Citysearch Brings Twitter & Local Search Together

There’s been a lot of talk lately about the inevitable collision of local search and social media, and specifically how social conversations are impacting the local search space. Reviews have been a part of local search for years, and sites like Citysearch, Insider Pages, Yelp, and others practically created and/or perfected the local-directory-with-consumer-reviews model.

Today, more people are using social networks like Facebook and Twitter to share what are often shortened versions of the same business reviews they might have previously shared on local search/directory sites. Citysearch is taking advantage of that with today’s announcement of a partnership with Twitter that reveals itself in several ways:

1. Business profile pages on Citysearch.com will now incorporate tweets about the business (assuming Citysearch knows the business’s Twitter account), and offer Twitter posting functionality right from the business profile page.
2. Business owners can add their Twitter and Facebook account information to their business profile page. Citysearch is elevating this to the same level as core business data and displaying it with traditional contact information. Citysearch also says it wants to become a directory of businesses on Twitter.
3. Businesses without a Twitter account can create one on Citysearch’s web site; it’s the first time Twitter accounts can be created without visiting Twitter.com.

Citysearch has also announced the return of tools for business owners to add a new listing or claim an existing listing; the “Add A Business” feature had been missing for several months. I go into more on this on my own blog: Citysearch Brings Back Free Business Listings, Adds Twitter.

Where the Twitter integration is concerned, Citysearch is using the business profile page for Apothecary Cafe & Wine Bar in Austin, Texas, as an example of how it works. Here’s a screenshot showing the social media data presented with the cafe’s primary contact details, and recent tweets further down the page.

About The Author

Matt McGee

Matt McGee joined Third Door Media as a writer/reporter/editor in September 2008. He served as Editor-In-Chief from January 2013 until his departure in July 2017. He can be found on Twitter at @MattMcGee.