Yelp may not have same appeal among consumers it did when it was a hot young startup many years ago, but the company is evolving and it's making your company's presence and reviews in its system more important than ever.
The rating/review service has expanded far beyond its website origins as it now enables users to access its content in Apple products (iOS and OS X across a variety of devices, apps and operating-system-level features), within vehicles (including Volvo, Mercedes Benz and Toyota), third-party apps (Trulia, for example, integrated the Yelp API into its map for users to see what's in a neighborhood) and other startups as well.
Yelp last week announced that more than 100,000 developers have registered to use the Yelp API to integrate its local data into their own products. So, can Yelp compete with the biggest players in local (Google, et al)? With an excellent product and access to that many developers, as well as a commitment to releasing tools that enable anyone to access (and presumably share) the data they need for a digital experience, likely so.
"Yelp is committed to providing a robust and unparalleled local search experience via the Yelp API," said Mike Ghaffary, Vice President of Business and Corporate Development at Yelp.
"Our goal is to make sure that every developer can get what they need in terms of local search and data to build, launch, and improve their apps. Whether tinkering with a side project, launching a new startup, scaling a company, or working at a large public company, Yelp will be a resource for all developers."
