Yet another lengthy investigation (entitled "Yelp and the Business of Extortion 2.0," no less) into the advertising tactics of Yelp revisits issues that have been brought up before (sales pitches coinciding with new review placement, etc), but also curious tidbits about the role of "ambassadors": "San Francisco's Elite Cafe, which advertises with Yelp, received a two-star review by a paid Yelp ambassador, as did Anabelle's Bar and Bistro. In both instances, the negative reviews appeared after Yelp sales staff asked them to advertise. Both business owners were unaware that a paid Yelper had written a negative review." Where there's smoke... UPDATE: CEO Jeremy Stoppelman has submitted his response to the article. [EBX]
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