Users can seamlessly request quotes with detailed project descriptions and schedule consultations, while Nearby Jobs lets professionals pick the projects they want
SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Yelp Inc. (NYSE: YELP), the company that connects people with great local businesses, is building on the success of its Request-A-Quote product by evolving it into a seamless end-to-end hiring experience for home, local, automotive and professional services. As part of the new hiring experience, Yelp is expanding and revamping new guided questionnaires for Request-A-Quote to an additional 100 business categories in the coming months to help better match the right professionals with the most relevant projects, as well as giving consumers and businesses an easy way to schedule appointments right from the Yelp platform. Yelp is also introducing Nearby Jobs, a new paid product that gives professionals an effective way to proactively grow their business and get in front of more people looking to hire pros like them. The new experience is part of Yelp’s modernized new design, which makes connecting people with the right provider easier than ever.
First introduced in 2016, Yelp’s Request-A-Quote was initially built to facilitate direct communication between consumers and business owners. Since then, Request-A-Quote has helped hundreds of thousands of businesses generate more leads, while giving consumers a way to get things done quickly and efficiently. Within the last year*, an average of 45,000 new businesses adopted Request-A-Quote each month. In 2019, more than nine million projects were created by consumers and more recently, in June 2020, Yelp saw more than 900,000 projects generated. The new hiring experience is a reflection of Yelp’s investment and commitment to the services industry, with home and local services the company’s largest and often fastest-growing segment.
“Even in the midst of a pandemic, home and local services have proven to be resilient and an essential part of the local economy with more than four million projects created on Yelp in the first half of 2020,” said Vivek Patel, chief product officer at Yelp. “As service professionals look to gain greater control over their business, perhaps now more than ever, Yelp’s reinvented hiring experience digitizes an industry that typically relies on antiquated tools. We are focused on creating a platform where established and newer businesses can succeed and proactively grow their business. Today is a significant step toward our long term strategy of doubling down on and innovating the home and local services industry.”
A New Hiring Experience for Home and Local Services
Yelp is reinventing the hiring experience with new functionality to better match jobs with the right pros, and make messaging between a consumer and business a seamless and effortless part of the experience — while bringing it to more categories across the Yelp platform. Building on the success of Request-A-Quote, Yelp is introducing:
- Updated questionnaires rolling out across 100 categories: When a consumer begins the hiring process by requesting a quote, appointment or consultation, Yelp will ask a handful of tailored questions to help better describe their project or task. Oftentimes, people are unsure of the type of information service providers need to evaluate their job. This new feature takes the guesswork out of the equation and ensures business owners are armed with the right information they need to respond with accurate pricing or timing estimates. These improved questionnaires are now live across nearly 60 additional business categories and will be rolling out to 100 total categories in the coming months. New categories available today include: auto repair, child care and day care, contractors, hair salons, session photography, pet groomers, real estate agents, and more.
- Scheduling with ease: To save consumers and businesses time and make scheduling more efficient, businesses can now easily share the days and times they are available for a consultation or appointment. With a tap of a button, consumers can then quickly confirm the option that works best for them. Users can easily add their upcoming appointment to their mobile device’s calendar.
Giving Businesses More Control and a New Way to Proactively Secure Leads
As part of the revamped experience for business owners, Yelp is launching a new way for businesses to proactively connect with potential customers by sharing a feed of relevant jobs in their area. Nearby Jobs gives both established and newer Yelp businesses access to more available jobs, as well as greater control over the kinds of projects they choose to take. When a consumer elects to submit their project request to other businesses to get competing quotes, best-matching businesses will be alerted of a Nearby Job they can respond to. Currently, more than half of Yelp Request-A-Quote users opt into receiving additional quotes from other businesses.
“As a company new to Yelp, Nearby Jobs has been a highly beneficial tool for us. Within only five months, Nearby Jobs has brought us 180 jobs and, as a result, 27 reviews. Prior to adopting Nearby Jobs our business page had zero reviews – now we’re rated at 4.5 stars,” said Orlando Johnson, owner of Mid-Atlantic Movers, which was among the first businesses to pilot Nearby Jobs. “The new product helps us to proactively get in touch with people that are looking for our specific skill set and allows us to approach them with competitive quotes and ideas for their project. As an unreviewed business, Nearby Jobs really helped us to get more work. I’ve gotten so many leads that I’ve now turned off my spend on other platforms like Thumbtack, Angie’s List and Google Ads. Not only that but I like the customers that I interact with on Yelp. I’ve noticed they have higher intent and the conversations I have with consumers on Yelp are more likely to convert to real jobs.”
Tying it All Together with a Modernized Yelp
Yelp’s reinvented hiring experience for home and local services is being rolled out as part of a new, modernized design. This platform-wide redesign was created to highlight how Yelp has become a one-stop local platform where people connect with local businesses in more ways than ever — going beyond discovery and reviews to communicate and transact. With the ability to request a quote, book an appointment or order takeout and delivery today, the company is integrating these actions into a modern and cohesive consumer experience. The new design has been rolled out across search results and business pages on web, as well as business pages on mobile. A new home screen and search experience is coming to mobile devices soon.
Availability and Pricing
As part of the new hiring experience, Request-A-Quote’s guided questionnaires and scheduling features are now available to millions of Yelp users across web and mobile. Nearby Jobs is rolling out to eligible businesses nationwide and will be fully available in the next few weeks with the ability to subscribe to this new experience for about $8 a day, or less. Business owners can also find these new features through their Yelp for Business account.
Download images here. Embed and view a video of this new experience here. For more information and Yelp’s latest company metrics, visit: https://www.yelp-press.com/company/fast-facts/default.aspx
About Yelp Inc.
Yelp Inc. (www.yelp.com) connects people with great local businesses. With unmatched local business information, photos and review content, Yelp provides a one-stop local platform for consumers to discover, connect and transact with local businesses of all sizes by making it easy to request a quote, join a waitlist, and make a reservation, appointment or purchase. Yelp was founded in San Francisco in July 2004. Since then, Yelp has taken root in major metros in more than 30 countries.
*July 2019 to July 2020
Contacts
Yelp Inc.
Julianne Rowe
jrowe@yelp.com
