Yelp, TripAdvisor, Google, Facebook, and 3rd Party Delivery Partners provide fair business practice for Small Businesses or not?

[ErinK]

California.

I will appreciate if you can address my concern when it comes to ethical advertising and intellectual property rights. Below are some examples that find unethical and would like to get a professional's opinion.

YELP BUSINESS ACCOUNT
There is remove competitor ads option on Yelp for $75 per month. Even though as a business we pay that fee, they are still placing competitors' links on our Yelp page, under "People Also View" and "Best of Yelp" topics. They also don't allow small businesses to use their Order Online links but forcing them to work with companies like GrubHub which is costing businesses almost 40%. On top of this in order to increase business visibility, we used to spend an additional $450 per month on Yelp Advertisement, knowing that our ad budget will/ can benefit to GrubHub or competitors.

GOOGLE MY BUSINESS
Google not only put an online order button on our business account which doesn't even include our web online order link as an option but providing 3rd Party Partner links such as Eatstreet etc. which charge high commissions over sales to the business. On "Reservations" section instead of our web reservation link; we again see that they provide OpenTable or AllSet, etc.. There is also an "Order" section under Reservations line; where they list all 3rd party Take-Out and Delivery companies. We feel lucky to see that our Online Web Ordering is listed after a bunch of others. They also place an additional Order UberEats or Doordash banner on our business account.

TRIPADVISOR MY BUSINESS ACCOUNT
Even though we have our own Online Sales, they provide the "Order Online GrubHub" Lin on our account.

FACEBOOK MY BUSINESS ACCOUNT is not better than all above.


And guess what as a small business we have no control on these links that they use on our business accounts on these platforms. They either say that they have a partnership agreement with these 3rd parties or search engine brings all these links to our accounts, they can't change anything. Knowing the power of Social Media, we have to advertise on these platforms, However, we are ending up sending our potential customers to 3rd party high-cost companies which multiplies our costs or send them to a competitor with our own ad budget.

Does it make sense to advertise on these platforms under these circumstances? NO
Does it do a fair business practice for small businesses? NO

What Small Businesses can do about this unfair practice to survive in the market? Is there a way that we can protect our intellectual property ( I consider our business accounts and brands as our intellectual property and think that as a business I would have the right to decide the content showing on my account) on these platforms?

This is a general Small Business problem in the market that would be addressed by the authorities if we want Small Businesses to stay in business. Will appreciate if you can share your thoughts and advise us where would we send our concerns to get help. FTC, BBB, SBA...

 

[quincy]

California.

I will appreciate if you can address my concern when it comes to ethical advertising and intellectual property rights. Below are some examples that find unethical and would like to get a professional's opinion.

YELP BUSINESS ACCOUNT
There is remove competitor ads option on Yelp for $75 per month. Even though as a business we pay that fee, they are still placing competitors' links on our Yelp page, under "People Also View" and "Best of Yelp" topics. They also don't allow small businesses to use their Order Online links but forcing them to work with companies like GrubHub which is costing businesses almost 40%. On top of this in order to increase business visibility, we used to spend an additional $450 per month on Yelp Advertisement, knowing that our ad budget will/ can benefit to GrubHub or competitors.

GOOGLE MY BUSINESS
Google not only put an online order button on our business account which doesn't even include our web online order link as an option but providing 3rd Party Partner links such as Eatstreet etc. which charge high commissions over sales to the business. On "Reservations" section instead of our web reservation link; we again see that they provide OpenTable or AllSet, etc.. There is also an "Order" section under Reservations line; where they list all 3rd party Take-Out and Delivery companies. We feel lucky to see that our Online Web Ordering is listed after a bunch of others. They also place an additional Order UberEats or Doordash banner on our business account.

TRIPADVISOR MY BUSINESS ACCOUNT
Even though we have our own Online Sales, they provide the "Order Online GrubHub" Lin on our account.

FACEBOOK MY BUSINESS ACCOUNT is not better than all above.


And guess what as a small business we have no control on these links that they use on our business accounts on these platforms. They either say that they have a partnership agreement with these 3rd parties or search engine brings all these links to our accounts, they can't change anything. Knowing the power of Social Media, we have to advertise on these platforms, However, we are ending up sending our potential customers to 3rd party high-cost companies which multiplies our costs or send them to a competitor with our own ad budget.

Does it make sense to advertise on these platforms under these circumstances? NO
Does it do a fair business practice for small businesses? NO

What Small Businesses can do about this unfair practice to survive in the market? Is there a way that we can protect our intellectual property ( I consider our business accounts and brands as our intellectual property and think that as a business I would have the right to decide the content showing on my account) on these platforms?

This is a general Small Business problem in the market that would be addressed by the authorities if we want Small Businesses to stay in business. Will appreciate if you can share your thoughts and advise us where would we send our concerns to get help. FTC, BBB, SBA...

This is not really an intellectual property or even a legal issue.

You, as a small business, have the option of advertising on these sites or not. You can restrict your advertising to your own website (where you can manage what else appears on the site) or advertise in area papers.

The trick to advertising is to not ignore the fact that you have competitors but to make your own business and what it offers more attractive to consumers than what the competitors offer.

You should realize that the companies you mention are in business just like you are and they want to maximize their profits just like you do. If they aren't violating a law with their business practices (and they do not appear to be), there is little you can do to change their business operations.

 

[quincy]

You can find California's unfair competition laws under the Business and Professions Code. Here is Section 17200 of the Business and Professions Code:
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=17200.&lawCode=BPC

 

[ErinK]

Thank you very much, quincy. I will check it out now.

 

[quincy]

Thank you very much, quincy. I will check it out now.

You're welcome, ErinK. Thanks for the thanks.

You can look at Business and Professions Code Chapter 1 sections 17500-17606 to read prohibited acts.
http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=BPC&sectionNum=17500.

Good luck with your business.

 

[ErinK]

Thank you very much, Quincy. So far all I can do is to cancel our contracts with the highest commission partners. However, I still think that as a business I would be the decision maker on which sales platform I would be sending my customers, not Yelp, Google or TripAdvisor etc.
I have read the 17200, will check further with it and the Business and Professions Code Chapter 1 section 17500 to read prohibited acts to learn more. I appreciate your information.

 

[adjusterjack]

Now that you have figured out that they are expensive rip-offs and there won't be anything you can do about it, it's time to cancel and do your advertising elsewhere.

Remember, your contract with them allows them to do exactly what they are doing. In other words you gave consent when you signed up.

 

[ErinK]

Thank you very much for your response, Jack. That's what we can do the max it looks like. Unless the government takes some precautions to stop these businesses take advantage of small businesses.

 

[quincy]

Thank you very much, Quincy. So far all I can do is to cancel our contracts with the highest commission partners. However, I still think that as a business I would be the decision maker on which sales platform I would be sending my customers, not Yelp, Google or TripAdvisor etc.
I have read the 17200, will check further with it and the Business and Professions Code Chapter 1 section 17500 to read prohibited acts to learn more. I appreciate your information.

When looking at various sites on which to advertise your business, you should read carefully the terms and conditions of the sites. Take a good look at how other company's ads are presented. That gives you an indication of how your own business will be advertised on the site.

As a note, I started off in college (years and years ago) with the goal of an eventual career in advertising. I worked one summer for a major advertising agency in Michigan. I changed career direction but still recognize what makes a good ad good, the importance of ad placement, and the value of advertising.

You want to know that your advertising is reaching your target audience and that your audience is responding favorably by seeking out your business. If you do not see an increase in business with your advertising, your advertising dollars are being wasted.

 

[ErinK]

When looking at various sites on which to advertise your business, you should read carefully the terms and conditions of the sites. Take a good look at how other company's ads are presented. That gives you an indication of how your own business will be advertised on the site.

As a note, I started off in college (years and years ago) with the goal of an eventual career in advertising. I worked one summer for a major advertising agency in Michigan. I changed career direction but still recognize what makes a good ad good, the importance of ad placement, and the value of advertising.

You want to know that your advertising is reaching your target audience and that your audience is responding favorably by seeking out your business. If you do not see an increase in business with your advertising, your advertising dollars are being wasted.

Agree, Quincy. Thank you very much for sharing your information.

 

[quincy]

Agree, Quincy. Thank you very much for sharing your information.

You're welcome. The thanks are always appreciated.

I wish you great success with your business.