Yelp rolls out live support consultations for advertisers

Yelp is rolling out scheduled support consultations for advertisers to ensure their questions are answered in a “timely manner”.

While options like online FAQs, email and chat are effective for many queries, some advertisers prefer the value of speaking with a live representative for more personalized assistance, the platform told Search Engine Land.

The news coincides with reports of dissatisfaction with Google Ads’ support, which has been described as hitting “an all-time low” by frustrated advertisers.

Why we care. If the insufficient support from Google Ads is a concern, considering Yelp as an alternative platform is worthwhile due to the additional help and assistance it offers advertisers.

Scheduled consultations. Yelp now lets advertisers schedule consultations with their customer service team without waiting on hold. This makes it easier for advertisers to connect with customer support and set up consultations at a time that suits them.

What Yelp is saying. Nicole Lund, Director of Local Business Product at Yelp, told Search Engine Land:

• “We want advertisers to be able to get in touch with us as quickly as possible to help answer any questions, without having to wait on hold.”
• “Advertisers are managing a lot and don’t always have time to wait on hold to speak with someone, which means business owners would sometimes delay calling us for the support they needed.”
• “Not only have we heard that scheduled consultations are helping them get their questions answered quickly, but it’s helping to drive more success with their ads as we’re able to help business owners better optimize and adjust their ads when it’s most convenient for them.”
• “We’ve also anecdotally heard that the convenience of scheduled consultations is making their advertising experience even more positive, in turn making it even more likely that they’ll proactively engage on Yelp longer term.”

Yelp’s AI plans. In addition to new support feature, Yelp is increasing its use of AI to offer advertisers additional insights into their campaigns, including AI-powered smart budgets. This new feature utilizes AI to provide advertisers with personalized ad budget recommendations, by taking various unique factors about their business into consideration, such as rating, category, listing age, region, and more.

Google’s approach. While Yelp is enhancing its live support offering, Google has faced criticism for providing inadequate assistance to advertisers. Google acknowledged these concerns to Search Engine Land and said it is investing in AI to improve its advertiser Help Center. However, the search engine notably hasn’t confirmed additional investments in live support, despite advertisers requesting it.

Deep dive. Read Yelp’s announcement in full for more information.