Yelp
A consumer local-search and business-review platform built around user-generated ratings, reviews, and service discovery.
Last updated October 21, 2026
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Overview
Yelp is an American local-search and consumer-review company whose website and mobile applications help people discover, evaluate, and contact businesses. Its listings cover restaurants, food and hospitality providers, home and auto services, health and beauty businesses, professional services, retail stores, entertainment venues, public services, and other local establishments. Users can assign businesses a one-to-five-star rating, write reviews, upload photographs, ask questions, react to other users’ contributions, and use practical information such as opening hours, menus, amenities, prices, health-inspection information, and appointment availability. The company was founded in 2004 by former PayPal employees Jeremy Stoppelman and Russel Simmons. The original concept was an email-based referral service, but early usage showed that people were more interested in voluntarily writing reviews through the site’s “Real Reviews” functionality. Yelp redesigned the service in 2005, helping it develop from a small referral experiment into a consumer-facing local-business directory and social platform. Early financing came from Max Levchin and later venture investors including Bessemer Venture Partners, Benchmark, DAG Ventures, and Elevation Partners. Yelp expanded rapidly in the second half of the 2000s. It launched sites in the United Kingdom and Canada in 2009 and added European, Australian, Asian, and Latin American markets over subsequent years. The company considered a possible acquisition by Google in 2009, but negotiations ended without a transaction. Yelp became a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange in March 2012. It subsequently expanded its commercial tools through acquisitions and partnerships involving restaurant reservations, online ordering, customer engagement, and local-service leads. Its business model primarily combines advertising and lead-generation products sold to local businesses with consumer traffic and transaction-oriented services. Businesses may claim or manage listing information, respond to reviews, add photographs and menus, promote offers, receive calls or messages, and purchase advertising that is displayed to users searching for relevant services. Yelp has also offered reservations, food ordering, appointments, cash-back promotions, and other transactional features. Yelp Guest Manager became the consolidated name for its restaurant guest-management and reservation operations. The platform’s value depends on the scale and perceived independence of its review corpus. Yelp therefore operates automated and manual systems intended to identify suspicious or unreliable contributions, while its recommendation system determines which reviews are prominently displayed. This has also made the company the subject of criticism and litigation-related claims concerning review filtering, advertising sales practices, business pressure, and the authenticity of user submissions. Yelp has denied that businesses can buy favorable review treatment and has publicized efforts against fake reviews and deceptive solicitation. The COVID-19 pandemic sharply reduced local-search activity and advertising demand as restaurants and other businesses closed or restricted operations. Yelp reduced staffing, compensation, office capacity, and international operations in response. It later emphasized a more distributed workplace and consolidated its physical footprint. By the end of 2024, Yelp reported approximately 308 million contributed reviews and more than 76 million unique desktop and mobile visitors during 2024. The company continues to operate Yelp.com and its mobile applications while developing tools for local businesses and expanding selected service categories.
History
Yelp began in 2004 at MRL Ventures, a business incubator associated with former PayPal executives. Jeremy Stoppelman and Russel Simmons initially conceived an email referral network for local services. The idea developed after Stoppelman had difficulty finding a doctor recommendation while ill. Max Levchin provided early angel financing, while the name Yelp was selected for its brevity, memorability, and association with help and local directories. The first version of the service did not attract broad participation. Users largely ignored referral requests but responded to the ability to submit unsolicited reviews. Yelp consequently shifted its emphasis toward open user-generated content. A redesign in late 2005, including a distinctive visual identity, helped accelerate adoption. Venture funding from Bessemer Venture Partners, Benchmark, DAG Ventures, and later Elevation Partners supported engineering, sales, and geographic expansion. By 2010, the business had millions of reviews, hundreds of employees, and reported revenue of about $30 million according to historical accounts. Yelp’s international rollout began with the United Kingdom in January 2009 and Canada later that year. French-language functionality arrived in 2010, followed by sites in additional European countries and Australia. Yelp expanded into Asia with Singapore in 2012 and Japan in 2014, while also launching in markets including Mexico and Argentina. A potential Google acquisition was discussed in 2009 but failed to close. Yelp later became an outspoken critic of aspects of Google’s local-search practices, including the presentation and use of competing local-business content. The company filed for an IPO in 2011 and began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on March 2, 2012. Its post-IPO strategy combined organic review growth with monetization through local advertising and adjacent transactions. Acquisitions included Qype, SeatMe, Eat24, Nowait, Turnstyle Analytics, and RepairPal. Yelp also introduced or expanded reservations, food ordering, appointments, cash-back programs, government and public-service listings, health-inspection information, question-and-answer features, and business messaging or lead-management tools. Eat24 was later sold to Grubhub, with delivery integration continuing through a commercial partnership. Yelp’s platform became both a consumer information source and a marketing channel for local businesses. Its recommendation software attempts to identify reviews that may be unreliable or promotional, but the system has generated controversy because some legitimate reviews can be filtered from a business’s recommended average and because businesses have questioned the consistency of enforcement. The company has also dealt with fake-review campaigns and has published consumer alerts and other measures intended to improve trust. The pandemic created an exceptional shock. Local businesses closed or reduced capacity, causing search activity and advertising revenue to fall. In April 2020 Yelp announced layoffs, furloughs, shorter hours, and executive pay reductions, while adding COVID-19 information fields to business pages. In later years it reduced office capacity and international operating costs. Yelp announced further office closures in 2023 and maintained a smaller physical presence while continuing digital operations. At the end of 2024, the platform reported roughly 308 million contributed reviews and more than 76 million unique visitors on desktop and mobile during the year.
- 2024
RepairPal acquisition
[3]Yelp acquires automotive-service platform RepairPal.
- 2020
Pandemic response
[1]Yelp reduces its workforce and adds COVID-19 operating-information features for businesses.
- 2016
International strategy is narrowed
[1]Yelp substantially reduces international sales and expansion activities.
- 2015
Eat24 acquisition
[1]Yelp buys online food-ordering company Eat24.
- 2014
Yelp reports first profitability
[1]The company becomes profitable for the first time during 2014.
- 2012
Initial public offering
[1]Yelp begins trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
- 2012
Qype acquisition
[1]Yelp acquires European review site Qype.
- 2009
International expansion begins
[1]Yelp launches dedicated sites in the United Kingdom and Canada and begins broader expansion outside the United States.
- 2005
Service redesign emphasizes unsolicited reviews
[1]User behavior leads Yelp to prioritize voluntary reviews, and a redesign helps the service gain wider adoption.
- 2004
Yelp is founded
[1]Jeremy Stoppelman and Russel Simmons establish Yelp at MRL Ventures, initially pursuing an email-based local referral concept.
Products and positioning
A consumer-oriented local discovery and recommendation platform that combines crowdsourced content, community interaction, and advertising or transaction tools for local businesses.
Local search and reviews · 2004
Yelp.com
Yelp’s principal website provides searchable pages for local businesses and other establishments. Listing pages can include ratings, written reviews, photographs, menus, contact details, opening hours, prices, amenities, service information, and links for calls, messages, reservations, ordering, or appointments. Users can contribute reviews and questions, while businesses can claim and manage their pages.
Mobile local search · 2008
Yelp mobile applications
Yelp’s mobile apps provide location-aware discovery, maps, reviews, photographs, business contact tools, check-ins, and transaction features. The iPhone application launched in 2008 and later incorporated functions such as reservations, ordering, appointments, and other local-service interactions.
Restaurant reservations and guest management · 2010
Yelp Guest Manager
Yelp Guest Manager is Yelp’s restaurant reservation and front-of-house management offering. It consolidates capabilities associated with Yelp Reservations and SeatMe, helping restaurants manage bookings, waitlists, table flow, and guest relationships through software connected to Yelp discovery.
Local advertising
Yelp Ads
Yelp sells advertising and lead-generation products to businesses seeking visibility when consumers search for relevant categories or locations. Advertised businesses can receive enhanced exposure, calls, messages, website visits, and other customer actions, although the company states that advertising does not purchase favorable review treatment.
Community content · 2017
Yelp Questions and Answers
Introduced in 2017, Questions and Answers lets users ask venue-specific questions and allows businesses or community members to provide practical information about local establishments.
Controversies
2020
Yelp faces backlash over small-business fundraising page
Yelp faced backlash after teaming up with GoFundMe to raise money for small businesses. According to the source, some businesses had not been alerted about the fundraising page. The controversy centered on the fundraising effort conducted in partnership with GoFundMe, with the reported lack of advance notice to some businesses serving as the basis for the criticism directed at Yelp.
Criticism of review filtering and advertising practices
Yelp has been accused by some businesses of manipulating the presentation of reviews or using advertising sales tactics that pressure businesses to purchase services. The allegations include claims involving negative review visibility and the placement of competitors’ advertisements. Yelp has disputed the central claims and maintains that its recommendation software is intended to identify unreliable or biased content.
Fake reviews and review manipulation
The platform has faced fraudulent positive and negative reviews submitted by businesses, agents, or competitors. Yelp has responded with filtering systems, warnings, investigations, and other measures designed to detect coordinated manipulation.
Marketing campaigns
- 2020COVID-19 business information initiative
United States
Yelp created dedicated business-page fields for health and safety measures, changed services, closures, and operating conditions during the COVID-19 disruption.
Outcome. The feature gave businesses a structured way to communicate changing conditions to consumers.
Brand decisions
2024
Acquire RepairPalM&ABackground
Yelp sought to broaden its local-services presence in automotive repair and maintenance.
Action taken
Yelp acquired RepairPal.
Aftermath
The acquisition expanded Yelp’s service-discovery and lead-generation scope in automotive services.
2020
Reduce costs during the pandemicStrategyBackground
Business closures and stay-at-home measures caused severe reductions in local-search activity and advertising demand.
Action taken
Yelp announced layoffs, furloughs, shorter hours, and executive compensation reductions, while introducing COVID-19 business information tools.
Aftermath
The company continued restructuring its workforce and office footprint as local commerce recovered unevenly.
2016
Scale back international operationsStrategyBackground
Yelp assessed international expansion as insufficiently attractive relative to its North American opportunity.
Action taken
The company halted broad international expansion and reduced overseas sales, marketing, public-relations, and outreach staffing.
Aftermath
Yelp concentrated resources more heavily on North America while retaining selected international product and engineering operations.
2015
Acquire Eat24M&ABackground
Restaurant discovery was increasingly connected with online ordering and delivery.
Action taken
Yelp acquired Eat24 and integrated ordering capabilities into restaurant listings.
Aftermath
Yelp later sold Eat24 to Grubhub and retained a delivery integration partnership.
2011
Prepare for public listingStrategyBackground
Yelp filed for an initial public offering after years of venture-backed growth and international expansion.
Action taken
The company proceeded with a public offering and began NYSE trading in March 2012.
Aftermath
Yelp gained access to public capital markets and continued expanding its advertising and transaction businesses.
Recent events
Yelp adds Check for Me voice-agent feature[5]
Reported:
Yelp added Check for Me to its app. The feature lets users ask an AI agent to call a restaurant to check wait times and text them the results.
- Unconfirmed
Yelp rolls out 2026 Fall Product Release[6]
Reported:
Yelp rolled out its 2026 Fall Product Release, introducing more than 30 features for customer interactions, lead management, and user personalization.
Yelp refreshes its logo and app icons[7]
Reported:
Yelp introduced a refreshed logo and suite of application icons, with the new app icons beginning to roll out on iOS and Android to follow later in the week.
- Unconfirmed
Yelp temporarily disables reviews for Trophy Club Bar and Grill[8]
Reported:
Yelp temporarily disabled the ability to post reviews for Trophy Club Bar and Grill after the business received increased public attention and an influx of people posting views on its page.
Yelp announces layoffs and temporary furloughs[9]
Reported:
Yelp announced that it would cut 1,000 jobs and temporarily furlough about 1,100 employees, citing the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
- Unconfirmed
Yelp faces backlash over small-business fundraising page[4]
Reported:
Yelp faced backlash after teaming up with GoFundMe to raise money for small businesses; some businesses had not been alerted, according to the source.
The Cheesecake Factory offers reservations through Yelp[10]
Reported:
The Cheesecake Factory began taking limited reservations through Yelp across its U.S. restaurants, following an initial test.
- Unconfirmed
Yelp updates its Apple Watch app[11]
Reported:
Yelp updated its Apple Watch app with compass support for Apple Watch Series 5 and a redesigned interface and personalized results for users on watchOS 6.
Sources11 sources
- 1Yelpen.wikipedia.org
- 2Yelp investor relationsyelp.com
- 3Yelp newsroomyelp.com
- 4Yelp faces backlash over small-business fundraising pagefool.com
- 5Yelp新增 Check for Me 语音代理功能techcrunch.com
- 6Yelp推出2026年秋季产品更新smallbiztrends.com
- 7Yelp更新标志和应用图标adweek.com
- 8Yelp暂时关闭Trophy Club Bar and Grill的评论功能newsweek.com
- 9Yelp宣布裁员并暂时下岗部分员工tech.sina.com.cn
- 10The Cheesecake Factory通过Yelp提供预约nrn.com
- 11Yelp 更新 Apple Watch 应用imore.com
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