Short answer: Claiming your Yelp business page is free. Search for your business at biz.yelp.com or in the Yelp for Business app and follow the steps, which include a phone verification. Once it’s claimed, you can update your details, reply to messages and respond to reviews.
What a claimed Yelp page gives you
Yelp says a claimed page is one that the owner or a representative of the business has claimed through its verification process. Claiming is free, and it doesn’t make you an advertiser, although a business has to claim its page before it can advertise with Yelp.
With a claimed page you can respond to reviews and reply to messages and quote requests. You can also track the views and leads Yelp sends you and update your address, phone, hours and website. You can add more about the business too, such as an owner biography and your specialties.
Yelp may show a claimed page as unclaimed again after a period of inactivity by the owner, so log in from time to time.
How to claim your business page
Yelp says the easiest way is to search for your business at biz.yelp.com, its Yelp for Business website, or in the Yelp for Business app. From there it walks you through claiming the page and setting up your business account.
If there’s no option to claim the page, someone else may have claimed it already, or the page may be new and still pending approval. If you can’t claim it with phone verification, Yelp prompts you to send a report to its Support team with details about your business.
To claim another location later, go to Account Settings, then Additional Options, and click Add another location. Keep the name, address and phone the same as on your other listings; our guide to local citations explains why that matters.
How to respond to a review on Yelp
- Make sure your business account has an approved profile photo and an approved account name, which Yelp requires to respond.
- On biz.yelp.com, open the Reviews section in the left-hand menu.
- If you manage several locations, pick the right one from See all locations at the top left.
- Find the review and click Respond for a public reply, or Direct Message for a private one.
- Write your reply; for a positive review, a genuine, personal thank you is enough.
- Click the arrow icon on the right to send it.
- To change it later, click the three dots next to your reply and choose Edit response or Delete response.
Yelp recommends starting with a public response, which appears below the review for anyone who looks at your page. For a 4 or 5 star review, the Thank button sends a short private thank you note. For a critical review, Yelp suggests taking a minute to collect your thoughts first, and our guide to responding to negative reviews covers what to write.
Write the reply yourself. Yelp’s Content Guidelines say you shouldn’t use third-party AI tools or chatbots to create content, or to draft or revise it.
Why some reviews aren’t recommended
Yelp uses automated software to decide which reviews to recommend. It looks at hundreds of factors, including the quality and reliability of each review and the reviewer’s activity on Yelp. It applies the same rules to every business.
A review may not be recommended because it looks fake, because someone connected with the business wrote it, or simply because there isn’t enough information yet. Customer Support can’t override the software, and advertising doesn’t change it: Yelp treats reviews of advertisers and non-advertisers exactly the same.
Asking for reviews and reporting them
Yelp’s Content Guidelines say businesses should never ask customers to write reviews. To let people know you’re on Yelp without asking, Yelp suggests a link to your page in your email signature and a “Find Us on Yelp” sticker. That’s different from Google, where our guide to getting more Google reviews explains how to ask.
Yelp removes reviews that break its Content Guidelines, and you can report a questionable one. Suspicion usually isn’t enough, so give specific evidence when you report it. Reviews that only talk about a business’s hours, offerings or policies can also be removed. Private information can get a review removed too, but Yelp allows full names in some cases, such as doctors, lawyers or realtors.
| Why Yelp may remove a review | Examples Yelp gives |
|---|---|
| A conflict of interest | A competitor or former employee, someone affiliated with the business, someone paid or given an incentive |
| Not the reviewer’s own experience | Someone else’s experience, a dispute with another review, a different business, copied text |
| Inappropriate material | Hate speech, lewd comments or threats, private information about employees or customers |
Our own summary of the Yelp for Business help center page on reporting reviews, read on November 6, 2026.
Before you count on Yelp
- Your page is claimed and you can log in to it.
- Your address, phone, hours and website match your other listings.
- Your business account has an approved profile photo and name.
- You respond to reviews in public first and use direct messages when needed.
- Nobody on your team asks customers for Yelp reviews.
- You report reviews that break the rules, with evidence.
RememberClaiming your Yelp page is free and doesn’t require advertising. Keep your details current, respond to reviews in public, and let customers find you on Yelp without asking them for reviews.
Our local SEO service answers your reviews and keeps your listings on the same name, address and phone. Write to us on WhatsApp or send the form.
Quick answers about Yelp for business
Is it free to claim a business on Yelp?
Yes. Yelp says claiming a business page is completely free, and a claimed page doesn’t mean the business advertises with Yelp. A business does have to claim its page before it can advertise.
Can I ask customers to review my business on Yelp?
No. Yelp’s Content Guidelines say businesses should never ask customers to write reviews. You can still let people know you’re on Yelp, for example with a link in your email signature or a “Find Us on Yelp” sticker.
Why are some of my Yelp reviews not recommended?
Yelp’s automated software decides which reviews to recommend. A review may look fake, come from someone connected with the business, or not have enough information yet. Customer Support can’t override the software.
Does advertising on Yelp help my reviews?
No. Yelp says its automated recommendation software applies the same uniform rules to every business, and it treats reviews of advertisers and non-advertisers exactly the same.
Why can’t I claim my business page on Yelp?
Someone else may have claimed it already, or the page may be new and still pending approval. If phone verification doesn’t work, Yelp prompts you to send a report to its Support team with your business details.
Sources
Sources from the Yelp for Business help center and Yelp, read on November 6, 2026: How do I claim a business page?. What is a claimed business?. How do I respond to reviews of my business?. Why aren’t all of my reviews being recommended?. What is Yelp's recommendation software?. When should I report a review?. How can I get more reviews for my business?. Content Guidelines.