Yelp : Taking A Stand Against Misleading “Reputation Management” Companies
February 24, 2015 at 12:06 pm EST
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We sometimes hear reports about "reputation management" or "small business marketing" agencies that promise (for a fee, of course) to help businesses remove negative reviews and gain more positive reviews on Yelp. Some of these agencies imply that they have a special relationship with Yelp or even lead business owners to believe that they are acting on behalf of Yelp.
These offers are scams, but some business owners unfortunately fall for them and end up paying dearly, both with their bank accounts and their online reputations. Today we're taking a stand to protect business owners from falling prey to these misleading companies by filing a lawsuit against a recurring offender named Revleap.
Revleap, which has cycled through various names including "Yelpdirector" and "Revpley," has spammed businesses with unsolicited messages claiming that they can get good reviews to stick and remove bad reviews. One thing Revleap actually does, it seems, is bombard their clients' customers with surveys. Customers that respond favorably, and agree to post a review, are entered in a drawing for gift cards in an effort to deceptively boost their clients' reputations.
Revleap's business model is the sort of thing that can put small businesses at risk with respect to our Consumer Alert program and federal and state regulators who often crack down on businesses that try to artificially inflate their online reputations.
We hope that taking action against Revleap will put a stop to their misleading practices and also help businesses distinguish between companies that are playing by the rules and those that are using Yelp's name to make a dollar by taking advantage of unsuspecting small businesses.
Yelp Inc. connects consumers with local businesses. The Company's advertising products enable businesses of all sizes reach a large audience, advertise their products and drive conversion of their services. It offers a range of free and paid advertising products to businesses of all sizes, which include CPC Advertising (Yelp Ads) and Multi-location Ad Products. Its business page products include Free Business Account, Upgrade Package, Branded Profile, Enhanced Profile, Verified License, Business Highlights, Portfolio, Yelp Connect, Logo and Nearby Jobs. In addition to its advertising products, it also offers features and consumer-interactive tools to facilitate transactions between consumers and the local businesses they find on Yelp. It offers subscription services, licensing payments for access to Yelp data and other non-advertising, non-transaction arrangements. It sells its advertising products through online, its Website and Yelp for Business app, and indirectly through partners.