Last week we talked about the importance of reviews on your business listing pages. The quantity of reviews on Google Places carries a great deal of weight, but close behind are reviews on other portals such as Yelp, Merchant Circle, Bing Business Portal, Yahoo! and more. Do keep in mind that the search engines are smart enough to track the number of positive reviews over a short period of time, so don't have all your customers go post on the same day but ask a few a week and you will be good.
The main trend that influences local search marketing and placement is social media. The role that Facebook, Google+, Twitter and others play in gaining higher search rankings is critical. The increase in the number of +1's, shares and adds a site receives can positively influence placement over time. The amount of check-ins (FourSquare, Facebook, etc.) may also influence the position of a local website. Posts made on social platforms (blog posts, informational links, videos, etc.) that link back to your website also provide great inbound links which can boost search placement as well.
Some of the most viable business portals that your company should be listed on are:
- Google Places
- Bing Business Portal
- Yahoo! Business Listings
- Localeze
- Yelp
- FourSquare (retail and restaurants)
- Merchant Circle
- Superpages.com
- CitySearch
- Hot Frog
- Angie's List