Do Apps Like Foursquare Affect SEO?

Yes, apps like Foursquare can affect SEO. Each venue on Foursquare has a dedicated Web page that is indexed by Google. Therefore, your Foursquare page could rank for geographic related searches just like your Google Places page or your Yelp profile. Additionally, as with those location-based directories, your business could be on Foursquare right now without you even knowing it. If it is, you should claim your Foursquare page ASAP so that you can optimize it and monitor it. If your venue is not already on Foursquare, it’s a good idea for you to add and populate it so that it helps support your local optimization efforts.

To ensure the strongest local optimization, be sure you consider each of the following tips when populating your Foursquare page. These elements also apply for other location-based sites and location-based apps like Google Places and Facebook’s Check-In tool. Claiming your business’ page for Facebook’s tool is a little different than Foursquare, so be sure to read Facebook’s instructions.

• After you claim any page, check to see if your business address is correct. If not, be sure to change it.
• Ensure that you do not have more than one listing in each platform. If you do, figure out how to delete one. This can be tricky; so, if you need help, feel free to contact us.
• Use keywords in the description of your business, but don’t keyword-stuff by simply typing a list of keywords.This can actually inhibit your local optimization. Instead, include a real paragraph that does your business justice and provides useful information. You just need to be sure it includes some keywords.
• Don’t just set it and forget it. Customers can leave comments and reviews on any of these platforms, so check them frequently and consider what people are saying about your business. Use these tools whenever possible to build relationships and improve your business based on feedback.

Although you can use location-based tools as a personal SEO service, remember that these tools were originally intended for the public to be social networking platforms. Don’t ignore that. If you wouldn’t use an app like Foursquare yourself, remember – plenty of your customers would. You need to be where they are, and if that’s Foursquare, take advantage of it. For help understanding why people use location-based apps, check out, “Location-Based Apps Based on Emotion.”

As a consumer or a business, what have your personal experiences been with location-based apps like Foursquare?