For most local businesses, Google reviews deserve the bulk of your effort, and Yelp deserves a profile that is accurate and watched rather than a campaign. Google is where most local searches start, it lets you ask customers for reviews openly, and its reviews feed the map results people tap on their phones. Yelp matters mainly in food, hospitality and a few service categories where its audience is loyal.
That's the short answer. The longer one depends on how each platform treats the reviews you ask for, because that's what decides where your time pays off.
The difference that changes your workflow
Google lets you ask. A review request, a QR code at the counter, a link in a follow-up message: all fine, as long as you offer no reward and ask everyone the same way. Our guide to asking customers for reviews covers the practical side.
Yelp discourages it. Yelp's guidance to businesses is to avoid soliciting reviews, and its recommendation software tends to hold back reviews from people with little history on the platform, including genuine ones. Third-party summaries of Yelp's approach say the same thing, though Yelp's own help pages are the source to check for current wording.
The practical result: on Google you can build a steady flow of reviews on purpose. On Yelp you mostly earn them by being worth talking about.
What each platform is good for
Google. It's the default for "near me" searches, and the star rating and review count sit right beside your name in the results. A profile with recent, specific reviews is part of how you show up at all. If you're not sure how many you need, how many Google reviews you need goes through it.
Yelp. Reviews tend to be longer and more detailed, and its users often browse with intent to compare. Restaurants, bars, salons and home services in dense cities are the usual cases where Yelp traffic is worth caring about. Elsewhere it may send you very little.
You can check this for your own business in a few minutes. Search your category and neighbourhood the way a customer would. If Yelp listings crowd the first page, it matters for you. If they don't, it mostly doesn't.
What to do on each
On Google, run a real process. Ask every customer, track the ratings that come in, reply to reviews, and keep your profile details current. The review collection process post lays out a routine you can run without a marketing team.
On Yelp, keep it tidy. Claim the page, check your hours, photos and categories, and respond to reviews courteously, positive or negative. Don't send mass requests, and don't pressure friends or staff to post. Both platforms' systems are built to spot that pattern.
Treat the two differently in your messages. If your request links only to Google, that's fine. Don't build a campaign that tells customers to "also leave one on Yelp" if you're trying to stay within each platform's rules.
Where private feedback fits
Not every customer wants to post anywhere, and some have a complaint they'd rather raise with you. A good flow lets them choose. With Starboard's rating-first flow, the customer taps stars first and then decides whether the review goes to a public profile or to your private inbox. Every customer sees the same options whatever they rated, which is what keeps it on the right side of Google's gating rules.
The private route also sidesteps the platform question. A note sent to you doesn't depend on Google's or Yelp's filters, and it still tells you what to fix.
A simple split
Put most of your review effort on Google. Check Yelp monthly. Look at where your customers say they found you, and move the balance if the answer surprises you. If you want a fuller picture of how the platforms compare in one market, Google vs Zomato vs JustDial works through a case where the answer is more mixed.