It’s interesting, because for nearly a decade, Google has been the industry leader in local searches, and it’s kind of dominated that service to the exclusion of every other company. But here’s the thing. Facebook has a billion consumers, and when they launched Marketplace in October 2015, Google had to take notice. A billion? That’s a number that would make even Google quake, and I think you’re going to see a real arms race between Google and Facebook when it comes to local search marketing. Right now, Facebook isn’t really monetizing their search engine, but users can buy and sell products and services, and conduct local searches.

So what it really means is that marketers now have a second major platform to leverage to help brand their products and services. Whether it’s Google or Facebook, the rules for optimizing your local search marketing are still the same. Make sure your listing has all the information a user needs to make a decision, such as company name, address, services, etc. You should also make sure to use the correct location keywords, and encourage users to use reviews on credible platforms such as Yelp. And then, most importantly, include your site’s URL in your local listing, which is especially key for Google as the engine’s algorithm uses that information to rank local companies.