Yelp is giving users the option to personalize their search results based on diet, lifestyle, and accessibility.
Users can set up profiles to specify their preferences, and only places that meet their individual requirements will be surfaced in search results.
This is the first time Yelp has allowed users to personalize search results by anything other than location.
In addition to diet, lifestyle, and accessibility, users can set other interests in their profile such as type of cuisine, favorite attractions, and most frequented types of businesses.
After conducting a search with personalization options turned on, labels will be automatically applied to business listings to highlight which criterion is met.
Yelp’s new “For You” personalization options can be toggled on and off at any time, so if users want to see a complete set of search results they can easily do so.
According to Yelp, information provided by users will only be used to personalize their experience on the app. In other words, it won’t be sold to advertisers, or so the company says.
Information used to personalize search results is gathered from reviews, photos, and questions answered by other users. So there is nothing businesses have to do in order to show up in personalized search results.
Yelp emphasizes that, unlike Google, personalized search results are not algorithmically generated. It’s all within control of the individual user.
These changes coincide with Yelp’s efforts to expand the app’s focus beyond food. Personalization options are rolling out to iOS users today, and will be making their way to Android later in the year.
