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News >> Google local revealed |
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"Google's goal is to connect searchers with the information they need whether it's halfway around the world or in their neighborhood" Sergey Brin, founder.
"To my knowledge, this doesn't exist anywhere else on the web, you can not only see the businesses but also what everyone else is saying about the business. We feel that advertising is a really important part of the local search experience. In particular an advertisement for the dry cleaner down the street is really important." Marissa Mayer, Google's director of consumer Web products.
Search engine leader Google has revealed a beta version of a new system designed to make it easier for people to find things closer to their homes. The new service, which is currently in beta form and only covers the US, but the company plans to make it available in other countries once it's out of the beta phase. It paves the way for the company to make more money selling ads to small businesses.
The new algorithmic formulas unveiled yesterday allow Google to display more local information in response to search requests that include a postcode or a city's name. Basicially it's a format that integrated into Google.com. When a search on the home page yields relevant local results, they are tagged with a compass icon that links to the Google Local search results page.
For example, users searching for a pizza restaurant in their neighbourhood simply enter the keyword eg: pizza, and either a zip or postal code or the name of a town or city eg: Palo Alto into the search field to receive a comprehensive list of local pizza restaurants. Each result is accompanied by a phone number, street address, and a list of related websites such as those of local pizza restaurant, store reviews, and related information. Clicking on a business name delivers a new page featuring an easy-to-read map, directions, and more related web pages. You can even adjust the range of your search from 1 mile to a distance of 45 miles around your location.
Instead of Google's page-rank algorithm, Google Local uses a new ranking system that returns both commercial and non-commercial local information from yellow pages data providers and Google's index of 4 billion Web pages.
About 70 per cent of Google users seeking information about a merchant are primarily interested in local results, said Marissa Mayer. "People like to find and buy things in their neighborhoods."
By making it easier to find local information, Google hopes to entice more small businesses to buy text-based ads that eventually will be displayed next to its search results, Mayer said. But Google won't begin selling ad space next to the local search results until the new feature is better established and small businesses see how the system works.
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