4 ms·

> In general, restaurant websites appear higher than their online ordered alternatives They do, in the case where people are looking for a specific restaurant.

by Kalium 6y ago

> In general, restaurant websites appear higher than their online ordered alternatives They do, in the case where people are looking for a specific restaurant. What about the now-increasingly-common case where people are looking to see what's open and doing delivery nearby? Looking through a dozen restaurant's websites to hunt down all that info (and hoping it's current) is a pretty miserable experience. Yelp makes it trivial to filter on a map. Restaurants have two SEO problems: their particular restaurant and the generically hungry searcher. Yelp and co only have the latter. They are, as you say, outclassed.

cgriswald 6y ago
> Looking through a dozen restaurant's websites to hunt down all that info (and hoping it's current) is a pretty miserable experience. Yelp makes it trivial to filter on a map. On desktop, maybe. Here's my experience trying this out on mobile (safari/iOS) just now: I searched for "Pizza" with "San Francisco, CA" pre-filled. I am presented with a screen that ostensibly gives me a choice between "Open in the Yelp App" and "Continue to mobile site." I say ostensibly, because I don't get the chance to choose before a second tab opens up with a strange URL that causes iOS to open up the app store to their app. I close the app store and go back to Safari and click "continue to mobile site". There are some results listed. I click "map". Yelp asks me for my location. I allow it. It shows me results for San Francisco. I'm about 30 miles away on the peninsula. Now, I know I searched for San Francisco, and maybe that's what I want. But then what is Yelp even doing with my location? At the bottom is an add for their iOS App. I click "x" to close it. Nothing happens. After four clicks, it finally leaves. I click "Filters", select "Open Now" and submit. Yelp asks for my location again. I allow it. It now shows me the results that are open, still ranging from SF to Colma. (So again, I have no idea what they're doing with my location.) I click on a result. In this case, Golden Boy Pizza. I click on a photo. I scroll a few photos. On the sixth photo, I am presented the option of viewing all 3427 photos ...in the app. I scroll down to look at reviews. Oh, those stars aren't reviews for this restaurant. They're sponsored suggestions. I scroll down further. I click a review that looks interesting because I want to read the whole thing. ...it takes me back to the app store without even a prompt. --- So, yeah, it's technically 'trivial' in the sense that you can get a list. But to actually use that list, you have to worry if any random click is going to take you away from the website. Some of the information you want is completely inaccessible without installing their software. (And even if you go through it all, there's no guarantee Yelp's information is current either.) Even if I trusted Yelp, I'd rather use any other method to find a pizza place.
- Can_Not 6y ago
  Great summary of how shitty the experience is of browsing literally any website that has a mobile app or unecessary login.
- greggman3 6y ago
  That experience sucks and I totally hate it as well. FWIW, for Google Maps, Youtube, etc. if you don't want them to try to open the app browse them in an incognito tab (I use Chrome so I don't know if Safari does the same thing in a "private tab") but I'm just guessing the thinking is, in a private tab, auto launching apps would defeat your privacy so it doesn't happen. I didn't try that with the Yelp app. I don't use Yelp at all. There are more reviews on Google Maps for most of the places I visit (not the USA)

by Kalium 6y ago

cgriswald 6y ago

> Looking through a dozen restaurant's websites to hunt down all that info (and hoping it's current) is a pretty miserable experience. Yelp makes it trivial to filter on a map. On desktop, maybe. Here's my experience trying this out on mobile (safari/iOS) just now: I searched for "Pizza" with "San Francisco, CA" pre-filled. I am presented with a screen that ostensibly gives me a choice between "Open in the Yelp App" and "Continue to mobile site." I say ostensibly, because I don't get the chance to choose before a second tab opens up with a strange URL that causes iOS to open up the app store to their app. I close the app store and go back to Safari and click "continue to mobile site". There are some results listed. I click "map". Yelp asks me for my location. I allow it. It shows me results for San Francisco. I'm about 30 miles away on the peninsula. Now, I know I searched for San Francisco, and maybe that's what I want. But then what is Yelp even doing with my location? At the bottom is an add for their iOS App. I click "x" to close it. Nothing happens. After four clicks, it finally leaves. I click "Filters", select "Open Now" and submit. Yelp asks for my location again. I allow it. It now shows me the results that are open, still ranging from SF to Colma. (So again, I have no idea what they're doing with my location.) I click on a result. In this case, Golden Boy Pizza. I click on a photo. I scroll a few photos. On the sixth photo, I am presented the option of viewing all 3427 photos ...in the app. I scroll down to look at reviews. Oh, those stars aren't reviews for this restaurant. They're sponsored suggestions. I scroll down further. I click a review that looks interesting because I want to read the whole thing. ...it takes me back to the app store without even a prompt. --- So, yeah, it's technically 'trivial' in the sense that you can get a list. But to actually use that list, you have to worry if any random click is going to take you away from the website. Some of the information you want is completely inaccessible without installing their software. (And even if you go through it all, there's no guarantee Yelp's information is current either.) Even if I trusted Yelp, I'd rather use any other method to find a pizza place.

Can_Not 6y ago
Great summary of how shitty the experience is of browsing literally any website that has a mobile app or unecessary login.
greggman3 6y ago
That experience sucks and I totally hate it as well. FWIW, for Google Maps, Youtube, etc. if you don't want them to try to open the app browse them in an incognito tab (I use Chrome so I don't know if Safari does the same thing in a "private tab") but I'm just guessing the thinking is, in a private tab, auto launching apps would defeat your privacy so it doesn't happen. I didn't try that with the Yelp app. I don't use Yelp at all. There are more reviews on Google Maps for most of the places I visit (not the USA)