Comments on: We’re not yelping, now Yelp has arrived, say the local competitors

By: Sophie

Sophie — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 18:25:53 +0000

Yelp doesn’t stand a chance. Run by an arrogant crowd of look-at-me-roar-I’m-Americans, there’s no doubt in my mind that Yelp will come up against some true competition like they’ve been necessarily unable to find in the US (although, with all the lawsuits against Yelp’s mob rule, other reviews-based companies in the US have some glaring lessons to take away). Expect some humbling and scaling back in the near future, if you ask me.

By: Dave

Dave — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 13:23:45 +0000

Great post Russell, having had some experience of this sector other than Yell and Thomsonlocal, the others rely significantly on SEO to generate their traffic and have no brand recognition to fall back on. Most also have revenues dependent on a fixed fee rather than performance based model, something which is bound to come under pressure during 2009.

Also key to reviews is freshness, context (who is giving the review) and depth, I struggle to see how anyone could do this alone….perhaps someone should aggregate the reviews from all these sites and publish them… now theres an idea

By: Jules Morgan

Jules Morgan — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 12:57:55 +0000

I find this article interesting. Good post Mike.

P.S. Is there any chance you could change the comments section to a) include something like Disqus, or b) not require me to leave my details every time. ? It is most stressful.

By: StevieB’s Shared Items - January 9, 2009 at Lost in Cyberspace

StevieB’s Shared Items - January 9, 2009 at Lost in Cyberspace — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 11:02:19 +0000

[...] We’re not yelping, now Yelp has arrived, say the local competitorsJanuary 8, 2009 [...]

By: Dave

Dave — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 22:49:02 +0000

I do find it worrying that you’ve set up a review website, yet can’t use proper spelling, grammar and punctuation.

By: Russell

Russell — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 22:39:07 +0000

A very tough local space has just got tougher. I laugh at all of the perifereal local search sites commenting on here that they “welcome” Yelp and the space is big enough for everyone. How many local search & reviews sites does the UK need?
If these heads of start up genuinely think they have a shot at this space they’re in even more trouble than they think. Yelp & Qype will dominate this space in 2009. ALL of the others will fade away or go bust in 2009.
Where are the revenue models for sites like TrustedPlaces, Brownbook et al? Answer: No matter what they come out with publicly the only players in this space generating money are Yell, Touch and Qype (just). I think Yelp are the only other business that have a chance.
If I had a local seach site I’d be running with my pants down to the likes of Qype trying to convince them to buy me out.
Remember early last year when Welovelocal sold out for a seemingly insignificant £400k. That looks like the most sensble bit of business anyone has done in this pace for a while now, doesnt it?

By: Yelp coming to UK, rest of Europe next? : Local Search Optimization

Yelp coming to UK, rest of Europe next? : Local Search Optimization — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 22:37:45 +0000

[...] sites in US is coming to the UK. Hopefully rest of Europe will be next, but will they be able to gain ground? Qype, touchlocal and some other more local oriented players already have quite a strong user base [...]

By: Scott Jones

Scott Jones — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 20:25:29 +0000

It’s difficult to comment at times as we, proudly, work with all the major players in this arena.

However, I think it’s safe to say that the UK start-up scene is certainly alive and kicking. I wouldn’t bet against any of those interviewed to make massive successes of what they want to achieve.

By: Steven

Steven — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 18:31:52 +0000

As Daniel(My collegue) has stated the introduction of Yelp is excellent news for customers within the Uk.

I for one will welcome Yelp and there quality service.

http:www.streetslocal.co.uk

By: Daniel

Daniel — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 18:29:50 +0000

Yelp maintain a quality standard that has enabled them to expand into the Uk.
The arrival of Yelp will ensure that competition will remain of a high standard which is only a good thing for us business directory owners.
For many years the business directory/review sites stood still allowing the big fish such as yell to take customers custom for granted.
Offering a service that puts the industry into the spotlight is only a good thing.

By: Ian Hendry

Ian Hendry — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 17:46:58 +0000

Nice scoop Mike. But I reminded of Saddam’s PR chief, the so-called “Comical Ali”, painting an upbeat picture of the future of the regime as we could see US tanks rolling into Baghdad behind him…

Do your archives show similarly upbeat directors of local online auction companies just after eBay announced it was launching a UK site I wonder?

Ian Hendry
CEO, WeCanDo.BIZ
http://www.wecando.biz