When you make a website you should heavily consider for it to be tied into a service of this kind.
- Yelp is one of the first location-based services to come on the scene and for small businesses it redefined the meaning of “local” along with their online customers. To date, Yelp remains a relevant player in this sphere and operates on a host of mobile devices such as BlackBerry, Android, Palm Pre and iPhone. Yelp's mobile app might not be the trendiest one on the market, but it's widely considered to be the most practical of the bunch. What Yelp does best is provide complete listings of location-based businesses as well as reviews.
- Neer provides Android PDA owners cutting edge innovation which revolves around both personal and private location automated sharing. Many consider Neer to be in the middle of the road between Foursquare and Google's Latitude. Private users see Neer as the most practical location-based service which has real-world uses; such as knowing if your kids safely made it to school. Neer is much more a practical application than one with many bells and whistles. It doesn't deal with badges, check-ins or other fancy stuff. It is a pure way of knowing where your friends are, your loved ones, acquaintances, babysitters and vice versa; if you let them. You have complete control over privacy so you need not worry. Locations noted are names of places, not physical addresses. It employs a slick and easy to use interface for people with slight phobias of technology. As the area of LBS grows, look for more of these services to look to Neer for inspiration and move past the novelties of check-ins and location sharing.
- Loopt seems to be the application that is on everyone's lips nowadays. Somehow it has lost some ground to the other entrants of the handheld location based service apps. But it continuously strives to innovate in the location category and recently updated it's app on the iPhone to include a solid and in depth tie in with Facebook Places. The Loopt app also is more aggressive when it comes to sharing of user's locations. For example, it provides support for background locations and alerts you when friends are in close proximity.
- Scvngr started out as an obscure mobile application for Google's Android and Apple's iPhone and is becoming a rising star in the location based service sphere with more than half a million users. The Google-backed startup is generating millions of dollars, thanks to over a thousand enterprise customers such as Warner Bros and Sony. It's technology team is pushing forward with application redesign of the mobile applications to enhance the experience of users and how they connect on the surface. Its depth and sophisticated integration with such applications as Facebook Places enhances usability for the private user.
- Foursquare tops the list primarily because it is more focused on people and places rather than on location. The site has over 4 million registered users and is growing rapidly. The service has created a large amount of alliances. Partnerships, badges and the competition for mayor ship are all highlights but the top reason Foursquare is on top is because the application is built around check-ins and rewards that is being copied by both newcomers to the sector and ones already in the mainstream.
Location Based Services are rapidly showing up on the scene; some rising to the top and others struggling to survive. Take a look at the top services listed above and make a website that draws in as much local traffic as possible.
