Local Social Search Explosion

Sites like Yelp.com believe they have the answer or, rather, that their users have the answer. Not only are the businesses local, so too is the content. With a passionate community of reviewers, local businesses can leverage the power of true advocates in the community. Local searchers can find not just reviews with which they can identify, but also reviewers with similar tastes they can trust.

Sites like Yelp can fulfill several useful roles for small businesses. They're a great way to promote a business before it launches. One San Francisco restaurant had a house full of Yelpers on opening day. Yelp also provides a good CRM (define) feedback loop for businesses to address areas that may not work well for customers.Yelp is also highly selective about the advertisements it will accept -- only businesses with a minimum of a 3-star user review rating are allowed. Though the privately held company has yet to turn a profit, 60 percent of yelpers are between the ages of 26-35, a highly desired demographic for advertisers. This site gives tremendous opportunity to business owners to not just advertise, but get to know their customers and have a truly insider perspective of what they are doing right or wrong.

Another social site Sproose references itself as an interactive search engine, providing peer-moderated, ranking, prioritizing and community networking for consumer use. Search and Vote, basically. Read more on Sproose..

These websites are on the rise and the more sophisticated internet users become the more they will be using these social sites over simple map and listing sites.