Yelp has bowed to pressure from disgruntled small business owners and is making changes to its popular reviews platform.
In the wake of three class action lawsuits that accused Yelp of extortion, chief executive Jeremy Stoppelman today announced a series of changes to the site and the formation of a new small business advisory council.
The most dramatic change is that advertisers will no longer be able to choose the featured review that had appeared at the top of their business’ page. This was prime real estate, and undoubtedly one of the most compelling reasons businesses would advertise in the first place.
Yelp is also adding the ability to view reviews that have been sorted out by its review filter. Many businesses have complained that favourable reviews disappeared from their page after they refused to advertise, but Yelp has maintained that the selection of which reviews appear is based on algorithms and is not manually controlled.
The company hopes that these changes will dissuade businesses from the notion that Yelp is exacting revenge on those that don’t advertise.
“Despite our best efforts to educate consumers and the small business community, myths about Yelp have persisted,” chief executive Jeremy Stoppelman said in a blog post. “We’ve said all along we believe these incorrect notions stem from the combination of the filter and this advertising feature.”
The small business advisory council will, Yelp says, “provide Yelp management with guidance and perspective regarding the concerns of small business owners.”
Lawyers representing the plaintiffs in the class action suits were unappeased. “There is much work left to be done through the legal process, including the looming issues of Yelp’s ‘pay to play’ sales tactics, as well as the pursuit of substantial restitution and damages owed to the class members,” lawyers from Beck & Lee and The Weston Firm said in a response to the changes.
