Yelp Lets Me Add New Business Data

Filed in Local Search by Matt McGee on July 29, 2007

I spent some time in St. Louis last week on a client visit. When I got back and settled in this weekend, I decided to head over to Yelp to drop in a couple reviews — one for the hotel where I stayed, and one for the local restaurant where we had lunch.

After I wrote my restaurant review, Yelp asked a simple question: Have additional tips on this business? I clicked the link and was presented with this easy-to-use form asking me for additional information about the restaurant, like price range, parking, delivery, and so forth.

Yelp screenshot

I don’t think this is new on Yelp, but it’s the first time I recall being asked to help add to the site’s basic business data. Yahoo Local does a similar thing, where regular users can add or correct business data — and if enough users agree, a business listing gets updated.

I think this is another potentially good way to improve local business data, which is one of the ongoing sore spots where local search is concerned.

Comments (2)

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  1. Paul Drago says:

    Matt,

    2 things.
    1) There are way better places to eat in Saint Louis. But I am glad you enjoyed yourself in my fair city. (Or at least in the county surrounding the city)
    2) I believe this is a relatively new feature on Yelp– they have a few other changes in the works (Should be coming out in the next month or so) that will really enhance the site and provide a more centralized resource for local information.

  2. Matt McGee says:

    Paul,

    1) No doubt there is. I think we were looking for convenience as much as anything. And a non-chain restaurant.

    2) Sounds cool. 🙂