Google Updates Local Search

Posted Sep 14th 2004 11:57PM by Brad Hill

Responding to Yahoo!'s recent overhaul of its local search, which marked a gigantic improvement over the Yahoo! Yellow Pages site (yp.yahoo.com) Google has rolled out an improved local search of its own, incorporating two major improvements:

Results are displayed on a map with roll-over icons.
Users can now search locally from the Google home page (or the Toolbar) by adding a zip code to the search string.

The first point imitates Yahoo!'s icon-driven mapping of local search results, but places the map one click closer—right on the results page. (Yahoo! forces the user to click a map button.) The second point is damn convenient, and unmatched currently at Yahoo!.

When it comes to results, though, Yahoo! performs better in my testing. For example, when searching for pet stores in my zip code, Google misses one directly across the street from my home; Yahoo! doesn't.

Reader Comments

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1. Yahoo Local Provides for feedback. My position for some time has been that "interactive" seach will be the next big thing.

With feedback and discussion possible on search engine results, you would/could more or less achieve "LOCAL" instantly by having a button to click (like craigslist) showing ALL discussion/feedback or just the discussion/feedback in your city.

I'd like to think that my site, which more or less contains interactive seach on temping and temp agencies, is the prototype of how interactive search could work.

Peter Everhard
www.dramanyc.com

Posted at 4:42AM on Dec 19th 2005 by Peter Everhard

2. Tried to get listed in GG local, but don't have a clue where to add URl. Please help. Thanks,

Posted at 4:42AM on Dec 19th 2005 by Jon Zhou

3. Tried to get listed in GG local, but don't have a clue where to add URl. Please help. Thanks,

Posted at 4:42AM on Dec 19th 2005 by Jon Zhou

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Posted at 4:42AM on Dec 19th 2005 by Jonathan Eliasof

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Posted at 4:42AM on Dec 19th 2005 by Jonathan Eliasof

6. interesting

Posted at 4:42AM on Dec 19th 2005 by Jason Wu

7. Updates are ok. But what about the results. Googles is showing very unrelated and junk for my industry i.e. pharma. Any updates on that?

Posted at 4:42AM on Dec 19th 2005 by Phentermine

8. so when is the next update?

Posted at 4:42AM on Dec 19th 2005 by Zenegra

9. so when is the next update?

Posted at 4:42AM on Dec 19th 2005 by Zenegra

10. so when is the next google update and is it net wide or only parts of the index?

Posted at 4:42AM on Dec 19th 2005 by Zenegra

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