Yelp: Food, Services & Reviews

What it does

Yelp is a crowd-sourced platform for discovering and reviewing local businesses. While widely known for restaurants, the app extends to a vast array of services, including auto repair, home services, and beauty salons. Users can search for businesses, filter results based on detailed criteria, read reviews from the community, and contribute their own feedback, photos, and ratings.

Where it shines

Yelp's strength lies in the depth of its data and the breadth of its features. The search and filtering functionality, showcased from 00:33, is incredibly robust. A user can drill down with hyper-specific criteria like 'Open at 4:00 PM' and 'Accepts Credit Cards' (00:58), which is a huge benefit for users with specific needs. Furthermore, Yelp has successfully evolved beyond a simple review site into a service marketplace. The 'Projects' feature (11:43) lets users request quotes from local professionals, manage communication, and plan future work, turning search intent directly into action.

UX highlights

Comprehensive Filtering: The filter menu (00:54) is exhaustive, allowing users to sort by everything from price and rating to meal type and whether a business offers an online waitlist.
Waitlist Integration: The app seamlessly integrates a waitlist feature (01:53), allowing users to see wait times and join remotely, which is a powerful tool for popular restaurants.
Structured Review Process: When leaving a review (03:19), Yelp guides the user through adding photos, assigning a star rating, and selecting tags for 'what went well' (e.g., Food, Service), structuring the feedback for other users.
Gamified User Profiles: The 'Me' tab features an 'Impact' section (15:31) that tracks a user's review views and reactions, encouraging continued contributions.
Community Interaction Tools: Beyond reviews, users can send 'Compliments' to other reviewers (09:15) or react to their content, fostering a sense of community.

Monetization & growth

Monetization is not directly shown from a consumer perspective in this recording. There are no user-facing paywalls or subscription prompts. Yelp's primary monetization strategy, which happens on the business side, is visible through features like 'Request a Quote' (12:13). This feature generates leads for service professionals, which Yelp monetizes. The platform also features sponsored content, such as the Brooks Sports ad visible on the home feed (00:31).

Who it’s for

Yelp targets a broad audience of consumers looking for local businesses and services. Its primary use case is for individuals seeking recommendations and reviews before making a purchase or visiting a location. It also caters to 'power planners' who appreciate deep filtering capabilities and users who want to hire local professionals for specific jobs, like home repairs or beauty services. The community features also appeal to users who enjoy sharing their experiences and building a reputation as a trusted local guide.

Notes & opportunities

The app is feature-rich, which can sometimes be a double-edged sword. For example, the powerful filtering tool led to a 'No results' page at 01:49, which could be a point of frustration. While the app suggests using fewer keywords, it could also proactively suggest relaxing certain filters to provide some results rather than none. Additionally, the onboarding process (00:01 - 00:13) is very aggressive with permission requests, hitting the user with three system prompts in a row without much context, which might cause some users to drop off early.