To "Yelp" or not to "Yelp"?

Many folks find my company, and other wedding photographers, using the website Yelp.com

So, when a not-so-flattering article printed in the East Bay Express about them, my interested was piqued.

The article is called:  “YELP and the Business of Extortion 2.0″ by Kathleen Richards.

Basically, the article exposes the website Yelp.com for removing positive reviews of companies who declined to advertise with them, and then offering to remove negative reviews (for a fee) to other companies.

Over the past 2 years, I’ve received over a dozen positive reviews on Yelp.com from past photography clients (mostly weddings and portraits). However, for some reason, Yelp has removed most of them, even though the reviews and users who posted them do not violate any Terms of Use.

Strangely enough, this started occurring soon after a Yelp advertising representative contacted me about advertising, and I declined.

I emailed Yelp several times about this, and only ever received form letters as a response, never addressing my specific questions or situation. And, my reviews were never re-instated.

The article in the East Bay Express also mentioned another local wedding photographer whose positive reviews started to go missing after she ALSO declined to advertise with Yelp.

I’m a big believer in word of mouth, and referrals based off of recommendation. Many of my clients find me this way, and it’s always been a great way to meet new people and generate new business.

So, like many referral-based websites, I thought Yelp would be such a great resource for matching my company with new clients. However, now I feel that this website is just not playing fair. By choosing to hide legitimate reviews, they are defeating the original purpose of the website.

So, if you’d like to learn more about Rebecca Wilkowski Photography, please don’t rely on the limited reviews posted on Yelp. Instead, please check out the “Kind Words” page on my website, visit Angie’s List.com, or contact me directly.  I’d be happy to put you in contact with any of my past clients who will speak with you candidly about working with me!