dLook Introduces Local Business Reviews

UPDATE: 2011 – dLook have relaunched our reviews platform and now utilise our own legacy reviews database to ensure integrity and validity.

dLook®, has today announced the facility to rate and review every business listed on its directory, the first of the major Australian business directories to do so.

So as to bring users the most sophisticated and up to date rating system available, dLook chose a dynamic Australian internet start-up Rave About It to power the business reviews. Rave About It was developed by exceptionally talented software engineers and, like dLook, is 100% Australian owned and operated.

Local reviews are extremely popular in the United States, with websites such as Yelp, Judy’s Book, Insider Pages and Yellow Pages (US).

It made good sense to introduce this reviewing model to Australian businesses on a large scale – and with over 1.3 million businesses listed on the directory, we’ve certainly done that.

This announcement comes on the heels of recent additions to the directory – the inclusion of maps (provided by TerraPages, another Australian startup), more information pages for every listing, and dLook’s mobile search platform – dLook.mobi.

Coupled with existing features:-

• “QuoteMe!” quoting system (this is very popular) where a customer can select up to 10 businesses at a time to request a quote for a product or service,
• Discount coupons which are included in a monthly email
• Monthly payment option ($59.50) which can be cancelled by giving 30 days notice (annual fee is $599)
• Premium listings can have four categories, keywords, and national coverage (if applicable)
• Search which allows users to refine their search by kilometre radius from a postcode, 2, 5, 10km….. up to the whole nation.
• Smart keyword search that means if you search for “restrnt”, “plummer” or “doktor” you’ll get a result (new variations are continually added)
• Advertiser interface (via login) so they can manage their own listings, quote requests and coupons

…. makes dLook an extremely comprehensive business directory.

If you’ve got something to say about your favourite (or not so favourite) business, please visit dLook and leave a review.

New Banner for dlook.mobi

News Roundup for dLook

Our new national TV campaign is now in its second week and already proving a HUGE success. Utilising the extensive WIN TV regional network our ads are being seen by over 5 million Australians every day and the response has been overwhelming. We intend to extend our campaign to include Capital cities soon. Meanwhile, listen out for our live reads on Vega 93.5 FM (in Sydney). Most of them are pretty straight laced but the on air guys get a bit crazy with some reads.

The “More Info” page has also proven to be very popular both with users and advertisers alike. Premium businesses get to add a lot of extra text, products and services, opening hours, payment types, certifications, photos and a dLook coupon which they may then opt to have distributed, via our monthly coupon mail out, to over 50,000 Australian recipients.

dLook has also released a complete national mapping service provided by Australian location based services company, TerraPages Pty Ltd to deliver rich, user friendly maps to the dLook website.

Have you added detail to your more information page yet? It’s simple. Premium businesses should log in, and free listings can “update their business listing“, or “add a listing“.

Not being the type of website to let technology pass us by, dLook has also launched a mobile search function – dLook.mobi. This means that the whole dLook directory is now available on WAP enabled mobile phones in an easy to access mobile form.

This feature was also developed by those fantastic guys at Alliance Software in Melbourne who literally eat complicated IT solutions for breakfast. We have managed to keep dLook an all Australian product and although overseas firms offer much cheaper rates, we believe that our home grown IT resources are better, more innovative and totally in touch with Australian internet users.

Watch this space Ladies and Gentlemen, the best is yet to come.

How to Search dLook

Above is an image of the search box on dLook business directory. I’d like to take a couple of minutes to let you know how you can get the best results from your dLook search.

“What“

In this box you should enter the type of business, product or service you are looking for.

Examples are doctor, plumber, tyres, car hire. You should avoid entering general terms like “supplies”, “equipment” or “repairs” on their own.

“Who“

If you know the specific name of the business, you don’t need to worry about the “what” box, just type the name in the “who” box and follow the next instructions.

“Where“

You actually have a few options here. You can type your suburb, postcode, state (eg VIC, QLD etc) or even national in here. Just one problem – if you type in a suburb of which there are more than one in Australia (for example “Richmond” has 6 postcodes in 5 states), then you will need to “refine your results” (more on this below). In this instance you’d get a quicker result by typing in the postcode.

“How Far (search radius)“

This is one of the most powerful tools on the dLook search. Say you are looking for a restaurant within close proximity. You would set this option at “postcode only”, or 2 kilometres and this will restrict businesses who service this area only (more on this in a moment).

However, if you are looking for something less common, let’s say an endocrinologist, then you might want to select a search radius of 100 kms, 200 kms, or even state.

The most common mistakes people make when searching dLook, are

1. entering a business or personal name in the “what” box
2. typing a suburb in the “what” box
3. typing in words without spaces eg “weddingphotographers”
4. not realising that results can be refined.

Refining your Search Results

The options available for refining your search will depend on your original search query. In the above search, I searched for a business name in Richmond and chose “nation” as my search radius.

“Control Serviced Area” – Some businesses have elected to have their business displayed to a wide range of people (for example an online clothes shop located in QLD may chose to display their business details nationally).

Sometimes, this might not be appropriate to your needs (e.g. You need a dress for TONIGHT!). You can click this button and businesses who say they will “service your area”, but are not located within your search parameters, will magically disappear.

“Search in a different range” – this middle box will allow you to repeat your search but choose a smaller or larger search range (depending on your initial search).

“Search in a specific postcode” – if you typed in a suburb that has more than one postcode in Australia, here’s where you choose the correct one.

In the above example I searched for the general term “car“. Now there’s no way of knowing if you want to buy a car, hire a car, fix a car etc, so you are presented with a very large list of results, with the opportunity to refine your search to a more specific category.

One final way to search on dLook is to enter your location, chose your search radius and then click on one of our 40 most popular searches on the home page. In the following example, I clicked on the “mechanics” link from the home page. I was then presented with a list of related categories, which might be relevant to my search.

I hope you found this helpful for improving your search experience on dLook.