Facebook launches new feature to find local businessses
Facebook has debuted a new feature allowing users to find local businesses based on customer reviews. In order to determine a ranking for services, customer reviews left on the Facebook Business pages of each facility are taken into consideration.
Enabling users to locate local businsses based on customer feedback puts them in direct competition with websites such as Yelp or Angie's List, Reuters reported.
To test the new feature, we searched "steakhouses" in Las Vegas and were met with ten results, with these as the top five:
- Oscar's Beef, Booze & Broads
- Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab Vegas
- Echo & Rig
- Lawry's The Prime Rib, Las Vegas
- FireRock Steakhouse Las Vegas
It's unclear not only how the order of the list is generated, but also how the actual businesses listed are determined.
On Facebook, first-listed Oscar's had a lower rating (and fewer amount of comments) than second-place Joe's, but when we tried to test the list based on proximity to our actual location at 1111 W. Bonanza Rd., it was still inaccurate.
Listed third was Tivoli Village's Echo & Rig — with a 4.6 rating and 626 comments — 8.5 miles away. Listed fourth was Lawry's Prime Rib —with 4.7 stars and 1,100 comments — in the Hughes Center on Twain Avenue and Paradise Road, which is closer to the RJ at about 6 miles away.
Assuming the list only displays steakhouses that have received customer reviews proved incorrect.
We searched for Musashi Japanese Steakhouse, which was excluded from the list, thinking we would find either no Facebook page or a page with no customer reviews. Musashi has a fairly active business page, and they also have a better rating and more reviews than even the number-one pick, Oscar's.
Although the feature — which has not been formally announced by the company yet — has some bugs to tweak, it is live and can be accessed through the URL: www.facebook.com/services.
Contact Caitlin Lilly at clilly@reviewjournal.com. Find her on Twitter: @caitiesmith
