Home services are in constant demand—from plumbers that help with emergency situations to movers that transport families to their new homes. To ensure you’re securing these essential, everyday jobs, it’s important that potential customers know the basics of your business—like what services you offer and how far you travel for a job.
Check out these five free Yelp Page features that every home services business should take advantage of. Setting these up will help you secure relevant jobs and improve communication with your customers..
1. Service area
Whether you service within a radius of five miles or 50, potential customers need to know how far you’re willing to travel. Set up your service area to communicate where you offer services, which helps you get more relevant leads within the area you travel for work. This helps cut down the number of inquiries in areas you don’t service and also helps you avoid situations where someone doesn’t call you because they assumed you didn’t service their area.
Your service area will show up as a shaded blue map on your Yelp Page, and you can set up to a 50-mile service radius (100-mile diameter between the two furthest points).
How do I do this? Log in to your Yelp for Business account, and click on the Business Information tab. Under Business info on the right side, click Service area. Enter the cities or zip codes your business services, and click Save Changes.
2. Services offered
To show customers what your business offers, you should fill out your categories and services sections on Yelp. Categories are more broad and generally industry based, like gardener or electrician; you can choose up to three categories (see the full list). Your services are specific to the category and get more granular about what you offer; you can choose as many services as apply.
For example, if you’re a roofer, you can select specific services like gutter cleaning, skylight repair, and metal roof services. If you’re in carpeting, you can choose services like carpet binding, carpet removal, and floor covering installation. Aslam General Construction lists out over 30 different services they provide for their clients.
Pro tip: In addition to telling customers what services you’re providing, you also want to tell them how you’re offering those services. Update your COVID-related info to share the status of your operations, if you’re offering virtual consultations or contactless services, and more.
How do I do this? Log in to your Yelp for Business account, click on the Business Information tab, then scroll down to Categories, and click Edit.
3. Request-a-Quote
Request-a-Quote (RAQ) is an exclusive feature for home service-based industries that allows consumers to send job requests directly to your Yelp inbox. Many people rely on being able to directly message businesses—maybe they prefer a paper trail or they’re too shy or busy to jump on the phone. Additionally, this feature allows you to build one-on-one consumer trust and showcase your customer service digitally.
How it works: When customers land on your Yelp Page or see your listing in the search results, they’ll see a section where they can request a quote from you. They’re asked to answer a series of industry-specific questions about the job or service. You’ll then receive that information in your Yelp inbox, so that you can efficiently respond to the prospective customer. You can also download the Yelp for Business mobile app and set up notifications to receive and respond to requests while you’re on the go.
How do I do this? Make sure you have requests enabled on your Yelp Business Page, then check your inbox for incoming requests (click the image below to see a sample).
4. Photos and captions
Photos are an important asset to any business but especially home services. Customers want to know who you are and what they can expect if they hire you.
When choosing the right photos, think about the message you want to convey to your customers: You’re trustworthy. You use high-quality products. You keep your job site clean and safe.
Consider uploading live, in-action shots of you, your team, and your work. This visual representation can pair well with the list of services you selected for your page too.
Captioning your photos is also very important. It not only helps a consumer know what they are looking at, but helps you target the “right” customer for you. When showing before and after comparisons, your photos tell your story while the captions provide the context.
How do I do this? Log in to your Yelp for Business account, and click on the Photos and Videos tab.
5. Yelp for Business app
Downloading the app allows you to manage your business from your smart device, so you can quickly and easily manage your Yelp Page while you’re on the go. Reply to job requests, read and respond to reviews, upload photos right from your job site, and more.
You can also set up push notifications so that you are notified in real time of events, such as when:
- Someone writes a review for your business
- Someone sends a lead, message, or request for a quote
- Someone posts a question about your business
How do I do this? Download the app for Android or iPhone. If you’re on desktop, enter your number to have a link sent to your phone for easy download.
After adding basic business info to your Yelp Page and completing the above hidden gems, you can explore the paid upgrades that Yelp offers, such as Nearby Jobs, Portfolio, and Yelp Connect.
The information above is provided for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice and may not be suitable for your circumstances. Unless stated otherwise, references to third-party links, services, or products do not constitute endorsement by Yelp.