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Google recently added Local Business Reviews to its local search. This type of service isn’t new. Mashable posted this list of sites that are already geared towards this service. And Yahoo has been offering this for a long time.

What is different about Google’s review service, is that you don’t have to leave Google to read reviews. Many people turn to Google to find businesses in their area - whether it’s directions, a phone number, etc. I would guess that most of these people don’t even know other business review sites exist. When someone does a local search on Google they can read/write reviews without going to another site, which increases the visibility of those reviews. It also allows people to find the information they are looking for faster and easier. This works the same way with Yahoo, but since Google has a larger market share the reviews are exposed to more people.

How can business owners use this to their advantage? They could ask a few of their loyal customers to leave a favorable review for them. These reviews are another form of advertising for a business. Having testimonials from real customers may encourage new customers to come into that store instead of another.