The partnership with SweetIQ will streamline much of the fractured data contingencies that tend to occur on the business side of Yelp?s platform, especially for small businesses with nascent data infrastructure. The analytics firm is now able to claim all existing listings on Yelp, manage the operating hours of their store locations, and access crucial Yelp data and analytics in a single place through the SweetIQ dashboard, a huge step in homogenizing the data experience for businesses.

?This partnership helps both small businesses and brands with hundreds of locations by taking their listing data and making it ?smart,?? said Mohannad El-Barachi, CEO of SweetIQ. ?The biggest challenge facing business owners right now is online to offline attribution: tying an action a consumer took online and tying it to an offline purchase. 

?The partnership with Yelp is a step forward in closing that gap, by showing business owners information surround how consumers are finding them online, such as how many times someone clicked for directions or called.?

Other advantages for businesses leveraging both Yelp and SweetIQ include access to SweetIQ?s local analytics data, the ability to analyze ROI metrics and the ability to launch advanced campaigns and improve revenue-generating opportunities via SweetIQ?s platform. Customers of both SweetIQ and Yelp also have exclusive benefits such as access to photo management, enhanced account support, business descriptions and calls to action.

The partnership is a boon to small businesses in particular, which may not have the means or personnel to leverage data as optimally as SweetIQ?s platform would allow them to. Large brands with disparate data infrastructures will also benefit though the streamlining and integration of their data.

And, perhaps most importantly, the consumer will benefit in dealing with more efficient businesses.

?The partnership makes it easier for businesses to enhance and manage their listings pages by making sure they have all the right information (address, phone number, hours of operation) but also relevant images, and updated information on specials or sales,? Mr El-Barachi said. ?All of this is in the name of providing consumers, and especially mobile consumers, with the most pertinent, up to date information at the moment they need it.?

Investment in analytics resembling the Yelp?s SweetIQ partnership is growing from preference into necessity for even small brands that wish to keep up in an increasingly data-driven marketplace, and its growth has not come without a fair share of controversy. Amid controversy over Facebook?s discrepancies in video metrics, a new report shows that marketers may be missing out on 192 percent more mobile ad revenue due to incorrect ad tracking data (see story). 

?The partnership is more relevant for business owners, because it allows them to seamlessly manage their location information on Yelp,? Mr. El-Barachi said. 

?Business owners should know that through this partnership their local marketing is covered from two angles: one, their listings will be easier to manage and clean; and two, they can start collecting smart data from their listings which will help them drive more customers to their stores.?