Yelp Sells Display Ads in Its Mobile App to Monetize Its Huge Mobile User Base
Yelp is taking a big step toward monetizing its large mobile user base. The company is set to show display ads in its mobile app starting this week. InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) and Taco Bell are the first two advertisers that will buy these ad units, with Miller Lite slated to start a campaign later this month.
Ad Age reports that IHG and Taco Bell will have their ads appear in their respective categories, “meaning all ads served while Yelpers make travel-related searches will be from IHG while Taco Bell will serve all ads in the restaurant category.”
According to Yelp’s announcement of 100 million visitors in January, 46 percent of its search query volume that month came from mobile devices. It also shared that 9.4 million unique mobile devices used its mobile app that month, with 4.6 million calls generated through the app.
