Opinions: everybody has one. Many, many more than one, in most cases. And most people love to share them. Enter Yelp, the largest social platform primarily dedicated to local business reviews in the world. As important as advertising is to loan officers and other businesses, nothing can beat positive word of mouth. A flurry of positive reviews can usher potential customers to your door just as surely as any well-received print or television ad and can immediately dispel any fears or questions they may have about the quality of your work. Here’s how you can begin the process of creating a Yelp Business account and start racking up five-star reviews from happy customers.

How to create your Yelp Business account

The first step in taking advantage of Yelp is to add your ‘business’ to the Yelp roster. Many ‘traditional’ businesses are automatically included on Yelp and were not necessarily added by the business owner. For example, you may want to leave a positive or negative review for the local Taco Bell. You will almost certainly find that this particular Taco Bell is already on Yelp and receiving customer reviews, whether or not the franchise owner added it themselves, because the Yelp program has automatically listed all of the physical storefront businesses it can locate. However, a loan officer will most likely find that he or she does not have a Yelp business listing and must request that it be added. To do so, verify that you are not listed by following this link (1) and searching for your name. Once you have confirmed you are not already on Yelp, simply click the button that appears which says ‘Add your business to Yelp’. Yelp will ask you for business information, including your email address, which you can enter in the provided fields. Once complete, click ‘Add Business’ and you’re on your way! Yelp administrators will review your submission to ensure that you meet the site’s business standards. Once approved, you will be officially added to the Yelp business roster.

How to regain access to your account

As with all other social media networks, Yelp requires a username (or email) and password to access your account. If you forget your password, simply click the ‘forgot password’ button on the login screen and a link will be sent to your email to reset your password. However, the possibility exists that you may encounter an issue wherein you have already been listed on Yelp when you attempt to sign up and someone else has already claimed your business name. If that occurs, you may request ownership of the existing page through Yelp (2). To verify that you are the rightful owner, Yelp administrators may attempt to call the phone number listed and ask that you share a verification code which they’ve provided. If this doesn’t work, they will give you instructions for submitting a report to the Yelp Support team to help them confirm ownership of your name on the platform.

How to edit your account

Editing the information that prospective clients and the rest of the public see when they visit your Yelp page is easy. First, log in with your email/password credentials, then click your profile icon in the upper-right corner of the screen. Select ‘Account Settings’ and then ‘Profile’. From there, you can correct your name (if necessary), add a nickname, specify your gender, add your hometown, write a short headline and bio for your Yelp page, and more (3). You can also add your photo to your Yelp profile from the same location. Adding a photo is an important step when joining Yelp: business page owners are unable to respond to reviews left by customers until a profile photo has been added to their business page and approved by Yelp administrators (4). If you need to update the email address that is tied to your account, simply click ‘Edit Business Account Information,’ add your new email address, and click ‘Save’ (5).

How to mark your business as "Temporarily Closed"

There is no way to temporarily unpublish a page, and there is no way to delete a business page altogether. Instead, users can mark a business as Permanently Closed or Temporarily Closed (more on Permanently Closed below). Tap on the 'Edit Business' option and make the appropriate selections. If you are in the process of remodeling or you'll be closed for an extended period of time you can report a temporary closure. Using the same methods above, select the 'Temporary Closed' option (6).

How to "Claim" your page

Claiming is how you manage your Yelp Page. Claiming your page allows you to edit the details on your page and gives you access to a suite of free tools and metrics for your business. For example, you can update your hours, add details about your business, upload photos, respond to reviews, and more. It allows you to bring your unique business brand and personality to Yelp. Keep in mind some page information may have a cost associated, such as adding a business logo. To claim a page, go to Yelp for Business at biz.yelp.com/claim. Find your business page by typing in your business name. If it’s listed, click on it. If it’s not listed, you can instead create one using “Add to Yelp for free.” Claim the page by creating a Yelp account and entering your business information and email address. Verify your account by entering your verification code from the system email (7).