Yahoo Tapping into Yelp Reviews for Local Search

yahoo sign in office

yahoo local search results screenshot

It seems there’s no end in sight for the stream of big changes happening at Yahoo. In an effort to improve the quality of Yahoo search, Yahoo Local search results are set to take a backseat to Yelp listings and reviews in local search results in the following weeks, according to The Verge.

yahoo sign in officeIt hasn’t yet been disclosed whether Yelp details like star ratings will appear in search results, but with search competitor Google offering its own Local star ratings in local search results and integrating Zagat badges of excellence and curated lists into Maps, it only makes sense for Yahoo to display location ratings, too. There’s no word yet on the terms of the partnership between Yahoo and Yelp.

Yelp is one of the most comprehensive databases available for crowdsourced reviews and ratings of local places, and integrating Yelp results into Yahoo local searches will only improve the quality of Yahoo search results. If Yahoo continues making smart choices like this, the site might soon reclaim the internet search throne – or at least a larger part of it.

This report follows a suite of changes at Yahoo, including the launch of Yahoo Smart TV, the News Digest phone app and Yahoo’s new advertising platform. In August, comScore announced that Yahoo surpassed Google in number of unique visitors for the first time since May 2011.

Do you use Yahoo to find local businesses?

Featured image by Luca Conti

Lauren Mobertz

By Lauren Mobertz

Lauren is the former managing editor for DashBurst. One part geek, one part urban nomad, she is constantly scouting for the latest tech and world news. In the evenings you'll find Lauren running in strange places or attempting to dance salsa.