Your Yelp business page: what to fix first

Short answer: Claim the page first, because only a claimed page lets your own edits go live directly. Then fix hours, categories, services and photos, start answering reviews publicly, and stop asking anyone for Yelp reviews, since Yelp's software filters reviews that look requested. Leave the ads decision for last, once the free page is accurate.

Most owners open Yelp for the first time because something is wrong: old hours, a review that vanished, a competitor's ad sitting on their page. The fixes below run in the order that pays off fastest, and every step is something you can do from the Yelp for Business website or app in an afternoon.

Priority 1: Claim the page (or find out who already did)

Search for your business at biz.yelp.com or in the Yelp for Business app and follow the claim flow; Yelp walks you through phone verification and account setup. According to Yelp's support page, if there is no claim option, one of two things is usually true: somebody already claimed it (a former manager or an agency, more often than not) or the listing was only recently submitted and is still pending approval. If phone verification fails, Yelp prompts you to file a report with its support team.

Two details owners miss:

Claimed pages can lapse. Yelp says a claimed page may show as unclaimed again after a period of inactivity. Log in every few weeks, even when nothing has changed.
Extra locations are added from one account. In Account Settings, under Additional Options, "Add another location" keeps every branch under one login instead of separate accounts nobody remembers.

Priority 2: Make the basics correct

Hours, including the odd days

Yelp's help center says you can change hours as often as you need, set special hours for single days, and mark the business as temporarily closed with a reopening date. Its support page also notes that a temporarily closed page may appear lower in search results, so use that switch only when you truly aren't serving customers (no takeout, delivery or virtual services either), and switch it back the day you reopen. Because a claimed page's updates come straight from the business, they take effect immediately.

Holiday hours are the classic gap. If your website says "closed December 26" and Yelp shows normal hours, a customer drives over and writes about it.

Categories and services

Edit these under Business Information, then "Categories and services". For some categories Yelp also offers a Services list, and Yelp says it may use that list to recommend your business more accurately in searches. If you only do emergency plumbing, or you don't do kitchen remodels, the services list is where you tell Yelp, and it is the cheapest lead filter you will ever set up.

Photos

Upload real photos of the storefront, the work, the team and the space. Know the limit: on a free account you can add photos but you can't reorder them. Yelp decides the order using signals such as community votes and how recent a photo is; reordering into a slideshow is tied to its paid advertising packages. So the practical move is quantity and quality: a handful of good, current photos makes it more likely a good one ends up first.

Priority 3: Handle reviews the way Yelp's filter works

Respond publicly first

Yelp's own guidance is to start with a public Respond, which shows under the review for anyone reading the page, and use Direct message as an extra when you need to sort something out privately. To respond at all you need an approved profile photo and an approved business account name, so set those up before the first critical review lands. For four- and five-star reviews there is also a quick "Thank" button, though Yelp itself says a personal reply is better.

A workable routine for critical reviews:

Wait an hour before writing anything.
Thank them, name the specific problem, and say what you changed or offer a way to talk.
Keep it short. Future customers read your reply more closely than the review.

Stop asking for Yelp reviews

This is the rule that catches most owners out. Yelp's support page on not asking for reviews says reviews that seem prompted or encouraged by the business may not be recommended, and it lists what to avoid: asking customers, mailing-list subscribers, friends or family; staff competitions to collect reviews; asking for a review after a survey or contact form; and offering freebies or discounts in return. A "Review us on Yelp" card at the register works against you.

Why good reviews disappear

Reviews that Yelp's software doesn't recommend sit in a separate section and don't count toward the main rating. Yelp lists reasons such as reviews from less active users, reviews that look unreliable (for example several from the same IP address, which a shop tablet would cause), and reviews that suggest bias, like ones from the owner's friends. Yelp says the system is fully automated, that no employee can override it, and that it treats advertisers and non-advertisers the same. You can't appeal your way out of it; you can only stop doing the things it filters.

Priority 4: Decide on Yelp Ads, last

Ads only make sense once the page converts. Yelp's cost-per-click program, as its help article describes it, charges per click at a price that moves with demand and competition, doesn't spread spend evenly across the month, and won't charge more than the monthly budget you set. Before you sign, check the current terms on Yelp's own pages and decide how you will measure leads, for example a dedicated form or phone number you can count.

Question	If yes	If no
Do people in your category actually search Yelp in your area?	Test a small budget	Spend on your own site and Google profile
Is the free page complete, with recent photos and replies?	Ads can amplify it	Fix the page first
Can you tell a Yelp lead from any other lead?	You can judge the test	Set that up before spending

FAQ

Can I delete my business from Yelp?

Not simply by asking. Yelp pages exist whether or not the owner claims them, which is exactly why claiming and correcting yours matters.

Why does my page show a competitor's ad?

Yelp's ad system places ads on relevant pages, including other businesses' pages. Its business site lists placement on search and competitors' pages as an ad feature, so a well-kept free page is your main defense.

Is it fine to put a Yelp link in my email footer?

A neutral "find us on Yelp" link is different from asking for a review, but Yelp's guidance is strict about solicitation. Keep it passive and never pair it with a review request.

Do Yelp reviews affect my Google results?

They are separate platforms with separate review systems. Treat Yelp as its own channel and keep your name, address, phone and hours identical everywhere.

If your Yelp page, website and Google profile keep telling customers three different stories, we can line them up into one.