Foursquare – one of the fastest-growing geo-social location platforms – recently won $20 million in funding to expand its business, and now it is looking to make its content available to search engines. UK newspaper The Telegraph reports that foursquare is holding discussions with Google, Microsoft and Yahoo about partnering to offer search engine users real-time updates on popular businesses, which would mean real-time word-of-web campaigns for marketers.
Dennis Crowley, the cofounder of foursquare, told the newspaper foursquare data can offer search engines insight on hot spots to enrich search. “We can anonymize the data and use it to show which venues are trending at the moment.” Crowley compares foursquare’s potential to enhance search engines with Twitter, which helps searchers easily find what people are talking (or tweeting) about.
Notably, Twitter has its own geo-social location tool, Twitter Places. Still, Foursquare has been making headlines recently for its perceived potential in mobile markets and for hitting the 2 million member mark.
If Google, Microsoft and/or Yahoo decide to license the tool’s real-time location feeds, marketers are advised to “check-in” at the site themselves to capture the interest of its millions of current users as well as countless searchers who may be looking for a place to go.
Several major brands have started taking advantage of foursquare by offering deals to customers who check in at their store locations. According to the foursquare blog, Starbucks has started a loyalty program through the tool by running a Mayor Special, which offers $1 frappucinos to frequent foursquare users. Since then, the company has seen a 50 percent increase in their check-ins at locations, which would likely translate into top trend spots if these check-ins were posted on search engines.
Smaller businesses are also seeing success with the tool. Milwaukee’s local AJ Bombers hamburger restaurant started a special where foursquare mayors get free burgers. The store has seen a 30 percent increase in menu item purchases since launching the offer, reports the foursquare blog. The foot traffic it has gained could also become search traffic if check-ins become search-engine friendly.
Businesses who aren’t already on foursquare should put themselves on its virtual map; the social site is one of the most promising new developments in the social (and perhaps soon search) arena.
