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November 29, 2004
Google goes local
Google Local is now in beta. Cool integration between search results and a map. You get a map with a bunch of letters on it that relates to the results on the left. It is unclear to me how the results are ranked. And it is clear that the results are just culled from regular crawls that their bot does. There is no additional qualification of ranking or information added. I am not sure how useful it is.
If I want a coffee shop there are hundreds in Seattle. I don't just want coffee. I want my friend's favorite one. Or the "best of Seattle latte". Or one near my next meeting with WiFi access and a confortable chair so I can do some e-mail before the meeting. Local search has a long way to go.
Try this: Search for "coffee shops" on local.google.com and do the same search on www.judysbook.com. On Google you get the corporate shops, Starbucks, Tully's, SBC, etc. On Judy's book the first result is Victrola Coffee & Art which I happen to know is a local favorite. Judy's book adds user rankings into the mix to give you much better results. It is a start...
Posted by Martin at November 29, 2004 10:58 AM
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A review on Google's Local mapping feature - Seems like another great first step [Read More]
Tracked on November 29, 2004 3:40 PM
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