Powerful discrete controls (distance, specials, highest rated, relevance by time of day, etc.) allow for discovery of the right local businesses.Because users are encouraged to connect with one another, there are strong ties when users search for businesses, e.g., “Aaron has been here three times and left one tip”.Encourages users to leave “tips” or single phrase/sentence reviews.One of the largest databases of user generated geolocation in the world.Has limited the power of “strong ties” among users because they aren’t strongly encouraged to connect to one another.Relies on long form reviews, which limits the number of users that are willing to submit.Has been accused of pressuring businesses into using their service or risk being black balled.Employs a time tested approach (reviews) from patrons who are passionate enough to take the time to write a paragraph or two about the business.Appears on first page search results for any searches - general or specific.Below, I’ve spelled out some pros and cons for both. So, if we can assume that most companies have some involvement with Google (SEM, SEO, Places), the question this begs of businesses with limited resources is whether to commit to Yelp or Foursquare. The strength of Yelp and Foursquare is that what they lack in breadth they more than make up for in depth. That is helped by the fact that Google has done such a good job at surfacing structured data (like phone numbers, directions, hours, etc.) up to the results page. For the sake of argument, let’s say that Google Places has won the battle for scale and adoption by the sheer fact that hundreds of millions of people use Google to search both via mobile and desktop. That brings us back to discovery tools like Google Places, Yelp and Foursquare. It also means that unless you have a network of people that stay current on local businesses, the place that was good a year ago may not still be all it was. Word-of-mouth still works, but it relies on our power of recall ( most of us lose 80% of what we learned within 24 hours).

Most of us rely on word-of-mouth or some heavy Google searches. But how do we know we are finding the best places? Or what if our dentist moves? Or our dry cleaner continually over starches our shirts? What about life changes that might mandate a new day care? Or a nursing home? Yes, we all have our favorite places to eat, preferred dry cleaners, dentists, doctors, and so on. For business travelers, it’s easy to see why mobile access to discovery tools like Google Places, Yelp and Foursquare is so critical.ĭetermining where to go to get coffee, lunch, printing help, dinner, drinks, etc., often happens at the last minute.

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