Google Reviews vs Yelp: Where Contractors Should Focus

81% of consumers use Google to evaluate local businesses. 32% check Yelp. For home service contractors deciding where to focus their review generation efforts, the data points in one direction.

Google reviews directly influence your visibility in local search results, which is where 46% of all searches now have local intent. When a homeowner searches “plumber near me” or “HVAC repair [city],” your Google reviews determine whether you appear in the Local Pack, the map results that dominate mobile screens.

Yelp reviews don’t affect Google rankings at all. A 5-star Yelp profile with 200 reviews won’t help you show up when someone searches on Google.

The reach difference

Google processes 8.5 billion searches per day. Yelp gets about 178 million unique monthly visitors. The scale difference is 50:1.

More importantly, Google search intent is active. Someone searching “emergency plumber” needs a plumber now. They’re not browsing. They’re ready to call. Yelp visitors are often comparing options or killing time. The intent quality differs.

Google Business Profile views convert to website visits at roughly 5%. For contractors with properly optimized profiles and strong review counts, that conversion often leads to calls. Read more about Google Business Profile optimization.

How each platform handles reviews

Google wants more reviews. They make it easy for businesses to request reviews, provide direct links, and don’t penalize businesses for asking. Their algorithm rewards recent review activity, which means consistent new reviews help your rankings.

Yelp explicitly discourages businesses from asking for reviews. Their recommendation software filters out reviews it suspects were solicited. Yelp claims to filter about 25-30% of all reviews, but anecdotal reports from business owners suggest the actual number is higher.

This creates a frustrating dynamic for contractors on Yelp. You do great work, the customer volunteers to leave a review, and Yelp’s algorithm hides it as “not currently recommended.” Meanwhile, an angry customer who has never reviewed anything gets their 1-star prominently displayed.

Yelp’s filter makes review generation strategies nearly impossible to execute. You can’t control which reviews stick.

The SEO impact

Reviews are a confirmed Google ranking factor for local search. BrightLocal research shows that reviews account for roughly 15-17% of how Google ranks local businesses. Review quantity, velocity, diversity, and your responses all factor in.

Contractors in the Local Pack (the top 3 map results) average 47% more reviews than those ranked below. Review velocity matters too: a business getting 10 reviews per month outranks a business with a higher total but no recent activity.

Yelp reviews contribute nothing to Google rankings. Yelp does rank for some local search terms itself, and searches like “best plumber [city]” sometimes surface Yelp lists. But you’re competing within Yelp’s platform, not improving your own visibility.

If you only have time to focus on one review platform, Google delivers compounding returns through improved search visibility. Yelp delivers reviews that stay on Yelp.

Industry-specific considerations

Yelp’s relevance varies by industry and geography. Restaurants and retail still see significant Yelp traffic. Home services less so.

In coastal cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York, Yelp usage is higher than the national average. If you’re a plumber in San Francisco, Yelp matters more than if you’re a plumber in Dallas.

HVAC, roofing, and electrical services see lower Yelp engagement than plumbing. Emergency services get even less Yelp traffic. When someone’s basement is flooding, they’re not checking Yelp reviews.

Check your own referral data. How many calls or website visits come from Yelp compared to Google? That ratio should inform where you invest effort.

The cost factor

Google Business Profile is free. Claiming your profile, requesting reviews, responding to reviews: all free.

Yelp operates on a paid advertising model. They push businesses toward paid placements, enhanced profiles, and sponsored results. A free Yelp listing gets limited visibility compared to businesses paying for placement.

Yelp’s sales team is notorious for aggressive outreach. Many contractors report receiving multiple calls per week pushing advertising packages. The ROI on Yelp ads varies significantly by market, but the general consensus among home service contractors is that Yelp ad spend delivers lower returns than Google Ads or Local Services Ads.

What to do on each platform

Google: full effort

Request reviews from every satisfied customer. Send automated requests within 2 hours of service completion. Review request timing directly impacts response rates.

Respond to every review, positive and negative. Use the negative review framework for complaints.

Add photos regularly. Update your business description seasonally. Post updates. The algorithm rewards activity.

Yelp: monitor and respond

Claim your Yelp profile if you haven’t. Make sure business information is accurate. Add photos and your service list.

Respond to reviews that appear. Don’t spend significant effort trying to generate Yelp reviews. Their filter makes this frustrating and often futile.

Consider Yelp advertising only if your referral data shows meaningful traffic from the platform. Test with a small budget before committing.

Do not violate Yelp’s terms by offering incentives for reviews. They’re more aggressive about enforcement than Google.

The 4:1 rule

For most home service contractors, a reasonable allocation is 80% of review effort toward Google, 20% toward other platforms including Yelp.

If you’re generating 10 reviews per month total, aim for 8+ on Google. The SEO compounding makes this the highest-ROI focus.

The exception is contractors in Yelp-heavy markets seeing significant referral traffic from the platform. Check your analytics. If Yelp drives 30%+ of your leads, it deserves more attention.

What about other platforms?

Facebook reviews matter if your customers are active on Facebook. They don’t impact search rankings but do provide social proof when prospects check your Facebook page.

Angi and HomeAdvisor reviews matter primarily if you’re paying for leads on those platforms. They influence your placement within those marketplaces but don’t affect broader visibility.

Nextdoor recommendations matter for neighborhood marketing. They’re particularly valuable for contractors targeting specific geographic areas. Read more about neighbor marketing strategies.

Industry-specific platforms like Houzz (for remodelers and landscapers) have niche audiences worth considering if they’re relevant to your services.

None of these should take priority over Google for a general home service contractor.

The long game

Google reviews compound. Each new review improves your ranking slightly, which brings more visibility, which brings more customers, which brings more reviews. The businesses dominating the Local Pack have been consistently generating reviews for years.

Yelp reviews sit static. Even if you build a strong Yelp profile, it doesn’t create the same flywheel effect because Yelp reviews don’t influence where else you appear.

Contractors starting from zero should focus almost exclusively on Google. Contractors with established Google profiles can consider diversifying to Yelp if their market data supports it.

The question isn’t whether Google reviews or Yelp reviews are “better.” Google reviews impact how homeowners find you. Yelp reviews impact how homeowners see you after they’ve already decided to check Yelp. For most contractors, being found is the bigger problem.

Solve that first.