This was just a kind of throwaway in the Yelp S-1 and I’ve been wanting to write about it since it was published more than a week ago: “Our mobile app accounted for approximately 40% of all searches on our platform for the quarter ended September 30, 2011.” (Emphasis added.)
A year ago it was 35%. On Google about 30% of restaurant queries come from mobile.
Forty percent is a remarkable stat. It shows how much smartphones are rapidly changing the Internet and how content is accessed. It also reflects the degree to which Yelp’s business has become dependent on mobile.
Google and Foursquare among others are gunning for that traffic. As a business that isn’t native to mobile (in the way that Foursquare is for example) Yelp has tried to straddle the PC and mobile worlds. For example it won’t let you write and publish a review entirely from your device.
The company doesn’t want “LOL” and other such “textisms” to sneak into and pollute the quality of reviews, which is the entire Yelp franchise. However I suspect that policy will ultimately change as Yelp further embraces a mobile-centric future.
November 28th, 2011 at 9:19 pm
Reviews would also be incentivized by merchants on the spot.
November 28th, 2011 at 9:24 pm
Yelp would obviously not like that. You can start your review on mobile; you can’t complete and publish however.
November 28th, 2011 at 10:06 pm
“Searches” are very different from “traffic”. Yelp has 5MM uniques on mobile; >60MM on Web.
SEO is the obvious reason. Yelp searches are occurring on the Web, but on Google and thus don’t count toward the internal Yelp searches metric… Yelp just gets the page view and the unique credit on the business details page.
November 28th, 2011 at 10:28 pm
What we don’t know is whether those Yelp SEO clicks are statements of brand preference or merely serendipitous.
When an individual types in a business name or category query and Yelp appears at the top of the SERP does the user care that its Yelp? In some number of cases fewer than its actual PC traffic volume the answer is yes. But not in every case.
Is the user actually seeking Yelp? Or is Yelp simply a convenient source for the information because it’s there. Yet in the case of each search, whether on the Yelp site or in a mobile app, the user is expressing a brand preference for Yelp.
Mobile users are also more intense in their usage and responsible for a disproportionate volume of queries relative to their numbers.
November 28th, 2011 at 10:44 pm
I’ve now started doing my google queries like “yelp amber mountain view” to ensure yelp is near top of Google. It saves me from having to go to Yelp and then doing a search.
Of course, I’m far from normal.
November 28th, 2011 at 10:53 pm
Indeed
December 20th, 2011 at 10:33 pm
[...] the letter does not mention Yelp’s recent boast that over 40% (and growing) of its searches are now conducted on its mobile app—insulating it [...]
December 20th, 2011 at 11:07 pm
[...] the letter does not mention Yelp’s recent boast that over 40% (and growing) of its searches are now conducted on its mobile app—insulating it [...]
December 21st, 2011 at 10:52 pm
[...] previously reported that 40 percent of its query volume is now coming from mobile devices. Add BMW to the [...]
December 22nd, 2011 at 12:30 am
[...] previously reported that 40 percent of its query volume is now coming from mobile devices. Add BMW to the [...]
December 22nd, 2011 at 2:37 am
[...] a minute does not discuss Yelp’s recent boast that over 40% (and growing) of a searches are now conducted on a mobile appinsulating it from [...]
December 26th, 2011 at 5:51 pm
[...] 40% of Yelp’s Traffic is Mobile [...]
December 26th, 2011 at 7:30 pm
[...] 40% of Yelp’s Traffic is Mobile [...]
December 27th, 2011 at 2:07 am
[...] 40% of Yelp’s Traffic is Mobile [...]
December 3rd, 2012 at 7:40 am
[...] With metered data and limited bandwidth, consumers are disinclined to click links and browse other websites to get their answers. This is also why Google’s competitors have assured investors that search engines are decreasing in importance as mobile users navigate to their services directly through mobile apps. If Google’s search can’t respond to a search for “Chinese Restaurants in Union Square” with a map of Chinese restaurants in Union Square and their respective ratings, the company stands to lose those eyeballs to competitors like Yelp. In fact, it already is. [...]