With little fanfare or formality Google has opened - widely - the definition of what it considers a 'review' for its Places Pages. The search engine is apparently using its newly-implemented sentiment analysis to reaching across hyperlocal blogs, local portals and news sites to retrieve blog entries, general editorial reporting and even blog comments to use as reviews, according to Mike Blumenthal at Understanding Google Maps and Local Search.
For instance, he pointed to a review from a weekly entertainment site in Toronto that Google extracted and then placed on the Places Page for the Factory Theatre.
Single blog entries from customers are also fair game.
This new capability, Blumenthal concludes, will not only increase the reach of hyperlocal blogs, but also change how businesses manage the review process and could, over the long haul, change how and where reviews are generated and aggregated. The upshot is that businesses will need to be more aware of and responsive to many more sources of reviews than previously. If nothing else, it'll complicate reputation management for local businesses, he says.
A Review of the Landscape
Besides familiarizing themselves with local bloggers who have a significant audience - or at least strong opinions on their business category - local businesses would also do well to acquaint, or re-acquaint themselves with other listing services. These too are bound to undergo some change if only to compete with Google as it continues tweaks its local listing algorithms. These competing sites, once the sole source for Google’s review content, have reason to worry, Blumenthal said.
"This new approach to sentiment analysis could further impact their traffic as a million little sites start cutting into their previous position."
1. Google Local Business Listings.
Google may be changing its approach in some ways but the basics still apply. You can get your business listed on Google's map and show up directly on the search results by registering at the Google Local Business Center, according to according to Neil Lemons at MarketingZen, a social media marketing company.
"If you let Google find your business first, you’ll be rewarded with better placement on the map. Much like Google would rather find your website on its own through links rather than search engine submission, Google Maps will trust and more than likely post reviews from other review sites before submitting or modifying your listing."
Another backdoor is getting your business listed on the BBB's website or InfoUSA.com to ensure a Google Local presence, he also says - but reviews are by far the number one factor in achieving top placement in the alphanumeric listing of the Google Local Business Listings/Map Listings.
2. Yelp.
Yelp has recently opened its doors a little more allowing business owners to talk back, Lemons says. "It shows up well in search and they have the trust factor down due to their proprietary algorithm which has been cutting out fake reviews since 2006. To gain control of your profile you should first see if your business is already listed, then you must 'claim' the listing with phone call verification."
Increasingly Yelp has been enhancing its mobile feature set in order to compete with upstart Foursquare, which is not a listing site, but whose core function is letting others know where you go and when you're there.
"Yelp has always encouraged members to review the places they've gone, and to use the reviews of other members to pick places to go. But its feel was always more database than real-time social network, good for the discovery of destinations but not for putting together an ad hoc meetup." (via Wired).
Yelp's new iPhone app allows you to 'Check-in' to businesses when you are out to tell your friends where you are, Wired says. It has also extended its augmented-reality feature called Monocle, which superimposes restaurant names and ratings in your iPhone’s camera view.
"Now you can locate friends from their reported locations as well, which will show up alongside as floating icons showing POIs, where they are and their ratings."
3. Yahoo! Local Listings.
Complete with a map and full landing page, Yahoo! local shows up above organic search and below the top three pay-per-click listings, Lemons says. "It's wise to promote your Yahoo! Local Listing by treating it like it's one of the family - get reviews, flesh out the profile, add business information. Although Yahoo! only gets 20% of the search engine share, that’s a pretty big chunk of search engine goodness. Get your Yahoo! Map Listing started."
4. Citysearch.
The most important aspect of the site, according to Lemons, is that it shows up well in search for Google and even better in Yahoo.
5. MerchantCircle.
Launched in 2005, this company has been infiltrating search listings and growing ever since, Lemons says.
6. Insider Pages.
Insider Pages is an online local search service operated by IAC/InterActiveCorp. The company addresses a demographic of young and middle-aged families who own homes in urban and suburban areas, Lemons says. "Google Maps definitely picks it up."
