Chiropractic Facebook Page and Its New Search Engine
Chiropractic practices are local based businesses which limits marketing potential to 10-15 miles radius. At this point we are depending on Yelp and Google Local Listings with their 5 star review system and appearance in search results. Of course only properly optimized chiropractic profile on Yelp or Google Page will show up.
Facebook, is testing a similar search engine for business reviews, may finally threaten Yelp’s and Google’s Page dominance.
As first spotted by Search Engine Land, Facebook is testing a new engine, called Facebook Professional Services, whereby users can search for and review a wide range of local businesses.
The roster of categories is extensive. Down the page, there are at least 85 business types in an “Explore other services” section, and even more suggestions appear when you start typing into the search box. Need a recommendation for a taxidermist? Or the the best place to pick up supplies for a carnival? Facebook might be able to help, linking listings for the more than 50 million businesses that have Facebook Pages with people’s reviews.
Search results are displayed in a way that takes Facebook’s five-star rating system into account, but results aren’t strictly ranked by how many stars a business averages. Given Facebook’s deep knowledge of individual preferences, results are likely customized for users depending on their previous interactions with a business’s Page or whether someone they are connected with has reviewed a business on Facebook.
The results page displays businesses’ contact information and hours of business, and excerpts of reviews (with a link to see more reviews on the business’s Facebook Page). The services results page also includes a map that shows where businesses are located and links to similar businesses in adjacent areas.
Google, for example, bought Zagat in 2011 in an effort to compete with Yelp in restaurant reviews. Many expected that Google’s dominance in online search would lead to dominance in online reviews, but without the benefit of a strong community like Yelp’s, even Google struggled to gain headway as a source for reviews. However, Chiropractic offices do not belong to restaurant categories and if properly utilized can bring many new patients into your office at $0 cost to you.
Google also unsuccessfully tried to buy Yelp in 2009; and thereafter, both were involved in an anti-trust skirmish over Google’s placement of its own links versus Yelp’s in search results. So much for Google white hat practices – lol.
Meanwhile, smaller sites like Angie’s List have gained some traction along more specialized verticals like home repair services. Vacationers may turn to TripAdvisor for business reviewers; Yellow Pages has also reinvented itself as an online business directory, but none thus far have managed to replicate Yelp’s reach and brand recognition.
Given its breadth of data and built-in user base of millions, Facebook may be in the best possible position to unseat Yelp. If you do not have your Facebook Chiropractic Page up and running, it is time to create one now rather than later.
With the notable exception of restaurants, the categories are as broad as Yelp’s, and include everything from pet breeders to accountants and psychics. And unlike other review sites that have struggled to achieve critical mass, searches on Facebook’s new engine already turn up dozens of reviews.
Of course, Facebook isn’t the first company that has attempted to compete with Yelp. However, taking into consideration that Facebook has over 1 billion users and plenty of resources it is a very realistic goal.
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