Yelp has provided Search Engine Land with the most popular search filters among users. “Open Now” was the most used filter across all categories, which speaks to the intent of customers browsing local reviews platforms like Yelp. “Request a Quote” was the second-most used filter for services businesses and the “Open to All” filter was also among the most popular filters for businesses in the Healthy & Beauty, Active Life and Shopping categories.
Why we care. The data, which is broken down by business category, speaks to how different audiences browse Yelp and what they prioritize when searching for a local business. While the data pertains specifically to Yelp, it can be used to improve your business’s presence across other local reviews platforms, like Google, as well, since these platforms share many of the same, fundamental features and filters.
Yelp’s most popular search filters. The most used filters on Yelp, by category, are as follows:
Services businesses (Auto, Home, Local, and Professional Services)
- Open Now
- Request a Quote
- Accepts Credit Cards
- Fast-responding
- Offering a Deal
Restaurants, Food and Nightlife businesses
- Open Now
- Reservations
- Offers Takeout
- Outdoor Seating
- Offers Delivery
- Good for Dinner
Health & Beauty businesses
- Open Now
- Accepts Credit Cards
- Offering a Deal
- By Appointment Only
- Good for Kids
- Open to All
Active Life businesses
- Open Now
- Good for Kids
- Dogs Allowed
- Open to All
Shopping
- Open Now
- Open to All
- Accepts Credit Cards
Don’t overlook “Open Now.” As mentioned above, local reviews platforms are used by high-intent consumers that are likely to need a local business sooner rather than later. What’s open, at the time of their search, can determine which businesses they’ll eventually visit or contact.
While this may seem like a basic point, it underscores the importance of maintaining up-to-date business hours, which, for some businesses, may change frequently due to safety measures or staffing challenges related to the COVID pandemic or holiday schedules. Both Yelp and Google offer the ability to indicate special hours so that you can keep customers informed that you may not be operating as usual.
Filters reveal consumer priorities in different verticals. In the Restaurants, Food and Nightlife categories, “Offers Takeout,” “Outdoor Seating,” and “Offers Delivery” accounted for three of the top-five filters. This may be due to the pandemic’s effect on consumer preferences and speaks to the pivot in services that many food and nightlife businesses had to undergo to support these new expectations.
“Offering a Deal” was another popular filter for services businesses (auto, home, local and professional services) as well as health and beauty businesses. This may indicate that competitive pricing or other incentives are a priority for consumers looking for businesses in these categories.
“Open to All,” a filter and attribute indicating that a business is a “safe and welcoming place for everyone, regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, immigration status, religion or disability,” was also among the top filters for Health & Beauty, Active Life and Shopping businesses.
Over the last few years, ethics and personal values have taken on more important roles in determining which businesses consumers are willing to support. To that end, Yelp has introduced numerous diversity attributes, including the Asian-owned, Black-owned, Latinx-owned, Women-owned and LGBTQ-owned attributes. Similarly, Google Business Profile owners can self-identify as Black-owned, Veteran-led, Women-led and LGBTQ-friendly.
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