Yelp Ads can be worth it for a med spa that already has strong Yelp reviews in a city where patients search Yelp for treatments. Yelp lists ads from $150 a month and you pay per click. Test it with a monthly cap, and judge it by booked visits, not clicks. If your patients don't use Yelp, spend elsewhere.
Disclosure. I'm Lorea, and I run Medspa Market Pro (MMP). We run Meta first-visit campaigns for med spas, so we're one of the alternatives below. Every Yelp fact here comes from Yelp's own pages or filings, checked on October 21, 2026, and the sources are linked.
What Yelp Ads are
Yelp Ads are paid placements on Yelp. Yelp says your ad appears in the "Sponsored Results" sections above and below search results, and on competitors' Yelp pages (Yelp Ads). Yelp also says it can show your ad to Yelp users when they search off Yelp. You target by location and keyword, and you track results in a Yelp Ads dashboard. Yelp says you choose whether the ad's button has people call or message you, visit your website, or open a map for directions (Yelp Ads).
Your Yelp Business Page itself is free. The ad is what you pay for.
How much Yelp Ads cost (what Yelp publishes)
Here are the prices Yelp lists on its local business pricing page, checked October 21, 2026.
| Yelp product | Yelp's listed price | What it adds |
|---|---|---|
| Yelp Business Page | Free | Your listing, reviews and messages. Quote requests are for eligible service categories only |
| Yelp Ads | From $150/month, cancel anytime | Ad spots in Yelp search, targeting by location and keyword |
| Upgrade Package | $180/month, cancel anytime | Visuals, promoted offers, and no competitor ads on your page |
| Yelp Ads and Upgrade Package | From $270/month, cancel anytime | Both of the above |
Yelp notes that "minimum budgets subject to change." Its Yelp Ads page says you can spend as little as $5 a day on average and raise your budget to any maximum you choose.
How Yelp charges
You pay per click. Yelp's own shareholder letter reports its ad business in ad clicks and average cost per click (Yelp Q2 2026 letter), and WebFX's August 2026 guide explains that you pay when someone clicks, not when the ad shows (WebFX).
Yelp doesn't publish a cost per click for med spas. WebFX says there's no reliable average and points to the estimate Yelp shows during setup. So your real cost per patient is something you only learn by testing.
Is Yelp advertising worth it for a med spa?
It depends on three things you can check before you spend anything.
1. Do patients in your city search Yelp for your treatment? Search Yelp for "med spa" or "laser hair removal" near you. If the top listings have hundreds of reviews and recent activity, people use Yelp there. If they have a handful, fewer people may use Yelp for that treatment in your area, so start with a small monthly cap.
2. Is your Yelp page strong already? Your ad runs on Yelp, where people can open your Yelp page and compare your rating with the clinics around you. If your rating is lower, the ad pays to show that gap. Yelp's rules also say businesses "should never ask customers to write reviews" (Yelp Content Guidelines). So you can't fix a weak Yelp page with the review requests you'd send for Google.
3. What is one new patient worth to you? Divide your monthly Yelp spend by the visits that showed up. If that number is higher than the profit on a first visit plus the rebookings you expect, Yelp isn't paying for itself yet.
What Yelp's own numbers show for health and beauty
Yelp groups "Beauty & Fitness" and "Health" in a category set it calls RR&O, with restaurants and shopping (Yelp Q2 2026 letter). In its second-quarter 2026 letter, Yelp said RR&O ad revenue fell 10% year over year because of fewer ad clicks and a lower average cost per click, and it pointed to a hard operating climate for local businesses in those categories. It also said those numbers improved compared with the first quarter.
This doesn't tell you what your clicks will cost. It does tell you that Yelp itself saw fewer ad clicks in the group that includes beauty and health businesses in the second quarter of 2026 than a year earlier. That's a reason to start small and measure.
What advertisers say about Yelp Ads
Yelp says over half a million businesses advertise on Yelp, and it features case studies on its ads page. Those are Yelp's own picks.
The independent picture is harsher. Yelp for Business has a 1.3 TrustScore on Trustpilot from 128 reviews. A dated export on October 22, 2026 returned 124 of them, from 2022 to 2026, and 121 were one star. 35 mention cancelling, and many reviewers say they were charged when they didn't expect it. One reviewer says they were charged $450 four months after they shut down their Yelp marketing. Others describe slow or unreachable support. These are reviewers' accounts, anyone can post one, and none of the 124 mentions a med spa, so treat them as a list of things to watch, not a verdict.
How to cancel Yelp Ads
Yelp says you can "edit or cancel your ads anytime" and that "there are no term contracts with self-serve advertisers" (Yelp Ads).
- Sign in to your Yelp for Business account, where Yelp says you can edit or cancel your ads.
- Cancel or pause the ad. If you also pay for the Upgrade Package, check whether it's billed separately.
- If you can't find the option, call Yelp's business support at (877) 767-9357. Yelp's help center lists the hours as Monday to Friday 5am to 6pm and weekends 7am to 4pm, Pacific time.
- Ask for written confirmation, and check your next statement.
Yelp's no-contract statement covers self-serve advertisers. If a Yelp rep sold you a package, read the order terms before you cancel.
When to look at an alternative to Yelp Ads
- Your Yelp page has fewer or lower reviews than the clinics ranking next to you.
- Clicks come in but bookings don't, and you can't see which click became a visit.
- You want to lead with a first-visit offer on one treatment.
- You want the campaign, form and audience in your own account.
- You're paying for the Upgrade Package mainly to keep competitor ads off your page.
Yelp Ads alternatives for med spas
1. A Meta first-visit campaign (Medspa Market Pro, that's us)
Best for clinics that want to fill open slots on one treatment with a first-visit offer.
Yelp Ads reach people who are searching. Meta (Facebook and Instagram) reaches local people before they search, so the offer does the work. Our First Visit Test is $299 for the first month, then $1,000 a month, cancel anytime. We build one Meta campaign for one treatment, including the offer, the ad and the sign-up form, and we write your front desk's follow-up script. Your ad budget goes to Meta directly. The campaign, form and audience stay in your ad account. We report spend, sign-ups and cost per sign-up, and you add bookings and attended visits from your calendar.
Our proof is a LaVieMD campaign with 370 leads at $13.26 each over six months. Those were leads, not booked patients, and we don't guarantee patient numbers. We don't build websites, run a booking system or sell software, and the test covers one campaign for one treatment.
2. Google Business Profile
Best for every clinic, before any paid channel.
Google's Business Profile is free (Google). It lets you post offers and updates, reply to reviews, and connect online booking through booking partners. Your Google reviews and photos live here too.
3. Google Ads search campaigns
Best for clinics with high-value treatments that patients search for by name.
Like Yelp, Google search ads typically charge per click. You set a maximum bid per click and a budget that caps your spend (Google Ads Help). Check Google's healthcare ad rules for your treatment before you launch.
4. Keep your free Yelp page and stop paying
Best for clinics that get some Yelp traffic but can't trace ad clicks to visits.
You keep your listing, reviews and messages for free. Reply to every review and keep photos and hours current. You lose the ad spots, and competitor ads can show on your page.
Yelp Ads vs the alternatives
| Option | How you pay | Starting price | Contract | What you keep | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yelp Ads | Per click | From $150/month (Yelp's listing) | None for self-serve advertisers | Your Yelp page | Clinics with strong Yelp reviews in Yelp-heavy cities |
| Meta first-visit campaign (MMP) | $299 first month, then $1,000/month, plus ad budget to Meta | $299 | Month to month | Campaign, form and audience in your ad account | Filling open slots on one treatment |
| Google Business Profile | Free | $0 | None | Your profile and reviews | Every clinic, first |
| Google Ads search | Typically per click, you set the budget | Your budget | Pay as you go | Your Google Ads account | High-value treatments people search by name |
| Free Yelp page only | Free | $0 | None | Your listing and reviews | Clinics that can't trace Yelp clicks to visits |
Yelp vs Google Ads for a med spa
Both typically charge per click, and both reach people who are already searching. The difference is where the ad runs and where it sends people. A Yelp ad runs in Yelp search and on competitors' Yelp pages, where people can open your Yelp page, and its button can send them to call, message, your website or directions (Yelp Ads). A Google search ad sends people to a final URL, which Google defines as a page on your website (Google Ads Help). So a Yelp ad leans on your Yelp reviews, and a Google ad leans on the page you send people to. Get that destination ready before you pay for either.
Questions to ask before you pay for any ads
- What will I pay each month in total, with the platform fee, ad budget and any management fee listed separately?
- Can I cancel anytime, and is that in my order terms?
- Who owns the ad account, the form and the audience if I stop?
- Will I see sign-ups, booked visits and attended visits separately?
- What is my break-even cost per new patient?
For a channel-by-channel budget, read our guide to medspa marketing cost. If you'd rather hire help, compare options in best medspa marketing agencies.
FAQ
Are Yelp Ads expensive?
Yelp lists Yelp Ads from $150 a month and says you can spend as little as $5 a day on average. You pay per click, and Yelp doesn't publish a cost per click for med spas. Set a monthly cap and compare it with the booked visits it brings.
Is a Yelp business page free?
Yes. Yelp lists the Yelp Business Page as free. Yelp Ads and the Upgrade Package are paid add-ons.
How do I cancel Yelp Ads?
Yelp says you can edit or cancel your ads anytime and that self-serve advertisers have no term contract. Cancel in your Yelp for Business account, or call Yelp's business support line at (877) 767-9357. Ask for written confirmation and check your next statement. If a Yelp rep sold you a package, read your order terms first.
Do Yelp Ads work for med spas?
They can, if people in your area search Yelp for your treatments and your page already has strong reviews. Run a small test with a monthly cap, track booked and attended visits, and stop if the cost per visit is higher than what a new patient is worth to you.
Is Yelp better than Google Ads for a med spa?
Both typically charge per click. Yelp shows your ad in Yelp search and on competitors' Yelp pages, where people can also open your Yelp page. A Google search ad sends people to the page you choose on your website. Get that destination ready first, then test one paid channel at a time.
Yelp ads vs Facebook ads, which is better for a med spa?
Yelp reaches people already searching on Yelp. Meta (Facebook and Instagram) reaches local people who aren't searching yet, so it needs a clear first-visit offer. Meta lets you build the offer, form and audience in your own ad account.
Want to test a first-visit offer instead?
The First Visit Test costs $299 for the first month, then $1,000 a month, and you can cancel anytime. We build one Meta campaign for one treatment, write your front desk's follow-up, and the campaign, form and audience stay in your ad account. Your ad budget goes to Meta directly.
Want broader work first, like local SEO, Instagram or email? We start with a written audit and quote the rest in writing, month to month.