Review(s) of Local.com

Writing by Brick Marketing on Thursday, 10 of July , 2008 at 8:45 am

Until now, Local.com has been relying on third parties reviews of local businesses that turn up in its searches. Now that Local.com has launched it’s own review capability, its game on. Personally I always thought a little strange that a site that specializes in local search didn’t have its own review capability. After all, local businesses are highly review-driven, often having neither the name recognition of the big-box retailers or the advertising budget.

What Features are there? What are they offering?

The start up launch of the Local.com’s reviews offers a free basic listing to all businesses, in addition to its PPC ad product. The PPC ads are based on an auction model and are placed on SERPs depending on keyword and category.

As an added feature, they are also offering a “Local Featured Sponsor” option that guarantees your ad will be placed above the organic results. The LocalPromote product will align your add with the mapping section.

Local.com ratings and reviews section will allow users to create an account and enter ratings and reviews for any business listing that appears on the site. (Again, listing your business is free.) The site gives users the ability to enter comments and a rating, and also view past reviews that they have submitted previously.

There are some people who think that reviews are just added clutter for businesses online, but I can’t see myself firmly in that camp. Online reviews cannot and should not take the place of good product description and text, but they are a serious value add for any small business. Local.com did a smart thing by adding that capability to their well trafficked site.

                      Category: Local Search Engine Optimization                      

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