3 ms·

"One of the key points of the sales pitch involved moving a positive review to the top of the review order where a positive review would stay for the duration o

by ahi 17y ago

"One of the key points of the sales pitch involved moving a positive review to the top of the review order where a positive review would stay for the duration of the contract. This was especially effective for completing a sale if there was a negative review on top ("the first review your customers see will always be a positive one"). So if a business became a Yelp advertiser, the review order would change, but only with that one review that was moved to the very top. No reviews were deleted or otherwise manipulated." That's probably enough to give this case legs. IANAL but have been party to an unfair business practices lawsuit, and it's very easy to step in it.

aresant 17y ago
In study-after-study of bite sized content and consumer behavior, the "above the fold" and top of the page receives more of the user's attention. For instance rumor is 70%+ of clicks on google go to the top 5 results.
- andrewljohnson 17y ago
  It's actually more like 70% of clicks go to the top one link these days, I've been told.
  - jmtame 17y ago
    must be those facebook users logging in via google
    - aresant 17y ago
      hah :)
jonbishop 17y ago
From the techcrunch article: "in which the company’s employees call businesses demanding monthly payments in the guise of advertising contracts, in exchange for removing or modifying negative reviews." Yelp doesn't remove reviews and reviews themselves aren't modified; simply one positive review is moved to the top. You could argue that by moving the positive review to the top, that in turn modifies the order of other reviews (positive and negative), but seems like very shaky ground for the case to stand on. Of course, I'm no lawyer, so take this all with a grain of salt. Or are you pointing out the loose quote I posted ("the first review your customers see will always be a positive one") is what will give the case legs?
- ahi 17y ago
  The loose quote mostly. It is essentially, "we can hide the bad reviews a bit if you pay us." Again, IANAL, but it doesn't take much to lose some coin on "unfair business practices."
waxpancake 17y ago
The promoted review is clearly marked, with both messages that say "This business is a Yelp Sponsor" and "One of the Business' Favorite Reviews." If it was unmarked, this would be a problem, but there's absolutely nothing deceptive about it. Example: http://www.yelp.com/biz/addys-sandwich-bar-portland http://www.yelp.com/biz/addys-sandwich-bar-portland

by ahi 17y ago

aresant 17y ago

In study-after-study of bite sized content and consumer behavior, the "above the fold" and top of the page receives more of the user's attention. For instance rumor is 70%+ of clicks on google go to the top 5 results.

andrewljohnson 17y ago
It's actually more like 70% of clicks go to the top one link these days, I've been told.
- jmtame 17y ago
  must be those facebook users logging in via google
  - aresant 17y ago
    hah :)

jonbishop 17y ago

From the techcrunch article: "in which the company’s employees call businesses demanding monthly payments in the guise of advertising contracts, in exchange for removing or modifying negative reviews." Yelp doesn't remove reviews and reviews themselves aren't modified; simply one positive review is moved to the top. You could argue that by moving the positive review to the top, that in turn modifies the order of other reviews (positive and negative), but seems like very shaky ground for the case to stand on. Of course, I'm no lawyer, so take this all with a grain of salt. Or are you pointing out the loose quote I posted ("the first review your customers see will always be a positive one") is what will give the case legs?

ahi 17y ago
The loose quote mostly. It is essentially, "we can hide the bad reviews a bit if you pay us." Again, IANAL, but it doesn't take much to lose some coin on "unfair business practices."

waxpancake 17y ago

The promoted review is clearly marked, with both messages that say "This business is a Yelp Sponsor" and "One of the Business' Favorite Reviews." If it was unmarked, this would be a problem, but there's absolutely nothing deceptive about it. Example: http://www.yelp.com/biz/addys-sandwich-bar-portland http://www.yelp.com/biz/addys-sandwich-bar-portland