Yelp has carved out a space for themselves as an online directory for local search, in which local businesses can list themselves, collect customer reviews and advertise their products and services. Very similar to Google’s version of local search, Google Business Pages and Maps.

There has been criticism of Yelp’s business sales tactics used to “convince” small business owners to advertise on their platform. Like them or not, consumers rely heavily on Yelp as a source for finding certain local business services including restaurants, home services, auto services and personal services as well as leaving ratings and reviews. Yelp Ads can account for most new leads and customers for many highly competitive local service businesses.

The process is similar to most other social media advertising platforms. Ads are based on selected keywords for a specific geographical location and a bid for clicks. You only pay when someone clicks on your ad. The higher your bid for a click, the higher the chance that your ad will be shown to a potential custom. Your business will be shown prominently at the top of the search results page for specific keywords as a sponsored business. Your ads can also be shown on your competitor’s Yelp pages in the “You Might Also Consider” section of their page.

The real strength of Yelp Ads is that most people browsing Yelp for local services already have a specific need. They just need to find the best local provider for getting their need fulfilled.