, add photos and maximize your SEO. A thoroughly completed page will give people more information, which will help in gaining trust and increasing your clientele.

11.9%

119/1000

Were Utilizing Yelp Ads 17% of iVET360’s tested clients met this requirement.

Yelp Ads

Yelp Ads are an additional way to highlight your hospital. These paid ads are targeted towards consumers who search for a business like yours, and they help drive users to your Yelp page. Ads get promoted across all Yelp platforms including desktop, mobile website, and the mobile app. Along with appearing in all relevant search pages, they even show up on competitor business pages. Options for Yelp Ads include restricting competitors’ ads, having an editable slideshow of your best photos and adding a call to action button on your business page which will take clients directly to an order form, coupon image or other custom landing page on your website.

5%

50/1000

Had A Yelp Check-in Offer 84% of iVET360’s tested clients met this requirement.

Yelp Check-In Offer

Yelp Check-In is a smart marketing option that provides incentives to loyal customers to check-in to your hospital on Yelp. When clients use the check-in feature on the mobile app, this broadcasts to their friends that they’re at your business. To encourage these check-ins, businesses can create special offers such as a discounted price, free item or a percentage off to reward client loyalty—these offers can be added or removed at any time. Yelp Check-In features measurable results including viewing the number of check-ins to your business and keeping track of the number of redeemed offers.

23.35

Average Number Of Reviews On Yelp

53.29

Average Number Of Reviews On Yelp For Businesses Also Using Yelp Ads

iVET360’s tested hospitals average 47.18 reviews.

Yelp Reviews

Yelp reviews are a powerful tool for your hospital’s search rankings. The more reviews you have, the better your search results will be. Yelp relies on an algorithm that dictates which reviews appear and the order of their appearance. This algorithm depends on how active the reviewer is, and takes into account factors such as number of reviews written by the user and whether or not they have a picture on their account. Yelp also strongly advocates against asking your clients for reviews, and monitors this. There are however, ways to encourage your customers to pen reviews. You could add a Yelp button to your website that prompts returning customers to review, or you could add the Yelp Review button to your email signature. Additionally, you could inform clients that you are on Yelp by posting something in your storefront. As stated earlier, the more reviews you have, the better your search results will be, which will affect your traffic and hospital’s success.

To receive your veterinary hospital’s score, contact iVET360 utilizing the form below and tell us your hospital name, website, and email address, and we’ll provide an all-inclusive digital report for your hospital for free within 24 hours.

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