What is Foursquare?
Foursquare at one time was the go-to local search mobile app that helped users with their searches on topics about things to do as well as helping them discover new places in their cities.
These recommendations were personalized based on the Foursquare user’s geo-location but also on their history on the app.
The mobile app recommended places based on where you’ve been at, where you checked in to, but also where your friends have visited.
Foursquare was founded in 2008 and currently has about 40 million users.
How Does FourSquare SEO Help You?
As Foursquare itself shifted its own business priorities to focus on business data aggregation along with the SwarmApp (2014) focusing on the social “Check in function”, SEO’ers have utilized their own way of getting the most out of marketing on FourSquare.
Foursquare is a Data Aggregator!
A data what? A data aggregator is a website that submits your business information to other websites online.
Have you ever wondered how your business data (information) gets placed across the world wide web?
One of the ways that your business data gets distributes on websites is through a syndication of information provided from a source of business data such as Foursquare and other data aggregators (Localeze, Acxiom, Factual).
Case and point, is business information being displayed on Bing Maps Listing – On the footer of the Bing Listing, you’ll see “Data” from: Foursquare, Facebook, Yelp. You see why it’s important to utilize all listings, as some are being powered by other sites.
Images helps consumers have a visual representation of your business and uploading images via Foursquare, will get them aggregated within your Bing Maps Listing (See below). Making sure you are adding new images through Foursquare is a good way to keep your fresh factor high.
Verify Your Foursquare Listing
Making sure you have only one Foursquare business listing is really important.
If you do not check for duplicates, the data that Foursquare has on your business could ultimately populate other websites as well as giving customers the wrong information.
Please visit this link right here to first see if you are listing exists (probably does) and go through the process of claiming your business on Foursquare. To expedite the process of verification, you can pay a small fee of $20 or $25 dollars to claim it quicker.
Foursquare for Business
A business can optimize their business listing on Foursquare by making sure their categories are set up properly as well as all the business information is correct.
Make sure it is the same as your Google Business Profile listing. Your N.A.P (name, address, phone number) play an important role in your local SEO rankings!
Also upload images that are optimized and start to leave reviews on your business listing.
I don’t know if Foursquare ever addressed this but there’s a great SEO hack that be used to leverage “online reviews”.
Remember that Foursquare works also as a data aggregator of business information data to other companies, digital agencies, and website developers to be used on their projects, online review sites, and city websites.
PS…. Our #FoursquareSEO tip was featured on the popular SEO Notebook newsletter. Foursquare is even more powerful with their TomTom partnership.
