Yelp built its ad business by attracting users that know what they want, just not who to buy it from -- exactly when ads are most effective.
That's why I find today's VentureBeat piece by Rocky Agrawal
titled "Yelp advertising is a rip-off for small advertisers" to be ridiculous.
His sources say Yelp charges a $600 CPM, or 1,000-times the standard online CPM rate
Yes, these ads are expensive, especially for low-end restaurantsBut for lawyers, dentists, jewelers and mechanics with a high lifetime average revenue per customer, turning someone searching for their services on Yelp into a loyal customer is no rip-off, it can drive huge ROI..