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What is the Difference Between a Yelp Personal and Business Account?

A cartoon of a man pointing at large buttons questioning the difference between a Yelp personal and business account.

Yelp is a well-known online platform where users can find and evaluate local businesses. Depending on your needs and objectives, Yelp users have the option to register for either a personal, or business account, which might make it challenging to know which account to access and when. The distinctions between a corporate and a personal user account, as well as the advantages of each, are covered in this article.

Yelp users can find and evaluate nearby businesses by creating a personal account. You can look up businesses, submit reviews, tell other users about your experiences, and follow other Yelpers to read their reviews if you have a personal account. The purpose of a business account, on the other hand, is to allow business owners or authorized representatives to control their organization's Yelp presence. And, with a business account, you can market your company, measure customer engagement, claim your business listing, change your company details, and reply to and flag user reviews. We will go more into the capabilities and features of personal and business Yelp accounts in the sections that follow:

A personal Yelp user account allows you to:

Find and leave reviews for local and regional businesses through the desktop or mobile app

Create and maintain a list of your favorite businesses

Include unique and personal images in your reviews

Easily share your Yelp reviews on additional social media sites such as Facebook

Read the reviews of other Yelp users as well as follow them

A business owner Yelp account allows you to:

Update the details about your company on Yelp and claim your listing

Respond to customer feedback both privately and publicly

Add images, menus, and other details to your company page (or more with paid enhancements)

Track Yelp reviews of consumer interactions with your business

Promote your company through paid ads and enhancements on Yelp to get more customers

How to Create a Personal Yelp Account:

To create a personal Yelp account, complete the following steps:

  1. Visit the Yelp website and select "Sign Up" from the menu in the upper right of the screen.
  2. Choose between creating a new account with your email and a website specific password or using one of the options to signup with your Facebook, Google or Apple ID.
  3. If you choose to create a separate account, enter your email address and a password in the appropriate form fields on the sign-up page including your zip code and, optionally, your birthday.
  4. To proceed, click the "Sign Up" button.
  5. Enter your first and last name and choose your gender on the following page.
  6. Click the "Continue" button.
  7. A confirmation email from Yelp will be delivered to the address you provided. To confirm your account, open the email and click the "Confirm Email" button.
  8. You can use your email address and password to sign in to your Yelp account after your email has been verified.
Yelp Personal Account Signup Page Screenshot

What are the Advantages of a Yelp Personal Account

Having a personal Yelp account offers a number of advantages for individual Yelpers. With a personal account, you can discover new businesses in your area and read reviews from other users to help you make informed decisions about where to eat, shop, or receive services. Yelp's data shows that 70% of users who make a purchase at a local business they found on Yelp do so within a week of finding the business on the platform. This highlights the effectiveness of Yelp as a tool for driving local business and consumer engagement.

In addition, a personal account allows you to write reviews of the businesses you've visited and share your experiences with other users. Your reviews can help other people make decisions about where to go, and they can also help businesses improve their products and services. A personal account on Yelp also enables you to connect with other users and build a community of people with similar interests. You can follow other users and see their reviews, and create lists of your favorite businesses to share with others. This can help you discover new places to visit and share your experiences with like-minded people.

How to Register a Business Account on Yelp:

Follow these steps to create a business account on Yelp:

  1. On the Yelp for Business Owners page, select "Get Started" from the menu.
  2. Choose your company's category from the drop-down box and enter your company's name, and contact information, including phone and email, in the appropriate fields.
  3. To continue, click the "Continue" button.
  4. Enter your business address and any other relevant information, such as your website and operating hours, on the next page.
  5. To continue, click the "Continue" button.
  6. A confirmation email from Yelp will be delivered to the address you provided. To confirm your account, open the email and click the "Confirm Email" button.
  7. Once your email has been verified, you can use the provided password and email address to access your business account.
  8. You may begin controlling your company's visibility on Yelp after logging in, which includes changing your business information, replying to client reviews, and promoting your company.

Why Using a Yelp Business Account Is Beneficial

Having a Yelp business account comes with several additional advantages compared to a personal account. With a business account, you can manage the online appearance of your company by taking control of your Yelp listing and making changes to the menu, contact information, and operating hours among many other business information. This makes it easier for customers to find accurate and current information about your business.

In addition, a business account allows you to react to customer reviews, whether they are positive or negative. By responding to reviews, you can establish a rapport with your customers and show that you value their opinions. This can help you build a positive reputation and encourage customer loyalty.

A business account on Yelp also gives you the ability to advertise your company to reach more customers. You can target your ads geographically and demographically, and track their performance to see how well they are performing. This can help you expand your customer base and increase your revenue.

Finally, a business account allows you to track customer engagement with your Yelp listing, including the number of views and reviews your page receives. This can help you understand how well your business is performing on Yelp and identify areas for improvement. By using these insights, you can make adjustments to your business strategy and better serve your customers.

How can you tell if you are logged into your business or personal account?

Once your accounts are created, it can often be confusing which account to log into, and when. Luckily ,Yelp will generally give you some feedback if you are trying to access the wrong type of account in a given situation. For example if you attempt to login to a personal Yelp account with business owner credentials you may be presented with the following:

Yelp Incorrect Account Type Error Message Screenshot

These further steps below can be used to determine whether you are signed into a personal or business Yelp account:

  1. Visit the Yelp website and select "Log In" from the menu in the upper right of the screen.
  2. In the upper right corner of the screen, if you are already logged in, you will see your name or the name of your company.
  3. You can view your name and profile photo if you have a personal account and are logged in (if you have added one).
  4. The name of your company will appear when you are logged onto a business account, along with a "Business Owner" badge.

You can also check by heading to your profile page if you are unsure which account you are connected into. To do this, click on the "Profile" tab after clicking on your name or the name of your company in the top right corner of the page. Depending on the account you are logged into, this will direct you to either your personal profile page or your company profile page.

Steve Lepore co-founder at Circulation Studio

Written by Steve Lepore

Steve Lepore is the co-founder at Circulation Studio and Circulation Dental and has been in the SEO (search engine optimization) game and building websites since 2011. In his free time he likes to camp, play guitar and argue about the NHL. GKG!