Most contractors wrote off Yelp years ago. But the platform has quietly become one of the most powerful lead-generation engines in the home service space, powered by AI partnerships with OpenAI and Perplexity that are funneling search traffic directly to Yelp listings.
John Wilson sits down with Katy Lightsey, Head of Services at Yelp, to break down exactly how 61 home service leads are flowing through the platform and what 68 contractor lead generation actually looks like in 2025. They cover lead costs, close rates, how Yelp Ads and Request a Quote really work, and why 68 how to get more leads for your home service business may start with the platform you've been ignoring.
What you'll learn:
→ How Yelp generates 10 million home service leads every month
→ Why AI tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity are driving more traffic through Yelp
→ How Yelp Assistant uses AI to match homeowners with contractors
→ The truth behind Yelp's reputation with contractors
→ What every business should do to improve visibility and lead flow on Yelp
→ How Yelp Ads, Request a Quote, and lead pricing actually work
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🔗 CONNECT
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John Wilson → https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnbwilson1/
Katy Lightsey→ Yelp https://www.linkedin.com/in/katy-lightsey-4a137468/
Learn more → https://business.yelp.com/ownedandoperated
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More Ways To Connect with O&O
John Wilson, CEO of Wilson Companies
Jack Carr, CEO of Rapid HVAC
📌 Disclaimer: Some links may include UTM parameters or affiliate relationships, meaning we may earn a commission if you make a purchase. Episodes may feature sponsors, but all opinions expressed are our own.
More Ways To Connect with O&O
John Wilson, CEO of Wilson Companies
Jack Carr, CEO of Rapid HVAC
📌 Disclaimer: Some links may include UTM parameters or affiliate relationships, meaning we may earn a commission if you make a purchase. Episodes may feature sponsors, but all opinions expressed are our own.
10 million leads a month is great.
We're nationwide. That's the thing you gotta remember. The benefit of the Yelp audience is like they're coming to Yelp because they don't actually know where to go. And so they're coming to Yelp to kind of help narrow down what those choices are.
I'm sure lead cost is all over the place, but like what's what should I be expecting? Five dollars?
In some cases, yes. If you're paying out, it's because we're driving you leads. And so it's really just about like not even at the ballgame. How are you gonna play?
Let's hit the elephant in the room. I'm a contractor that's never used yelp. I shouldn't be thinking about it.
So I think there's kind of two big things that jump out of me.
Welcome back to Owned and Operated, a Top 150 U.S. business podcast. I'm your host, John Wilson, and on this show, we unpack how to grow and build home service businesses. Today I'm joined on the show by Katie Leitsey, who leads service operations at Yelp. We have a great conversation on how Yelp is gaining back contractor trust, how AI and search for home service improvement is rapidly changing, and what Yelp is deploying to help businesses drive growth. Thanks for joining us for this engaging conversation. Make sure you like and sub. Katie, welcome to the show.
Thanks for coming on. Hi. Thanks, John. Really excited to be here. Appreciate you having me.
Heck yeah. It's a Wednesday afternoon and we're talking about leads. I'm ready to go.
Talking about leads. Let's get into it.
All right. So you're with Yelp. So can you can you walk us a little bit through your background?
Yeah, so I've been at Yelp for 12 years now. Really, you know, my background's primarily in customer success. And I've really supported businesses from the local mom and pop all the way up to enterprise over my tenure here. And I've spent the last three to four years really hyper focused on our services investment. So Yelp has made a big pivot in the last few years, really investing in tools and tech for services businesses. And I've been, you know, right in the mix on that on the Yelp side to really help drive us forward and take our customer feedback and really implement that into some of our tools and products.
Yeah. I think uh I mean the the big notable one that I can think of was Hatch. Are there any others that I would know of or like what are the other investments?
Yeah. So back in uh 2016, we launched a product called Request a Quote, which essentially allows a consumer to give us a bunch more detail about what kind of service they need and then match it to pros that we know do that job. So before that, we were primarily a search-driven platform, right? So you go on Yelp, you look for a plumber near me, and you see a list of a bunch of different plumbers and kind of have to weed through that yourself. Um our request a quote product was kind of the start of this journey for us at Yelp, where we started to again invest in matching those consumers and pros a little bit more smartly. Um, and then over time, we've just continued to build on top of that. And then most recently, we're really investing in AI tools. I'm sure AI is a hot button topic for everyone in the world right now. Um, but we launched something called Yelp Assistant on the consumer side. So if you're on Yelp and searching, instead of answering a bunch of questions about your, you know, hot water heater that you're looking to get replaced, we're actually going to have an AI conversation with you and let the AI take some of your answers and get a little bit more specific about what your problem might be so we can match you to a better pro.
I we talked a little bit about this off camera, but like Yelp seems like a very like it's very really popular in summer, like maybe not popular, but like uh maybe popular. But like it's prevalent in some areas. Like we have friends in California and Yelp is like a really big part of their business. Um in Ohio, like I don't know how many leads, but it doesn't seem like it's a big lead driver. So like how does geography work with Yelp? I mean, some listeners are like, yeah, Yelp runs my business every day. So how should we be thinking about it?
Yeah, I mean, I think we're definitely West Coast dominant. That's no secret. We started in San Francisco, and so our roots run deep on the West Coast for sure, but we've really continued to see
growth across the United States. And so we've got, you know, businesses working with us, especially at that enterprise level that have the national footprint. They're working with us collectively, right? We have leads coming in from all of the different geographies. It's obviously gonna depend on what specific service you work in and where exactly you're located. But we've got 10 million leads flowing through Yelp every single month in that home services space. Um, and they're not all coming from California. So we definitely are continuing to grow that market and again build tools that allow people to buy leads from Yelp, regardless of where they are.
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Yeah, so um that is a great question. We have done a ton of stuff specific to AI. So not only do we have direct partnerships with OpenAI and Perplexity, like actual data integrations with them, not just a scraping situation. Um, but we are a very frequently cited home services discovery platform on Chat GPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Google AI mode. Um, if you search like Plumbers Near Me through one of those AI platforms, Yelp is cited like 3x more than some of the other uh home service discovery platforms. And so we really are, you know, this massive breadth of consumer information, not only about the business, but actual feedback from customers that use these businesses. And so we're seeing a ton of these AI partners really leverage our data when they're answering questions when you're on again a platform like ChatGPT asking some of these same questions.
Yeah, I would have to imagine that shows up more. I know that uh the have you noticed it changing much like by geography again? I mean if someone's frequently cited in California, then probably matters. I don't know.
Yeah, I don't have that exact stat, but we can definitely circle back if we have any like geospecific. I think we know people are starting to make a shift towards using AI more in their daily lives. And so it's kind of a shortcut, right? Like if your Yelp listing is claimed and you're managing it and you got all your updated information, we know that these platforms are tapping into Yelp as that kind of listing directory platform. Um, and so really managing it on Yelp is going to help you reach all of these AI platforms in kind of a one-stop shop. Um, I know everyone's having a lot of conversations about like how do I make my website optimize for AI and how do I make kind of all of my digital presidents optimize for AI? Um, and we know that Yelp is already a key place where a lot of these players are pulling information from.
10 million leads a month is crazy.
10 million leads a month. We're nationwide. That's something you gotta remember.
Can you give me like context? Like, do you know what the other platforms drive? I I don't know. Like 10 million to me sounds insane. I'm just like, what's the context attached to that?
I don't actually know the I wouldn't be able to cite like a specific competitor. Um, I think we definitely hold up in terms of volume. Yeah, I would assume, yeah. And then again, yeah, it just depends on your your geography and category. Like you're again, you're not wrong in like there are obviously areas where Yelp is used a lot more. Um, but again, like, you know, it only takes one, right? It's like if you get one lead, especially if you're in a service where it's a high ticket order, yeah. One lead a month, you know, is more than paying for if you're running ads, for example, being able to fund that. So um again, like we're seeing a ton of these leads come through. And they're people, they're undecided buyers, right? It's like if you knew who you were gonna call, you're gonna call them.
Yeah.
Or you're gonna go on their website and book an appointment directly, right? Like I think the the benefit of the Yelp audience is like they're coming to Yelp because they don't actually know where to go. They have, they don't have a reliable plumber or HVAC person or electrician, or they've got a really big project that
maybe people they've worked with in the past they don't feel like can take on. And so they're really looking and seeking to find someone new. And so I think that's really where our audience is very distinct, is like people don't know. They don't know who they want to go with. And so they're coming to Yelp to kind of help narrow down what those choices are. Yeah. Um, and being involved on your Yelp page, telling us what services you offer, telling us more about your business is just gonna help us in leads that actually match what you want to drive.
Yeah, that makes sense. So it sounds like uh Yelp today is you guys are trying to play a big part. I mean, you're the request to quote, the hatch thing, like you guys are really like trying to really participate in the ecosystem of we're driving leads to contractors.
Absolutely. Yes. We know that um, like we again, we have people on our platform looking for what services pros do in their area. We know what they need. And I think the you know hatch piece of it is like we also know that you have to compete to win these customers, right? Like they are very often coming to Yelp undecided, but it also means that they're probably shopping around, right? They want to get quotes from multiple businesses, they want to talk to different people, they maybe want a couple people to come out to their property to see whatever the issue is, if it's not an emergency service, of course. That those those are usually the fastest person to the lead is gonna win that job if it's emergency services. But if you think of like bigger ticket items, right? Roof repair, yeah, you know, you're you're you're shopping around. And so really the second step, you know, getting leads is one thing and having the volume of leads, but then it's how do you win those leads? So, how do you actually work those leads to be most effective and like prove that you're the best option for that consumer? Um, and I think that's where Hatch kind of fits into that portfolio nicely with all their AI tech and tools that work leads to to drive, you know, booked appointments and book service ultimately.
Yeah, okay, yeah, makes sense. Um let's hit the elephant in the room. Let's hit it. Contractors and Yelp. They have they don't have a they don't have a love relationship. Well, depending. Depending on, I guess, where you are in the country. It does, it does depend. So can you walk me through can you walk me through like that?
Yes. So I think there's kind of two big things that jump out at me. One, obviously, you know, reviews are a a core piece of what Yelp does. Um, and we, you know, are not a Google or another platform that just lets any review get posted. We really take a lot of time in our review algorithm trying to recommend to consumers the best information to help them make buying decisions. And so that sometimes comes in the form of some chunk of reviews showing on your page, some not. Um, that algorithm is always running and ever evolving. And so, like, reviews can be recommended one day and not another, or vice versa. But really, the intent is like getting enough information about the people writing these reviews to feel confident that we know enough to recommend that information to the community. So that's kind of like a differentiator for Yelp and a lot of why people come to Yelp in the first place, right? They know that not every single review on the page is posted. They know we're taking that extra step to try to give them a more refined set of information. And the review piece, I know, is kind of a is definitely a big piece of um concern and feedback that we hear from customers and and non-customers alike. I think the second big thing is we have invested tremendously in services products specifically in the last few years. So we've had in the last six years 200 additional products. If you, you know, talk to someone at Yelp before 2020 or even the year 2020, which was a bit chaotic for everybody, right? We didn't have a lot of these tools and a lot of these products. Um, and so we've just really invested in trying to make this ecosystem best for consumers and best for pros. So things like Yelp Assistant on our consumer side, which essentially is like an AI agent for you to explain your problem. We know homeowners don't always know what's wrong. Um, there's some weird sound in my wall. Is it a pipe? Is there an animal in there? I don't know, right? And so allowing our AI to kind of have more of a conversation and ask a bunch of qualifying questions really helps us narrow in onto what the problem might be and then match it to a pro in a more effective way. And so again, we're investing tremendously in those products. And so there's been a really big shift in driving leads specifically for what you do in your area. And if you're not on Yelp and you're not engaging because of what it maybe was six years ago, you're just missing out on this marketplace and you're missing out on people that are using Yelp to make their buying decision versus, you know, if they knew it was you, they call you directly.
Yeah. I think the challenge, uh, so I'll like try to give an I'll try to give like well, I'll give our own which I shared with you off camera. I'll give our own experience and then just I think this is the experience a lot of contractors have had. So, like, how should I be thinking about this as someone that spends way too much money every month on leads? How should I be thinking about this, Katie? So I I we haven't I don't know if we actually you should look it up in our file. That'd be kind of funny. I wonder if we ever did pay Yelp. Um we probably did at some point. I mean I just don't remember it. But like in in the late 20 teens, uh, we were like really working on like our online listings and reviews and um we were pushing reviews to like uh Google and um Yelp and I feel I don't even remember what else. Th there were like five or six listing sites, right? Like maybe BBB or something. And uh one of the challenges that we had with Yelp was like the ex example I gave was we sent like 90% of the reviews that we received were hidden. And it coincidentally happened to be like the good reviews. So then we sort of wrote off Yelp until like I have more and more friends in other markets being like, no, Yelp is actually helpful to us. And I'm like, okay, well, maybe I actually have to think about this. Uh but we sort of wrote it off for years because um it didn't really add value and we're hiding all the good stuff. And the perception that we had internally was okay, this is this is clearly pay-to-play, and we're not paying, so we're gonna make us look bad on the internet. So, like, yeah, I I think that's the sort of public contract of perception.
Like, how should they be thinking about it?
Totally. So to bust a meme, Yelp is not a pay-to-play site. And so paying us doesn't change this impact or the how your reviews are displayed on your page. Um, and so just to call that out, I think secondarily though, the more engagement you're having on Yelp, the more plugged in you are to this community and this ecosystem, the better off you're gonna be, right? So if you're responding to those reviews on your public page, you're showing potential customers how you handle critical feedback, how you handle maybe a job that didn't go as well as it could have. Um, and I think that speaks volumes. And I know that Yelp consumers and Yelp users are absolutely cognizant of that and evaluating a business based on how they're responding to some of that. And so we really give business owners a voice in the conversation in that regard. And so taking control of your Yelp page, making sure your information looks good, making sure your pictures and your photos look great, but also engaging with the people that are engaging with you on the platform is really important. But at the end of the day, again, we're really focused on driving leads. And that's where the paying component come in, comes in. So if you're paying Yelp, it's because we're driving you leads, right? And so the more leads you're getting from Yelp, the more likelihood you are to convert those leads. If they're using Yelp to make that buying decision and it's important to them, right? Like those are the consumers that not only Yelp knows a lot about, um, but we also, you know, they value so much the feedback they get from other people in their community on Yelp and are probably more likely to come back to Yelp to share that feedback and share that experience, right? And so it's kind of a cycle, if you will, in a circle. Um, if you're really engaged on Yelp, you're working that platform, you're gonna have a better time in the long run. But the paying component is specifically to drive leads. And because so many of our users are undecided, if you're not at all engaged, you're not going to even be in the in the play for that lead. And it's like if you knew there were leads for what you do in your area coming to your business and you're just ignoring them, that's not great business practice either, right? So, like, how can you engage with Yelp? How can you be a part of the conversation? We give business owners a voice in that way. Um, and so, you know, my advice is to lean into that, show how you handled some of these things in terms of how you're responding to those reviews publicly on your page, and then work those leads and work that channel. Um, and it kind of all snowballs from there.
How does the lead buying part work? Like is it per lead or like monthly or yeah?
So we have um we support businesses of all size. So there's, you know, a mom and pop local business all the way up to the enterprise national footprint businesses. Um and so we've got a bit of a different product suite depending on what kind of size business you are. If you're on the you know, more local, like single owner uh side, we have self-serve cost per click ads that include these request to quote leads. So request to quote is essentially our product that allows a, you know, again, a customer to tell us exactly what their service is that they're looking for, answer some specific questions, right? So, like if we are in an in the HVAC vertical and they're asking, you know, we can ask specific questions about whatever their job is that they're looking for and then match them to a pro that most fits that profile. Um, that request to quote product is incorporated into your cost per click model. So you're actually able to get search ads and those request to quote ads as a part of your um purchase. And then as you scale up, you know, we do a lot more custom pricing, packaging, play with different products. We've got an off-platform product as well where you can target our Yelp audience off-platform in other sites. Yeah. Um, and so there's a lot of kind of product makeshift depending on the size of your business, but we've got something for everyone, um, really with the focus of like driving lead volume for Service Pros.
Yeah. Do you know when we start working with like new lead partners? Uh so we're four locations, three states. And what we'll usually do is reach out to our lead partners and like, hey, what's estimated monthly volume? Like that's data that you guys would have some access to if someone's thinking about this.
Absolutely. Okay. Yes. So our team that our teams that sell Yelp ads to we're again, regardless of size of your business, that's exactly what they're doing, right? They're trying to make sure not only is your Yelp profile set up optimally, but let's actually see what's happening in your market, right? What are the what's the number of leads coming through? What are your competitors doing? How can we help to get you into this uh into the mix? And so they're really recommending like specific packages and pricing and and really helping you understand. Our team is a bunch of experts, right? They talk to local service pros all day long. Um, and so they know what works and they know what doesn't. And they're really, you know, taking the time with each business owner to recommend what's going to be the best fit for you based on where you are and what category you're in.
The start of the question is gonna sound rough. So give me some grace as I go here. Okay. I'm I'm imagining my group of friends and being like, hey guys, uh you should give Yelp a shot. And you can insert Yelp, you can insert like I think everyone has like that one lead partner that they felt did them wrong at some point. Totally. So like it could be Angie, it could be Google. I mean, you could pick a partner, but unfortunately, I'm talking to you today, so I have to pick on you a little bit. Um that's okay. But like, what would the message be so they can like like, hey man, like how how do you restart that relationship?
Yeah, that's a great question. I mean, I think we know that you have to diversify your lead platforms as a contractor. If you're a service pro, like can't put all our eggs in one basket. Yelp has a marketplace, 10 million leads a month in services. You're missing. And so while if you came and worked with Yelp 10 years ago, six years ago, even three years ago, right, we have evolved, we have done a ton of work to really invest in this space. And, you know, a lot of that was taking feedback from our customers on what about our product, you know, wasn't exactly fitting the bill and implementing that into our strategy and our you know product roadmap and really developing tools that we know are important to business owners. And so I would say, you know, give it another chance for sure. And that's probably true for any lead vendor. I think, you know, in this space, everyone's moving really fast. And especially with AI, you know, it's pushing us all to think broader and differently about how leads are gonna go from consumer to pro in the long run. And so, you know, giving Yelp another chance at that, we know the volume is there. Um, and again, like if you're not gonna work that lead, someone else is, and someone else in your market is gonna win it. Um, and so it's really just about like, can't even, you know, if you're not even at the ball game, how are you gonna play? Right. It's like you gotta get into the mix um to be able to tap into some of this. And again, undecided buyers. These are not people. That are like, oh, I'm gonna go with the guy I always use, or maybe someone else. Like, we are primarily people coming because they don't know where to go. Yeah. Um, and so it's just a great opportunity to like have your business be the one that gets in front of them and and sells them really on why you're the best fit for them.
I know what opened up Yelp, like what reopened the conversation for us in Yelp was like, I think you said it earlier, but like AI is referencing it a lot. So suddenly, sort of uh like as a if we saw it as like a review listing site previously, because I don't know that we ever really saw it as a lead site, um, it didn't feel relevant. But today it's starting to feel relevant because um if we were LA, I'm sure that'd be different. But in Ohio, uh, it's starting to feel more relevant because like it's getting referenced more often from chat. Uh any other like,
I know we briefly talked about AI. Any other like takes on how AI is changing local search and like that pro to contract uh homeowner to contractor. Customers today expect to see pricing before they ever reach out. And like it or not, transparency is the new baseline. And homeowners are wanting to understand their options before they even pick up the phone. Instead of fighting that shift, we just leaned into it. That's why we use Contractor Commerce at Wilson. It runs at about $1,600 a month, and we've rolled it across HVAC, plumbing, and electrical. We're using it for generator installs, water heaters, full HPAC replacements, and it is driving real revenue for us. We've had months with $20,000, $30, and even $40,000 in book jobs directly through the platform. In strong months, we're seeing double-digit jobs coming straight from our website. What it really does is it turns your website into like a guided sales experience, and customers can explore options, they can see some price ranges, and by the time they reach out, they're already educated and informed on what they want. If you're looking to modernize your sales process and capture demand that would otherwise bounce, it is worth checking out. Visit contractorcommerce.com and book a demo to see how Contractor Commerce turns your website into a 24-7 sales and qualification engine.
Yeah, I mean, I think we're seeing AI kind of disrupt the entire cycle from start to finish, right? Again, like I talked about Yelp Assistant, where our consumers are engaging with AI to learn more about the project. I think after the leads are matched with a pro, a lot of those pros are using AI to work those leads, right? And so how am I, you know, calling or emailing or texting these leads? And how am I using AI to be really efficient at that as in a business? Um, so we're seeing AI at like all ends of the funnel. And then I think you take the AI players and layer on top that people are just searching in a different way, right? Like maybe you came to Yelp.com before and started your search there, but now you're pulling up Chat GPT on your phone and saying, hey, contractors near me. Um and we know that we are again one, you know, heavily cited in a lot of those platforms. And then we've got, you know, direct uh partnerships with both OpenAI and Perplexity. And so we're continuing to just give that data and you know, be able to for the AIs to answer questions about businesses specifically. It's another tool we launched in the last couple of months as well, where you can go to a business page and like ask AI questions about the business and we can look back at all of the different information that you've given us on your profile over the you know years and the reviews, especially if you're in a market where their volume is really, really high. Um, we're just really using AI to just help people make better decisions and refine, I think, their choices. I think right now we live in such a saturated world where there's so many choices all the time. Like we're like paralyzed by how many choices. And I think AI in many places is really helping us as consumers be a little bit more narrow and deliberate. And so Yelp being a big source of uh data and information in those platforms, you know, it's really a shortcut for a business, right? If your Yelp presence is super buttoned up and airtight, you're gonna benefit through AI channels where we're establishing those partnerships.
Yeah, ours is definitely not. I don't know that I don't know if we've looked at it for a long time.
We should take care of that. We should absolutely chat through how to make that better.
Yeah. Uh like, are you seeing how much? I don't know if you have the data on this, but do you have any data on like how much of your current search is coming from AI versus direct for Yelp leads specifically?
Well, we know that our Yelp assistant project submissions like were up 400% at the end of 2025. So like we're definitely seeing consumers engage with it a ton. Um, we're still in the process of like scaling that up. And so I think when we get to full, you know, fledged day, we can share some of that data. But, you know, people are coming in through various channels, right? There's obviously they're using this AI, some of them are going the more traditional search route. Some of them are know a business that they want to start with, but they're not sure if that's the business. So maybe they're starting off on like a specific contractor's page and then asking to send their information to other pros and get more information. Um, and so it's, you know, there's a lot of consumer choice on Yelp's platform in terms of where they can come and engage, but we're definitely seeing heavy adoption in some of our AI tools on the consumer side, um, which honestly makes it easier for the pros to again, like homeowners are not contractors. You know, like they don't actually know a lot of the times. I can at least speak for myself. Like something is wrong. I don't know what, right? I need someone to ask me 45 questions to be able to determine what, like, who do I actually need? What's even the service pro? Like, there's many moments where consumers don't even know where to start.
Yeah.
And so I think what Yelp does in this kind of Yelp assistant concept is like, hey, we're just gonna ask you a bunch of questions. You're gonna chat with a bot, and then the bot is gonna be able to take all that information and structure it in a way where we can start to match and say, okay, we believe based on all the information we have that you probably need an HVAC person. And so we're gonna match you to pros and HVAC, right? Um, and obviously there's things that are more straightforward than that. But I think in home services specifically, like it can be one thing to a consumer and a completely different job to a pro. And so, how can we be kind of a translator in that journey? Um, is really what we're focused on.
Yeah, yeah, that's interesting. So as you like 400% growth in that product, is that like general? Is that five percent of Yelp? Is it 30% of Yelp? Like how much of it is.
Yeah, we are um have just recently scaled it across platform. So like that stat on the end of 2025, it was focused in home services categories. And so, you know, Yelp is not only home services. We do, you know, represent just local businesses in general. So we've got tons of restaurants, obviously, but retail shops and your local beauty salons, right? We've got you know lots of different and e local business essentially is represented on Yelp's platform. Um, and but we started this in home services because the consumer to pro like amount of conversation and back and forth data to know who's the right pro was the greatest, right? You know, if you're getting your haircut, you know basically what that is, and every everyone's speaking the same language, right? And I think in in the services space, we really had an opportunity to um again take one translate, right? Take someone's information and and match it to a pro on the back end. So um we started in services. So 2025 is very much focused on that home services space, and we, you know, kind of enabled it for consumer searching in those categories, but we've recently scaled that up. So now anyone can go on Yelp and use Yelp Assistant for anything.
Okay, yeah. On the so on this, like sort of the flow we have Yelp Assistant. We're helping to discover like who do we need, what do we need? It's clearly gonna be John in Ohio. Totally makes sense. Uh obviously. They're gonna use Google or AI or something to sort of like land on Yelp. Um and request look can you walk me through the request a quote thing? Like, I'm trying to like I have literally never used Yelp, so like I don't know. What I'm trying to imagine is like the ecosystem is thumbtacks over here, and thumbtack is like the uh like we use thumbtack quite frankly a lot, like I think 30 grand a month or something, and that but it's like made for like the one man show, and then there's like Google, and like there's every you know, there's everything in between, and I'm the request a quote thing reminds me a little bit of thumbtack
where it's like you can get a price immediately.
So basically, request a quote is a product where a consumer answers questions in a vertical about what they need serviced, and then we take those details and we match them to multiple pros.
Yeah.
Right.
And so let's say So is every every lead's a shared lead, just clarifying. I'm I'm learning alongside you here.
No, you're good. Not every lead is a shared lead, every paid lead is a shared lead.
Okay.
Um, but there's someone doing it if they land on your page.
Yes, exactly.
So like if they go to your page, if they already know John from Ohio and they're like, oh, I've found John's page and I'm gonna go on and I'm gonna request a quote from him specifically, they have the choice to just send it to you and not send it to anyone else. Okay. Um, but again, most of these are undecided buyers. They don't actually know where they want to go. And request a quote, it's a bit of a misnomer in that, like, we obviously want you to be able to give a quote if you're in a vertical where quoting digitally with that kind of inform structured information is applicable. We also know that a contractor, like if I'm doing a I'm actually in the middle of a home renovation right now, a full home renovation, like no one's gonna give me a quote with one, you know, very three questions I've answered on Yelp. Two bucks. But what I do, right, what I do expect them to do, right, is respond to me and say, hey, we'd love to come on site and meet with you and talk to you about your project, or let's schedule a call, let's schedule a FaceTime, right? And so it's really more about a messaging platform and connecting that consumer with a pro we know can do that service. And then the pro is ultimately going to go back and forth and engage with that business. So sometimes we're sending a phone number, you can pick up the phone and call them. Sometimes you're communicating with them within the Yelp, the Yelp platform. And so if you're a consumer, I might be in my Yelp app and I have, you know, four different messages from the different pros that Yelp has matched me to, and I'm having a couple different conversations. And so again, the choice begins, right? And so how quickly you respond to that inquiry is like table stakes. Like we know speed to lead is like in any lead space, it doesn't matter Yelp or anything else, right? You got to be quick to the draw. Um, but then like outcome-driven conversations, right? So like I am booking an appointment or booking a consultation or scheduling a time to call you, or I'm picking up the phone and calling you right then and there, right? And so it's really about um getting to those consumers as quickly as possible. Yeah. And then the idea is once that consumers kind of narrow down who they want to move forward with, it kind of happens off of our platform at that point, right? You're communicating directly with these people, you know, and and working to convert them into a customer.
Okay, that makes sense. Would that help explain it? Yeah, it does. Yeah, yeah, it does. So for um and like I'm sure lead cost is all over the place, but like what's it, what should I be expecting?
It's it is all over the place.
Five dollars?
Uh no, yeah. In some cases, yes. Like, I can't say that that's untrue. They're definitely because it's wrapped up with as a part of our ad product as well. Um, you can think of it kind of similarly to cost per click um prices, where maybe you're buying at search ads historically. Um, but it varies by market, it varies by you know category, obviously. Again, we're really working to try to like narrow in on that quality component, right? It's like people will pay more for a lead that like perfectly matches what they do and they have a high likelihood of converting. Um, and so that's again, like kind of the next evolution that we're we're waiting into at Yelp is how do we continue to evolve that space and get better at that matching piece? Um, but the idea is like, yeah, I mean, you're buying ads and leads on Yelp and competing to convert them into a customer. But there is, yeah, there's a world where like you're paying $10 for a click for that lead and that turns into an actual customer for you, right? And if your you know average ticket price is $3,500, like definitely made your money back.
Yeah, yeah, that makes sense. Is there a good sense uh of like close rate? Do you have that information?
Um, I don't have a specific stat on that because again, no, you're not gonna like my answer. Varies by market, varies by geo, right? It's just totally dependent. I think we know for a fact that businesses that have like really strong lead response strategies and tactics have a higher likelihood of converting. And so our businesses that are using, again, some of those AI tools to work these leads, be responsive no matter what time of the day it is, no matter when the inquiry comes in, are definitely seeing more success like right out of the gate in terms of conversion. Um, and then again, I think like what's also important is leveraging AI and being quick to the draw, but then like continuing to connect with people with that human touch, right? You know, like there's a trust thing in services that's really important for consumers. You are having someone come into your home. Maybe someone's gonna be in your home for months on end and like you really want to feel confident in some of those decisions that you're making. And so, you know, taking the time to really sell them on why you are trustworthy and you're the best person to do the work, um, I think absolutely drives more success for businesses on Yelp.
Yeah. All right, what do businesses miss? Like, what should I be doing? I haven't paid attention to my Yelp profile in seven years.
We're gonna make we're gonna make sure you get it.
Well, I'm gonna look it up really quick, actually. Now I'm really curious.
And again, you've been ignoring it. What might surprise you? You don't know. We don't know.
No, it's two stars. That's fine.
Still two.
Okay. You're not paying attention. All right, what should you not engage in? What should I be doing?
So I think if you are not you looking at Yelp today, you're not using it in any capacity, you're ignoring it, you're being like John, you're ignoring it. I think there's three critical things that you can do immediately. Okay. First thing is claim your business page. It is free, it takes minutes. Um, and basically it gives you control over your page, right? And the biggest thing you can do once you're logged into that is complete your information. Like, is the right phone number listed? Is your website up to date with all the right information about your business? Do you have photos of projects you've completed, especially if you're, you know, in more of the remodel space and people want to see, right? Like what work you've been able to do. So take the time and then tell us what services you do and offer. Um, all of that is part of that business profile. And then claiming that free page, you also get access to respond to those reviews. So you can very immediately start to be a part of the conversation and have perspective. And you should respond to every review. It doesn't matter if it's a five-star review or a one-star review. You should take the time to engage with the people that want to engage with you on this platform. Um, and all of that can happen once you claim your business page. So that is like step one.
Got it.
When you're ready to scale and you're ready to tap into that lead volume, those 10 million leads a month, that's when you can get started with Yelp Ads. And Yelp Ads ultimately is gonna drive those leads for what you do in your area. So you can start working them and working to convert them into customers.
Okay. So I have to claim my profile, which I think we did. I our phone number's on there.
If you worked with us at all in the past, I'm sure you claimed it. Maybe you have a new email now. Who knows? You can make sure you get set up.
Yeah, who knows?
We'll get it right.
Okay. So I'm gonna claim my profile. I'm gonna upload some photos. How like how often?
I mean, uh we don't want a blank listing, right? Or we don't want a page with only consumer content. Again, that's where the pro had the the ability to control some of the narrative, right? So you don't have to upload photos every other day. I think, you know, like a restaurant is maybe different if the menu changes once a week. We want to see the new pictures of the menu items. But in home services, just spend some time getting some good quality images on your page to start, and you're probably good if you have a really great job, especially again if you're in the remodel space, like before and afters do wonders for consumers in the market for pros like this. Um, and so if you have a great project down the road, you think, wow, this would probably be really awesome to put on Yelp, come back and upload it. But it's really just about making sure you have something, right? You're putting the content forward. And um, you know, if you're buying from it through our ad program and buying some of our like uh additional platform management tools, you can control what images show and in what order and all the things like that, and really like customize your business profile as well to drive the actions that you're looking to drive for your particular business.
Okay. Uh is there like APIs to connect to like make photos or reviews easier? Or like how's that work?
So photos and reviews are best managed in our Yelp business owners account. But when you get into the lead land, uh APIs are absolutely in play. And so we have a Zapier app if anyone is you know more techie and trying to aggregate leads into a centralized platform. And we have tons of partners in this space as well that are already done the heavy lifting on the API integration, and then you're able to just kind of ingest your Yelp leads into those platforms and work them from there.
Okay. All right, so reputation control, visibility, because we're showing up more, and like we have to we have to engage. I think that's sort of the gotta engage because you go, you're making us engage. I don't love it. I don't love it. We gotta do something.
Am I convincing you yet? Uh yeah, let's get in there.
Yeah, maybe. Most home service companies don't stall because of demand. They stall because they run out of good people. Finding solid help fast is hard, especially in this industry. And that's where Quick Staffers comes in. They help home service companies build reliable virtual teams that actually understand how the trades work. Quick Staffers provides vetted, remote staffed who are already trained on ServiceTitan and use proven SOPs, same as the ones that I use at Wilson. These are VAs you can plug in from day
one to handle customer service, lead follow-up, scheduling support, and a ton more. They've been a huge help in scaling my team without the usual hiring headaches. Check them out at the link below. I'm a contractor that's never used Yelp. Me, John, I feel like I'm at AA right now. Um where would I start and how should it change as I grow? So, right, I have four locations. How should I be thinking about it? Like, where do I begin?
Yep. So again, step number one, claim your page, take control of your profile, manage your photos, tell us what services you offer, get in, get involved in the conversation with the reviews that are posted on your page, publicly respond to all of them. And once you've done that and you feel good and ready with how your page looks and it's representative of what you do, that's when you get started on Yelp Ads. Um, and that's how you tap into those 10 million leads that are flowing through our platform every single month. Um, and so, you know, talking to a Yelp Ads representative, they'll help you understand what is the landscape of your market in your area. Um, you know, recommend budgets and like what's the right place to start. And we see tons of businesses scale from there. And so I think what's really awesome about Yelp is you can be the I have a truck and I started yesterday, and I'm gonna use Yelp to kind of jumpstart my business. And I can grow all the way into, you know, again, those businesses that have a national footprint that are, you know, working across the entire United States. Um, we've got leads for everyone in all of these places. And so you can really kind of custom and scale your budgets up as your business grows.
Well, I appreciate you coming on today. This was a bunch of fun to learn about Yelp. Of course. I have uh never wondered. So now, or I've always wondered. So now I'm gonna bother you a lot directly. I'm pretty sure you said you'd I I'd get your number. So like now I'm I'm gonna annoy the hell out of it.
It is, I am happy to answer questions that you have and set you up with someone that can get everything squared away. Sounds awesome. We'll get it taken care of.
Sounds awesome. I appreciate you uh appreciate you coming on. If people want to hear more or understand more, like where can they go?
Yeah, so um biz.yelp.com is a great place to start if you're a business owner. Um B-I-Z.yelp.com. Um and there's also, you know, you can go on there and then it'll direct you accordingly. So you can get in contact with someone over the phone, you can chat with um folks through that platform, um, and then it can answer a bunch of questions if you've got curiosities before you get started.
Awesome. Thanks, Katie.
Awesome. Thanks, John.
