Local business owners need to be watching their presence on Yelp. Earlier we looked at how small business owners can claim their business page on rating/review/check-in services.
For some time Google Places aggregated the reviews on other systems into Google Place Pages. Google’s Place Pages and their reviews matter in terms of search engine results. As the other systems, like Yelp, insisted Google stop aggregating their data into the Place Pages, Google finally ended that integration. Many businesses focused efforts on how to stand out in Google Place Pages higher, and neglected Yelp.
The “check-in” geolocation culture is growing, but that isn’t the important part. What is important is how other systems are integrating reviews from non-Google sources. Most notable for a brick & mortar business owner is that Yelp reviews are now a determining factor on what iPhone 4s users will find. Apple has unveiled Siri, a voice activated assistant. By simply speaking to the app a phrase like “find Mexican food”, Siri will fetch results based upon the user’s location. Those results are now collected from Yelp, with an easy link to see Yelp ratings and reviews.
As a business owner, it matters greatly to monitor your entire online presence. Especially important is to kindly ask outstanding clients and happy customers to give you great feedback around the web. Consider making a specific focus on your standings in Facebook, Yelp, Google Places, and Foursquare for starters.
Related articles
- Why Siri + Yelp = Useless Google Maps On The iPhone 4S by @dannysullivan (searchengineland.com)
- Google Places Now Updates Listings First, Asks Businesses Later (readwriteweb.com)
- Where Did All The Google Places Reviews Go? (socialfresh.com)
- Correcting Problems With Your Google Places Page (customerthink.com)
- Google Still Rules Search, But Siri Is Coming (readwriteweb.com)
