Our moderators assess a number of different factors and consider how impactful the changes are to the consumer experience. Getting changes of this magnitude wrong can be disruptive to businesses as well as potential customers, and our moderators will typically look for external confirmation, like a notice on the business’s website, Facebook page, or Twitter feed, or a news article describing the changes. When reporting substantial changes, you can help our moderators by including links to these sources in the Additional Context/Notes field.
Please read the guidelines below for more information, and learn how to submit the changes with our instructions for reporting substantial business changes.
Guidelines regarding:
Permanent Closures
Businesses that close will stay listed on Yelp; this allows customers to confirm the business’s status (or to add any relevant content they may have forgotten to add when the business was open). However, closed businesses will appear less prominently in searches.
This banner will appear on business pages that are marked as permanently closed:
This banner will appear on business pages that are marked as permanently closed:
Temporary Closures
Businesses that close seasonally or for a short period of time — but offer a largely similar experience when they reopen — can be marked as temporary closed. Business pages that are marked as temporarily closed may not appear as prominently in search results, as we want to show customers the most relevant businesses at the time of their search.
This banner will appear on business pages that are marked as temporarily closed:
This banner will appear on business pages that are marked as temporarily closed:
Renovations
For businesses that undergo renovations which result in a largely different customer experience afterwards, we'll generally create a new page and mark the old page as renovated. Reviews and photos from the original business page generally won’t be moved to the new one.
A banner linking to the new business page will appear on the old page for a short period of time after the transition:
A banner linking to the new business page will appear on the old page for a short period of time after the transition:
During this time, a banner linking to the old business page will also appear on the new page to alert customers to the situation:
More minor renovations won’t necessitate a new page, but can be indicated to customers in the “From the Business” section or a Call to Action.
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Moves
For many businesses, location and ambience are a core part of the consumer experience, so when these businesses move, we typically create a new business page and mark the old page as moved. Reviews and photos from the original business page generally won't be moved to the new one.
A banner linking to the new business page will appear on the old page for a short period of time after the transition:
A banner linking to the new business page will appear on the old page for a short period of time after the transition:
During this time, a banner linking to the old business page will also appear on the new page to alert customers to the situation:
Relocations that aren’t accompanied a unique or new customer experience, or those of businesses that aren’t as defined by ambiance, such as retail or service-based businesses, can generally be indicated as an update to the existing business page.
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Ownership/Management changes
When a business is transferred to new owners or management but the core customer experience remains the same, business owners are welcome to let their customers know about the change in the “From the Business” section or a Call to Action. The old owners may relinquish access to the business page so that it can be claimed by the new owners.
In the event new owners change the business name, we'll create a new page and close the old owners' page.
In the event new owners change the business name, we'll create a new page and close the old owners' page.
Name Changes
Many changes can take place when a business goes through a rebrand. When assessing a rebrand for an update versus a new page, Yelp factors in aspects such as ownership, location, offerings and ambiance.
There are two scenarios resulting in new pages: (1) if the new name is accompanied by a change in ownership and (2) major changes in location, ambiance or other fundamental elements in the customer experience take place.
In the event there is only a name change and the customer experience remains the same, generally we’ll update the existing business page. Keep in mind, when a business with multiple locations, such as national chains, rebrand or change their business name, Yelp will factor in how the brand identity impacts the customer experience and may elect to create new business pages.
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There are two scenarios resulting in new pages: (1) if the new name is accompanied by a change in ownership and (2) major changes in location, ambiance or other fundamental elements in the customer experience take place.
In the event there is only a name change and the customer experience remains the same, generally we’ll update the existing business page. Keep in mind, when a business with multiple locations, such as national chains, rebrand or change their business name, Yelp will factor in how the brand identity impacts the customer experience and may elect to create new business pages.
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