Yelp has made some changes to its Nearby feature to make it more useful and show suggestions for places that are near you. Suggestions are based not only on location, but also on previous Yelp check-ins, reviews, Yelp friends, time of day, weather, etc.
Interestingly, this comes just after Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman indicated that check-in data isn’t incredibly helpful.
It’s in there somewhere.
“At Yelp, we have an entire community of reviewers that we rely on to suggest places you might not know about, as well as places that you and your friends love,” said Yelp search product manager Travis B. in a blog post. “Maybe you’ll discover something new, maybe you’ll understand what the neighborhood has to offer, or maybe you’ll be reminded of an old favorite.”
“Imagine it’s noon and you’re hungry for lunch, but don’t want the same old ham n’ cheese from the corner deli,” he adds. “A quick visit to the Nearby page might bring up a highly rated spot around the corner that is known for their banh mi and has been reviewed by one of your Yelp friends. You might also see a place down the block where a bunch of Yelpers are checked in right now…your FOMO kicks in and you head over to join the party.”
According to Yelp, 45% of its searches come from mobile apps. The new feature is currently available on iPhone, and will come to Android within the next few months.
