November 23, 2009

Google Launches Mobile Coupons 4 Days Before Black Friday

Google is giving local businesses the ability to make their coupons available to mobile devices.

Accessing Coupons You can find coupons on the recently launched Place Pages, which are accessed by searching Google Maps.

Offering Coupons

If you already have a printable coupon available, you can simply select an option to make those coupons available on mobile devices. Printable coupons were added to the Google Local Business Center a few years back.

Happy deal-making.

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 2:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

October 1, 2009

Google Syncs Mobile and Desktop Searches

Google has enabled new sync features between desktop computers and mobile devices, specifically for local search and query suggestions. You need to be signed in, of course, to makes use of the sync. Here's what to expect if you do:

Local

If you're searching on Google Maps, you can star various local businesses. Later, you can pull them up on your phone on Google.com under the Local section. Just look for "Starred Places." Once you bring them up, you can access mobile optimized Place Pages, the new local content pages Google just released.

There's also a new category browse feature if you're looking for something to do, but you're not quite sure what it is or where to go.

These features are available in the US and China.

Query Suggestions Typing on a mobile phone is tedious, so to make querying Google a little easier on your mobile device, Google is syncing queries. If you've searched something on your desktop, it will now show up as a query suggestion in your mobile search. You have to sign in on your mobile search with the same account that you use on your desktop. Web history also needs to be enabled to use the query suggestion sync.

This feature is available for iPhone, Android, and Palm OS phones.

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 5:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

September 25, 2009

Google Finally Does the Local Content Thing with Place Pages

Google Maps has launched a new feature called Place Pages. It aggregates a bunch of content for a given search result and places it on a single page. So, if you do a search for a local establishment, you can see user reviews, a map and details about the business such as phone, address and hours.

Bing and Yahoo! already do the same thing with their local search results. Ask.com does something similar by incorporating Citysearch. Here's what Google's version looks like:

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 1:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

July 10, 2009

Google Adds Images Next to Maps in Location-Based Universal Search Results

Google has updated the universal search results for location-based queries. Now, next to the map included at the top of the search results are images.

It doesn't work for all location-based searches, however. A search for Kota, India shows image results but they are further down and no map is included.

A search for Nassau, Bahamas returns a map but not images:

It's not a problem with international searches altogether because a search for Brasilia, Brazil returns the new results:

Still, if you're invested in travel or local search, you'll want to spend some time optimizing for image search, since they're now a big part of Google location-based results.

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 12:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

June 4, 2009

Google Mobile App Now Available for Nokia S60 Smartphones

Nokia S60 devices are finally getting a Google Mobile App. They join the iPhone, Blackberry and Windows Mobile devices. Of course, Android is fully Google-icious.

With the Mobile App for Nokia S60 devices, Google says it's addressing three main issues related to immediacy: access, location, and query formulation. The app can be launched from the home screen and offers quick button links to search, Google Maps, GMail, and Google Mobile services. It also features "My Location" which helps the app return relevant local results. The app also keeps track of search history, serving up past keywords in order to enable repeat queries. Plus, search suggestions are part of the mix as well, to reduce the amount of typing required to search.

This isn't the first Google app to come to the Nokia S60 series. Back in March, a YouTube was released for this set of smartphones as well.

Image via Official Google Mobile Blog.

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 9:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

June 3, 2009

Google Launches Local Search Application for Android

"Places Directory" is a new app for Android that finds businesses that are close to your location. The app will list various business categories, such as restaurants, hotels and banks. Click on a category and get a listing with distance and star ratings. Click on an individual listing to see reviews and photos.

The app is available in the Android Market and initially supports English and Chinese. "Places Directory" is a Google Labs product.

The application was developed by Taipei Software Engineer Aries Hsieh and fellow Googlers in their 20% time. Hsieh says the inspiration came from his travels to Google headquarters in Mountain View. While visiting, he would try to check out new restaurants, but would also need to know where businesses such as banks were located.

Image via Official Google Mobile blog.

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 8:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

April 18, 2009

How Local Businesses Can Add Themselves To Google City Maps

Seems Google has added maps of local business locations to many of their search results and have pushed results for search results 4-10 below the fold - much to the annoyance of the companies listed there.

The only way to counter this is to get your company in the listings and do it better than your competitors. Google allows companies - in fact encourages them- to add pictures, links and other additional information that can help local business. The Google Local Business Center tells people to, "Stand out from your competitors by adding photos, videos and more."

So if you find yourself pushed below the fold, or just want to be the best listing in the group I suggest you make use of this valuable assistance.

Posted by Frank Watson at 6:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

March 12, 2009

Google Maps Releases Instructional Video for Local Business Center

Google allows local businesses to provide content for their listing on Map search. Business owners can do so through the Local Business Center.

But like anything new, sometimes users need a little help. Google Maps has released an instructional video for the Local Business Center to help their users maximize their business listings.

Click here to watch it on YouTube or simply view the embedded video below:

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 9:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

June 10, 2008

Google Maps Adds Richer Data to Search

Adding richer data to search results is a bit of a trend, and now Google Maps is jumping on the bandwagon. The Google LatLong blog has announced the addition of richer data to its search results. The data includes photos, reviews and a "more info" link that opens an "info window" that features more data.

Below is a screenshot of a search for pizza in Raleigh, NC. If you have a local business, you'll want to add your company to the Google Maps Local Business Center in order to show up in the results.

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 10:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

January 21, 2008

AT&T iPhone Google Deal Pits Apple Against Blackberry

Pitting Apple against Blackberry, AT&T will offer a corporate plan for iPhone users, Engadget reported today.

The iPhone Google AT&T alliance made news at MacWorld with the launch of new Google apps and features for the iPhone.

Today's announcement, though, may be the biggest search engine industry news to come out of MacWorld. If the iPhone succeeds in dislodging Blackberry from the enterprise -- and Google maintains its iPhone-Apple ties -- then Google's share of local mobile searches could increase significantly over the next two years.

Google doesn't enjoy the same dominance in local mobile search as in desktop search. Google's strategic business development deals a couple years ago bundled Google desktop search with Dell computers and made Google the default home page on the computer's pre-installed browser.

Engadget blogger Thomas Ricker notes the move by AT&T iPhone comes in lieu of a 3G announcement by Apple. 3G, with service at 5-10 Mb per second, would make wide-area wireless voice telephony and broadband wireless data available in mobile.

With faster speeds and more bandwidth, 3G would likely increase the total volume of local mobile searches.

Increasing the number of searches is the only win-win for the search industry. Slicing and dicing search inventory increases the long tail of searches. With Yahoo, Microsoft and Ask battling for small gains against Google's dominant share of searches, local mobile search -- and the enterprise -- may be the final frontier.

Posted by Kevin Heisler at 12:06 PM | Permalink

December 4, 2007

Google Launches Local PlusBox

Google has begun using its new PlusBox feature in local search results. The Local PlusBox appears as a plus sign and hotlink to a Google Map appearing after an AdWords ad in the top position at the top of the page.

When clicked, the PlusBox will expand right in the search results page, showing a map, address, driving instructions, and phone number, in addition to the location name that appears beneath the last line of ad.

The Local PlusBox will only appear on locally targeted ads. Advertisers will not be charged for clicks on the Local PlusBox, map, or driving instructions; they will only pay for clicks on their local business ad that lead to their landing page.

The Local PlusBox is being rolled out to AdWords accounts in the US, Canada, UK, and Germany.

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 3:44 PM | Permalink

October 12, 2007

Local Search and Universal Search

Recently I was trying some searches out on Google, and I decided to try out "San Francisco Pizza". It was neat, because it came back with a nice Google map at the top of the results, as follows:

So I then moved on to the next search, "Boston Pizza". The results were quite different:

During my recent visit to the Googleplex, I spoke to Carter Maslan, the Director of Product Management, for Local about this. He indicated that there are still some triggering issues with the integration with Universal Search. I believe this refers to the underlying relevance algorithm in Universal Search that weighs the relevance of search results from several vertical search properties, and then integrates those into the web search results.

For some reason the Boston local search results don't pass muster in this analysis. However, Carter also indicated that this is something that Google is working on, and you can expect to see a far greater penetration of web search results by Local search in the future.

Posted by at 10:10 AM | Permalink

May 21, 2007

Google Adds Neighborhood Search

Google has added a neighborhood search capability for 50 U.S. cities, so a user can search for things like bagels upper east side new york or restaurants, over the rhine, cincinnati on Google Maps.

As Greg Sterling points out, in this case Google is playing catch-up with sites like Ask.com (which launched this in December with its AskCity local search tool, as well as Trulia and Yelp. Yahoo has defined neighborhoods in large cities for some time as well.

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 11:33 AM | Permalink

May 10, 2007

Google Launches New "Geo" Blog

Google has started a new blog focusing on Google Earth, Maps, Local and APIs. Lat Long Blog will chronicle Google's efforts to build the "geoweb," according to John Hanke, director of Google Earth & Maps.

I don't think that there is agreement on what the geoweb is, but I think there is a lot of enthusiasm and energy across many fronts to make it happen. I expect the "it" will evolve substantially over the next few months and years as we (the geo ecosystem on the web) collectively figure out how "earth browsers," embedded maps, local search, geo-tagged photos, blogs, the traditional GIS world, wikis, and other user-generated geo content all interrelate.

Google's geo products and services include the My Maps custom mapping features of Google Maps, as well as geo searches, which surface user-created geographic information in local searches in Google Maps and Google Earth. The blog cites two examples of geo searches: windsurfing near San Francisco and Jerry Seinfeld in NY.

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:29 AM | Permalink

March 14, 2007

The Webification of SMBs

The recent enhancements to Google's Local Business Center is the latest example of companies engaging in what Kelsey Group analyst Michael Boland calls the "Webification" of small and mid-sized businesses.

As he explains in today's SearchDay, drawing business owners online with the promise of free and easy Web presence is the first step in getting them to become advertisers or subscribers to other online services.

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 2:05 PM | Permalink

December 26, 2006

Vertical Strategies in Local Search

Just before the holiday weekend, Bill Slawski had an interesting post at his SEO by the Sea blog. The qualities of online search make it a natural fit for local he contends. This can be seen by the degree to which local has been emphasized within Google (Google Local), Yahoo! (Yahoo! Local), Microsoft (Windows Live Local), and most recently, Ask (AskCity).

But the real opportunity in Local could be in vertical segmentation, he argues. Increased verticalization has in fact gained steam over the past year with the introduction and development of many successful vertical destinations such as Zillow and Trulia in Real estate and Oodle and LiveDeal in classifieds. This “verticalization” of Local Search was a pervasive theme at the Kelsey Group's ILM:06 show last month.

Some of the advantages of a vertical search strategy include a refined corpus of data which increases the likelihood of relevant results within a category that a user is presumably interested in (going by their presence on the site in the first place). This increased relevance can lead to higher click through rates and higher intent to buy.

Some local shopping destinations such as NearbyNow enjoy these advantages because someone searching for “sunglasses” in their local area is more likely to be looking to find a place to buy them. Compare this to a Google search where the user's intent isn't as easily discernable (they could be in a research stage, many steps before a purchase decision and, ultimately, a transaction).

So vertical search can be valuable, but it also doesn't come without its own set of challenges. Use cases are different across vertical categories so different rules and interfaces should be applied for optimal experiences. This challenge is particularly relevant to the local products of search giants mentioned above. These local search offerings are all grounded in a map interface, however a map isn't as relevant in some categories as others.

A map that plots the locations of local landscapers isn't as valuable as one that plots local movie theaters (landscapers come to you). However the map interface dominates search results in both of these categories (and all others) in Google Local, Yahoo Local, et al.. For landscapers, plumbers, roofers and other service categories, user reviews or credentials might represent a better use of this space.

Still, there are many challenges in creating these rules and varying interfaces across vertical categories. The same challenge faces internet yellow pages companies such as yellowpages.com. Smaller vertical players can meanwhile create experiences that are more customized to the use case of that category, but they can't scale to the degree that a Google or a Yahoo! can.

Perhaps the best of both worlds is to build a “house of brands” strategy that brings together many individual vertical brands under one roof. The Classified Ventures family of online classified destinations (cars.com, apartments.com, HomeGain) has done this to some degree, but many believe the slow moving nature of their newspaper owners (Belo, Gannett, McClatchy, Tribune and Washington Post) has held this consortia back from reaching its potential. It's still an interesting model and one to watch – and possibly model after - in the coming year.

Posted by Mike Boland at 7:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Google Maps Offers Speech-Friendly Alternatives

Over at the Google blog, Googler T.V. Raman shares useful tips as a technologist who is visually impaired.

For blind searchers and others who use spoken outputs, screenreaders or a Braille display, the visual display that is returned from a Google Maps or Google Local search is often translated poorly in such readers.

So Google has added a simple, alternative view into Google Maps for visually impaired users, with the Textual Maps UI. It's also extremely useful for any searcher using a non-graphical display and can quickly look up a location by typing a simple English query of the form of a start address to end address.

Posted by Elisabeth Osmeloski at 2:31 PM | Permalink

December 22, 2006

Bringing Small Businesses Online

TheStreet.com has an article on the growing trend of small businesses advertising themselves on Craigslist. As opposed to individuals buying and selling merchandise, this involves local businesses creating posts that list business information or possibly product or inventory info.

Essentially, this utilizes Craigslist as a place to have a free landing page. But this kind of advertising precariously places such pages where they can be bounced around as newer posts push them down chronological listings.

More effective for some small businesses have been free landing page and microsite offerings that have grown in number over the past year, as the name of the game for many search engine marketers will be to get more small businesses online.

This comes with the thought that a significant chunk of revenue growth for search engine marketers will come from new business - those local and small businesses that have thus far steered clear of online marketing because they aren't inclined to do it, or they simply don't have websites. Bringing a business online with free development and hosting tools is thought to hook them, and to develop early loyalties as a place to also do their online marketing.

Enter the free landing page development and hosting offerings. Yahoo! has done this for a while with its free local listings product, and Google came out with Page Creator in February which it recently upgraded with its new "hosted business pages" tool. Companies that have introduced similar solutions include vFlyer and Affinity Internet.

Many of the small businesses in this boat are service businesses that traditionally advertise in the yellow pages. In many cases these businesses are better equipped to handle a phone call than a click, which can be an abstract concept to some. A recent study done by Nielsen//NetRaings and WebVisible suggest as much.

So in addition to more free website development and hosting services, we could see more click-to-call functionality in paid search. In the last month alone, we've seen this from Google and LiveDeal. Look for more to emerge throughout '07.

Posted by Mike Boland at 12:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

November 20, 2006

Google Testing Map Quick Link Under Search Results

Threadwatch screen captured Google testing out placing a link to Google maps results directly below the search result's description and above the url of that result. It is a limited test, and I am not able to reproduce it, but Matt Cutts of Google has confirmed this as a real test. As long as it is useful to the query and the searcher, I am happy with it also.

Posted by Barry Schwartz at 8:57 AM | Permalink

September 13, 2006

Intuit & Google Announce Major Local Search Marketing Partnership

In a development with potentially sweeping implications for local search and small business online marketing, Intuit has announced a partnership with Google that integrates AdWords campaign management and other Google-related features directly into the workflow of QuickBooks, the company's bestselling software package for small business. QuickBooks has 3.7 million active small business customers. A similar set of capabilities is contemplated for a future release of Intuit's other bestselling software program Quicken.

Simultaneously Intuit announced the acquisition of SME marketing firm StepUp. (Reuters is reporting that the acquisition price was $60 million.) StepUp has been doing for local retailers what local SEM/SEO firms like LocalLaunch, WebVisible and ReachLocal are doing (with partners) for local service businesses – helping them establish a web presence and pushing their listings and content out to consumer destinations where they could be found online. (I'll go into this aspect of the deal and its significance below.)

The Intuit-Google partnership and the QuickBooks implementation were quickly put together for the 2007 release of QuickBooks, which hits the shelves later this month. Both companies see their relationship as a long-term partnership with significant mutual benefits. Intuit CEO Steve Bennett and Google CEO Eric Schmidt are holding a conference call later today to explain the relationship in further detail.

Here are the details of the QuickBooks integration as I understand them:

AdWords Starter Edition Integration: Small businesses using QuickBooks will have the ability to sign up for AdWords and manage their campaigns directly within the QuickBooks workflow environment. They won't need to go to Google to do so; Google will receive a feed directly from within QuickBooks. As an incentive to advertise, new AdWords users will receive a $50 discount. Beyond FAQs and standard information about AdWords, right now there doesn't appear to be any "hand holding" or other special support. However I was told that additional features and support would come in future implementations. Intuit told me that they would be helping Google better understand and meet the needs of small business advertisers. One-Click Listing on Google Maps: SME data contained within QuickBooks will pre-populate a set of fields to help SMEs upload their contact information and other details, which they have the ability to edit, in what amounts to one click to Google Maps. They will be enticed to do so with a message along these lines: "Get your business listed on Google for free." Inventory/Product Feed to Google: StepUp has been working with Google to provide local retailer inventory information to Froogle. StepUp has about 5,000 small business customers. Being acquired by Intuit and integrated into QuickBooks will give the company overnight access to literally millions of small retailers and their inventory data. About half of QuickBooks' 3.7 million customers use the software for inventory management.

StepUp's application is similarly integrated into the new, 2007 version of QuickBooks. What this enables is a product/inventory data feed directly to Google/Froogle. As part of the install process of QuickBooks 2007 retailers will be given the option to list all their products on Google.

StepUp works with other distributors (e.g., SuperPages) and intends to continue doing so. "Our mission is to help retailers be found wherever consumers are," StepUp CEO Kendall Fargo told me in response to my question about whether the Intuit acquisition and Intuit-Google partnership would mean any changes in the company's roadmap or objectives. Beyond the additional reach this gives them, he said "no" and also expressed a desire to work with other partners (e.g., MSN, Yahoo!, etc.)

Google Desktop Integration: Finally the Google Desktop search application is being integrated into QuickBooks so that users can search their computers and the data in QuickBooks with the Google Desktop client.

Implications re Small Business Advertisers:

Google has been working directly and indirectly with channel partners to acquire small business advertisers. Many of those partners are yellow pages publishers. But consider that the U.S. yellow pages industry has approximately 3.2 million advertisers in total. As mentioned, QuickBooks has 3.7 million active users and Quicken another 3 million (not all of whom are small businesses obviously). But you get the idea: Instantly Google gets access – through a trusted third party (Intuit) -- to a huge installed base of potential advertisers.

The direct integration of AdWords into the QuickBooks workflow may not be as effective as a local sales rep. knocking on a door or making a phone call, but it gets close and it's considerably more efficient in many respects. And, as mentioned, Intuit will be helping Google to make AdWords more "SME friendly" going forward.

This is a privileged position with a massive SME aggregator that currently Google's competitors don't enjoy on a comparable scale.

Implications re the Consumer Experience:

The StepUp facilitated product inventory information, which will likely be more complete and accurate than almost anything else in the market, will make Froogle (or whatever it eventually becomes) a differentiated source of local product information ("Where can I buy it today?"). Intuit/StepUp has said it will work and hopes to work with others in providing this same information. So Froogle's competitors could potentially benefit from this feed if they build the required APIs.

The Google Maps integration will similarly provide (assuming that merchants opt for this) lots of accurate local content that otherwise wouldn't be available or might be outdated.

Of course it remains to be seen how all this plays out, but this is a major win for Google and a big value-add for Intuit in its relationship with small businesses.

Posted by Greg Sterling at 2:59 PM | Permalink

August 31, 2006

Tips On Getting Listed In Local Search Results

Patricia Hursh wrote a ClickZ column named Four Steps Every Business Can Take to Improve Local Search Results. The article goes over the what, why and how on Local Search. In short, how does one get included in the local results you see search engines providing? She recommends that you (1) update your business listings at Amacai, infoUSA, and Acxiom, (2) submit your site to local engines such as Google Local, MSN Local, Yahoo Local, Ask Local, and TrueLocal, (3) update your Internet Yellow Page listings at YellowPages.com, Verizon SuperPages, and SwitchBoard.com, and (4) make sure to have your address clearly listed throughout your web site.

Don't have time to do all of that, you can pay one of these two companies to do it for you; Relevant Ads or RegisterLocal. Also, if you are interested in understanding who local search engine powers who, see Bruce Clay's and TrueLocal's PDF chart.

Postscript Barry: Although Amacai is related to another sister company, Localeze, it does not actually manage local search content. Localeze, a completely separate company (Amacai is its subsidiary), manages local search content for local merchants.

Posted by Barry Schwartz at 9:04 AM | Permalink

August 15, 2006

Google Maps Gets Coupons

Hmm? How do you prove to local merchants who lack tracking software or even web sites that search converts? Coupons! That's right, the conversion tracking tool that requires no internet connection, cookies or software has come to Google Maps.

Google provides more information on how merchants can get going with coupons at its local business center here (for those logged in with a Google Account). They're available for free to anyone with a local business listing on Google Maps.

How do you get those free local listing? Easy. If you're logged into Google, provide your real-world location information here (for the US, UK, Canada, China & Japan). Then a letter will get sent to that location with a PIN to verify your listing. Once that's added, you can assign coupons to your locations.

To kick things off, Google's already seeded the maps with coupons through a partnership with Valpak, as described more in the press release below. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find any live and in the wild. It would have been nice if there was a feature added to Google Maps to search and indicate you want to see only businesses offering coupons. Heck, I don't even see consumer-facing help information about coupons offered yet at Google Maps.

Here are some details from press stories:

• Google to distribute discount coupons on mapping service: From the San Jose Mercury News, it provides a bit more detail about the Valpak partnership.  
• Google Maps offers discount coupons for US stores: From Reuters, some details on how this might challenge coupon rivals such as CoolSavings. I'd say it's not going to be much of a challenge unless a feature to easily find coupons at Google is offered. Hunt-and-hope browsing for them isn't going to cut it.  
• New at Google: Local Coupons: From the New York Times, has some quotes from Google on how this is intended to help small businesses who might lack web sites.

And here's the Google press release:

Print and Save – Coupons on Google Maps

Today, Google announced printable online coupons on Google Maps. When searching for local information, discount coupons from businesses are now displayed on Google Maps search results and business listing pages. These coupons can be printed out directly from a computer and redeemed at a physical store location of a neighborhood or local business. For users of Google Maps, coupons provide additional relevant business information and ultimately contribute to a better local search experience. For businesses, coupons provide another way to reach customers online.

Google has partnered with Valpak, one of the leading direct marketing companies in North America, to provide coupons from current Valpak advertisers on Google Maps. These coupons include savings from local businesses throughout the United States including dry cleaners, dentists, vets, pizza places, car washes, oil changes, handymen and home remodelers. New coupons from Valpak advertisers are added on a nightly basis to ensure the most recent offers are available immediately to consumers.

Coupons are available in Google Maps at no cost to businesses and consumers. Businesses simply need to log into the Local Business Center at Google Maps to enter in coupon information www.google.com/local/add. In addition, businesses can easily add or update their local business listings on Google Maps from the Local Business Center. Once coupon information is entered, the coupon is displayed on Google Maps within hours. Businesses do not need a web site to participate.

"We're very pleased to be the launch partner with Google to offer Valpak's print-at-home online coupons to more consumers and to give Valpak merchants valuable enhanced distribution tied to their existing listing on Google Maps." said Todd Leiser, Vice President and General Manager for Valpak.com, Valpak's online coupon portal. "Valpak's blue envelope has been a North American institution for nearly 40 years and has the type of real consumer value that is perfect to support Google's mission statement of organizing the world's information".

In addition, Google AdWords advertisers can use coupons through the Local Business Center. In the coming months, AdWords advertisers will be able to drive traffic to their coupons on Google Maps. By driving additional traffic to their coupons the advertiser can reach more customers.

To find a coupon for a business in your neighborhood please visit www.maps.google.com. For businesses who want to try coupons on Google Maps please visit www.google.com/local/add.

Postscript: Mike Buckley's gotten one of the ads going and describes the process over here. The coupons don't actually appear in the pop-up box on the map, as I thought. Instead, try this search. Look to the left-hand side, at the textual listings. See the word "Coupons >>" under each listing. Click on one like this, and you'll see how coupons are listed for display.

Posted by Danny Sullivan at 5:36 AM | Permalink

August 10, 2006

Custom Map Icons Added For Google Local Business Ads

The Google Blog announced a new feature for Google Local business ads, named "custom map icons." Basically, for the pinpoints found in Google Local/Maps, you can customize that pinpoint with a favicon like image. You can see an example of this implemented and more details on how it works at the Google Blog.

Posted by Barry Schwartz at 6:27 PM | Permalink

July 11, 2006

New Search Patent Applications: July 11, 2006 - Google Patent Filings by the Dozen

Twelve Google patent applications where published this past week, including seven that focus upon geographical information and local search.

(1) How good a match ads may be to the content on pages they are served upon through a program like Adsense. (2) A process for improving the targeting of ads. (3) Real time transportation data for travelers. (4) An exploration of ad layouts. (5) An automated advertising approval process. (6) Reasons for location-based businesses to use local area advertising, including an improved pay-per-call process.

(7) How the most authoritative local search results are identified. (8) The use of visual gap segmentation to separate information on different parts of pages, with implications beyond local search. (9) Ties business locations with regional areas. (10) A method for reducing ambiguity in geographic location. (11) Deciding whether regular or local results might be shown when at least one query term might be geographical in nature. (12) Assigning confidence scores between business identity and location information on a page.

Microsoft adds two more, on the validity of links, and on the validity of anchor text in links. They have very similar names, and cover topics that are related, but the processes involved are very different.

Google

This first patent filing discusses some of the factors that the search engine may look at to determine whether or not an ad served on a page a good match for that page and possibly the category that page may be within, including some user behavior information such as whether or not ads are selected, how long a viewer remains on a page, and if a conversion is made.

Associating features with entities, such as categories of web page documents, and/or weighting such features Inventors: Ross Koningstein, Stephen Lawrence, and Valentin Spitkovsky US Patent Application 20060149710 Published July 6, 2006 Filed on December 30, 2004

Abstract

Features that may be used to represent relevance information (e.g., properties, characteristics, etc.) of an entity, such as a document or concept for example, may be associated with the document by accepting an identifier that identifies a document; obtaining search query information (and/or other serving parameter information) related to the document using the document identifier, determining features using the obtained query information (and/or other serving parameter information), and associating the features determined with the document. Weights of such features may be similarly determined. The weights may be determined using scores. The scores may be a function of one or more of whether the document was selected, a user dwell time on a selected document, whether or not a conversion occurred with respect to the document, etc. The document may be a Web page. The features may be n-grams. The relevance information of the document may be used to target the serving of advertisements with the document.

The process detailed in the next patent application aims at improving the relevancy of ads, and helping in suggesting targeted terms by allowing an advertiser to submit broad targeting information. While serving ads using that information, the search engine would log and collect search query terms, and possibly concepts and concept keywords, associated with the serving of the ad, and suggest candidate targeting keywords or phrases to the advertiser from those logs.

Suggesting and/or providing targeting information for advertisements Inventors: Ross Koningstein US Patent Application 20060149625 Published July 6, 2006 Filed on December 30, 2004

Abstract

The relevancy of ads may be increased, and opportunities to serve an ad that might otherwise be missed may be exploited by (i) accepting broad targeting information, to be used for serving an ad, from an advertiser, (ii) serving the ad using the broad targeting information, (iii) logging search query terms (or some other information, such as concepts, concept keywords, etc.) associated with the serving of the ad, and (iv) generating one or more candidate targeting keywords or phrases for the ad using the logged search query terms. At least one of the candidate targeting keywords or phrases may be provided as targeting information for the ad. Alternatively, at least one of the candidate targeting keywords or phrases may be presented to the advertiser. Advertiser input with respect to the candidate targeting keyword(s) or phrase(s) presented may then be accepted. Zero or more of the candidate targeting keyword(s) or phrase(s) may be provided as targeting information for the ad, in accordance with the accepted advertiser input. Cost information (e.g., average cost per selection, average cost per conversion, total costs, etc.) may be presented in association with the candidate targeting information.

Traffic assistance similar to that provided by Google acquisition Zipdash is the focus of the next document, and Zipdash is named as a service that would use this process. Some integration of local search and advertising is hinted at in the filing.

Transportation routing Inventors: Henry Rowley, and Shumeet Baluja US Patent Application 20060149461 Published July 6, 2006 Filed on December 31, 2004

Abstract

A computer-implemented method of providing personalized route information involves gathering a plurality of past location indicators over time for a wireless client device, determining a future driving objective using the plurality of previously-gathered location indicators, obtaining real-time traffic data for an area proximate to the determined driving objective, and generating a suggested route for the driving objective using the near real-time traffic data.

How are the layouts of ads best optimized? What size fonts are used, and how many ads are displayed on pages? Google explores some of those concepts, and notes that the presentation ideas for ads in the following document also may be used to present news items on search results pages.

Ad rendering parameters, such as size, style, and/or layout, of online ads Inventors: Shumeet Baluja, Vibhu Mittal, and Mehran Sahami US Patent Application 20060149622 Published July 6, 2006 Filed on December 30, 2004

Abstract

Ad rendering parameters for a set of two or more ads may be determined by (a) accepting, for a set of two or more ads, ad information which includes at least one ad feature having a value that depends on ad rendering parameters, and (b) determining ad rendering parameters for at least one ad from the set of two or more ads using the accepted ad information. The act of determining ad rendering parameters may use accepted ad rendering constraints. The ad rendering constraints may include space available for rendering the ads, a footprint available for rendering the ads, and/or a maximum number of ads permitted to be rendered. The act of determining ad rendering parameters may include maximizing a value associated with serving at least one ad from the set of two or more ads with ad rendering parameters subject to the ad rendering constraints. The ad rendering parameters may include sizes of the served ads, and/or a layout of the served ads.

Automating the approval process for paid ads could benefit Google and advertisers. What would such an approval process entail? The next document identifies a number of issues involved in approving an ad, and in followups on advertisements. It also describes a whitelist for exceptions to some of the policies that may keep ads from being approved.

Advertisement approval Inventors: Gregory Joseph Badros, Robert J. Stets, and Lucy Zhang US Patent Application 20060149623 Published July 6, 2006 Filed on December 30, 2004

Abstract

An advertisement for use with an online ad serving system may be automatically checked for compliance with one or more policies of the online ad serving system. If the advertisement is approved, then it is allowed by be served by the ad serving system. Follow up checks of the advertisement may be scheduled. One follow up check may be to test a landing page of the advertisement for compliance with policies. If the advertisement is not approved, hints for making the ad comply with one or more violated policies may be provided to an advertiser associated with the ad, and/or an ad serving system customer service representative. Determining whether or not to approve the advertisement may include determining violations of one or more policies by the advertisement, and, for each of the violations, determining whether or not to exempt the violation.

Google Local Patent Applications

The following patent applications primarily look at local search, though some of the processes described within them may have broader reaching implications, such as the one on visual segmentation of information on pages.

Businesses associated with a specific location often don't use paid search as part of their advertising strategy. This first patent application thoughtfully goes into some of the reasons why, and explores ways to make it a more attractive medium, including expanded pay-per-call functionality, as well as providing information such as business hours and types of payment accepted.

Generating and/or serving local area advertisements, such as advertisements for devices with call functionality Inventors: Shumeet Baluja and Henry A. Rowley US Patent Application 20060149624 Published July 6, 2006 Filed on December 30, 2004

Abstract

Sets of local, (e.g., online) ads may be generated by obtaining sets of information about (e.g., local) establishments, each set including a business address information and/or a telephone number, (b) determining, for each of the sets, a location using at least one of at least a portion of the business address information and at least a portion of the telephone number, and (c) generating, for each of the sets, an ad that includes targeting information that targets the serving of the ad to queries related to the determined location. A query, including information about a location of a client device, may be accepted and at least one of the generated ads that includes targeting information that targets the location of the client device may be determined.

How does a local search determine which document is the most relevant and authoritative one to return at the top of a local search list? A number of factors are considered in this next set of described processes.

Authoritative document identification Inventors: Daniel Egnor and Geeta Chaudhry US Patent Application 20060149800 Published July 6, 2006 Filed on December 30, 2004

Abstract

A system determines documents that are associated with a location, identifies a group of signals associated with each of the documents, and determines authoritativeness of the documents for the location based on the signals.

If you are familiar with Microsoft's research on VIPS: a VIsion based Page Segmentation Algorithm, some of the ideas in the next document may sound a little familiar. Imagine a page that includes restaurant reviews for a number of restaurants in a city neighborhood. Might the information from that page be segmented, so that reviews for each of the restaurants can be included in results for the right restaurants in a local search? This visual gap approach might be helpful in that endeavor.

The document also notes that this process might be helpful in determining what an image is about, and in indexing them. It also mentions that it could help the search engine understand what the different parts of a page are, and how much value they have (for instance, distinqusihing between content and navigation.)

Document segmentation based on visual gaps Inventors: Daniel Egnor US Patent Application 20060149775 Published July 6, 2006 Filed on December 30, 2004

Abstract

A document may be segmented based on a visual model of the document. The visual model is determined according to an amount of visual white space or gaps that are in the document. In one implementation, the visual model is used to identify a hierarchical structure of the document, which may then be used to segment the document.

While a search engine may be able to determine where a business related to a page is located, it may want to associate that location with a geographical region. Something like a Hierarchical Triangular Mesh may be used to help in making that association.

Indexing documents according to geographical relevance Inventors: Daniel Egnor US Patent Application 20060149774 Published July 6, 2006 Filed on December 30, 2004

Abstract

A local search engine efficiently indexes documents relevant to a geographical area by indexing, for each document, multiple location identifiers that collectively define an aggregate geographic region. When creating the index, the search engine may determine a set of geographical areas surrounding a geographical area relevant to a document and associate references to the set of geographical areas with the document index.

It's not always clear what the geographic location of a webpage is, based upon information presented on individual pages, though sometimes that type of information exists on the pages. The process displayed in this next filing tries to take information that may be spread out on a page, and tie it together to identify a location.

Classification of ambiguous geographic references Inventors: Daniel Egnor US Patent Application 20060149742 Published July 6, 2006 Filed on December 30, 2004

Abstract

A location classifier generates location information based on textual strings in input text. The location information defines potential geographical relevance of the input text. In determining the location information, the location classifier may receive at least one geo-relevance profile associated with at least one string in the input text, obtain a combined geo-relevance profile for the document from the at least one geo-relevance profile, and determine geographical relevance of the input text based on the combined geo-relevance profile.

Imagine if a search engine could serve either regular web search results or local results. Some search queries could be ambiguous, and may make it difficult to determine whether to serve local search information or general web search results. The inventors of the next document provide some ideas that may reduce some of that ambiguity a little.

Location extraction Inventors: Daniel Egnor and Lawrence Elias Greenfield US Patent Application 20060149734 Published July 6, 2006 Filed on December 30, 2004

Abstract

A system receives a search query that includes a set of search terms, determines whether at least one of the search terms corresponds to the name of a geographic area, and determines whether the geographic area corresponds to an unambiguous geographic area when at least one of the search terms corresponds to the name of the geographic area. The system performs a local search, based on one or more of the search terms, to identify documents associated with the geographic area when the geographic area corresponds to an unambiguous geographic area.

The title of this patent application, and the previous one are so similar, that I was concerned they might be duplicates when I uncovered them. The one above attempts to "extract" location information from a query. This next one attempts to "extract" location information from pages being indexed, with confidence scores indicating how likely it is that business information on a page is associated with an address on the same page.

Local item extraction Inventors: Michael Dennis Riley US Patent Application 20060149565 Published July 6, 2006 Filed on December 30, 2004

Abstract

A system identifies a document that includes an address and locates business information in the document. The system assigns a confidence score to the business information, where the confidence score relates to a probability that the business information is associated with the address. The system determines whether to associate the business information with the address based on the assigned confidence score.

Microsoft

The titles of two Microsoft patent applications are very similar, but the processes described aren't. The first one looks at anchor text in links, and the titles to pages those links point to, to see if the anchor text is accurate. The second one looks at links on pages, using the Document Object Model, and tries to determine if they are valid links while simulating the experience of a user of the page viewing it with a browser. This may help a search engine understand dynamic html menus, and view links that may otherwise be unavailable to a search engine crawler.

Methods and apparatus for the evaluation of aspects of a web page Inventors: Michael A. Starbird Assigned to Microsoft US Patent Application 20060150076 Published July 6, 2006 Filed on December 30, 2004

Abstract

Methods and apparatus are provided for evaluating the extent to which link text, representing a hypertext link on a web page, corresponds to a web page referenced by the link. In one embodiment, the link text may be compared to the title of a web page referenced by the link, such as by parsing the link text and page title into individual tokens and comparing the tokens. The extent to which the link text and the page title correspond may be expressed as a percentage of tokens which match. A graphical user interface (GUI) may be provided which presents a visual indication when a minimum percentage of tokens do not match.

Methods and apparatus for evaluating aspects of a web page Inventors: Ryan Farber Assigned to Microsoft US Patent Application 20060150111 Published July 6, 2006 Filed on December 30, 2004

Abstract

An automated method is provided for evaluating the validity of links included in a web page. The web page may contain commands, such as dynamic HTML or other embedded commands, which are configured for execution upon the occurrence of an event, such as a provision of input by a user. According to one embodiment, the method includes causing the links to be generated by simulating the occurrence of the event. Upon the generation of the links, their validity may be determined, and a report may be produced which indicates whether the links are valid.

My usual reminder about patents: Some of the processes and technology described in patents are created in house, and some are developed with the assistance of contractors and partners. A percentage are never developed in a tangible manner, but may serve as a way to attempt to exclude others from using the technology, or even to possibly mislead competitors into exploring an area that they might not have an interest in (sometimes skepticism is good.)

There are times when a Google or Yahoo acquires a company to gain access to the intellectual property of that company, or the intellectual prowess and expertise of that company's employees. And sometimes patents are just purchased.

Want to comment or discuss? Visit our Search Technology & Relevancy area of the Search Engine Watch Forums.

Posted by Bill Slawski at 8:55 PM | Permalink

May 11, 2006

Google Destination Guides: Not Much There -- Yet

A part of Google Co-op, "Destination Guides" was promoted as “Google City Guides” at Google Press Day today. And while everything about Co-op has been officially qualified as a “work in progress,” this is something of a disappointment –- as are many of the content areas and the general user-experience of Co-op.

Danny has a more complete write up of Co-op here. Co-op is an ambitious project, not unlike Base, to create verticals, add structured and user-generated content and make the search experience more personalized. If you want to create your own "vertical search engine," which is one of the aims of this project, it’s also somewhat confusing.

The concept is cool, the experience not – yet.

Google?s ?Destination Guides? aren?t really city guides, in my opinion, they?re travel-related information. Right now, there?s not much of a there there. They?re really quite weak compared to, for example, Citysearch, Yelp, AOL City Guides or many of the well-known travel sites.

I?m going to New York later this month so I plugged in "New York."

What you get are a number of standardized categories that allow for subsequent query refinements: i.e., ?Suggested Itineraries,? ?Sightseeing,? ?Dining Guides,? ?Lodging Guides,? ?Museums? among a number of others.

Here are the results for Lodging Guides. They aren?t very satisfying. I can?t compare prices on hotels or see recommended hotels; I still have to click on more links to get to hotel verticals, travel aggregators, etc. It?s not really all that helpful. Yahoo?s travel metasearch site FareChase or its community travel site Trip Planner produce much more useful results at this point, as do sites like Openlist or TripAdvisor.

Once more content partners become involved and more community content becomes available the Destination Guide experience should improve. That might equally be said of Co-op in its entirety.

As Google's Marissa Mayer said today, ?Innovation not perfection.?

Posted by Greg Sterling at 2:48 AM | Permalink

April 21, 2006

Google Local Goes Back To Being Google Maps

Google gave us the heads-up about this earlier this week, that Google Local was going to be renamed Google Maps. Now it's happened. Either URL you use, http://local.google.com/ or http://maps.google.com/ comes back with the Google Maps name.

But wait a minute! Wasn't Google Maps just renamed Google Local a few months ago? Yep, back in October. Google explains briefly to News.com how they flip-flopped because people kept calling Google Local "Google Maps."

Hate to say it, but perhaps they should go back to two different sites. Local results can still be in Google Maps and vice-versa, but separately, they might be easier to maintain with more targeted front pages for what people probably expect. For example, compare Yahoo Local to Yahoo Maps.

Postscript: Google has more on the change on its blog.

Posted by Danny Sullivan at 7:37 AM | Permalink

April 13, 2006

Google Local Gets New Head

Via Technorati, Google Local to Be Lead by Classified Ventures Exec from The Local Online notes that Sam Sebastian is now apparently head of Google Local. His exact title is not stated. Sebastian oversaw the Homescape site for Classified Ventures, a joint venture backed by major newspaper publishing companies such as Gannett and Knight Ridder.

Postscript: Google Recruits Local Ad Exec from ClickZ has confirmation from Google and a few more details.

Posted by Danny Sullivan at 8:55 AM | Permalink

April 7, 2006

SDForum To Host GeoSearch & Mapping Session With Google, Yahoo, MSN, & Ask.com

Search SIG announces that Google, Yahoo, MSN and Ask.com will be on a panel named MapOFF! to take place at Yahoo headquarters on April 11th. The panel includes Jeremy Kreitler of Yahoo, Thai Tran of Google Maps, Alex Daley of Microsoft Virtual Earth and Andy Yang of Ask.com, moderated by Brady Forrest of Microsoft. More information on the event here.

Posted by Barry Schwartz at 8:54 AM | Permalink

March 31, 2006

How To Add Your Local Business Ad In Google AdWords

I just posted about Google's New Local Business Ads, but this entry is going to take you step by step on how I added my icon and logo to my company's, RustyBrick, listing.

I logged into my Google AdWords Account, which was also linked to the Google account I used to update my local business listing. I was presented with a link to "Create New Local Business Ad", which looked like;

I clicked on that link and moved on to a page that asked to help identify my company. The page was a form prefilled with my company's information, so I clicked continue below the form. Here is a screen capture;

Google found one listed and asked me to confirm this listing before preceding, so I did, here is that screen;

The next screen asked me to create my ad, and it showed me a preview of the ad, as I create it, much like how normal ads work in AdWords. It looked like;

Part of this screen, they asked me to pick a map icon, here is the dhtml pop up of icon choices;

I then uploaded my logo and clicked save, which took me back to the ad preview page for both my listings (i.e. normal ad and geoad);

So I clicked on edit ad, under the geo ad, and was presented with the full view on the AdWords management screen;

Here is a view of my listing on Google Local Maps;

When I click on that windmill logo, it brings up my image ad portion;

No, I did not click on my ad, and I hope you guys don't either. That is the reason I did not link directly to the Google Local result. :)

Posted by Barry Schwartz at 8:29 AM | Permalink

Google's New Local Business Ads

Google has launched, as expected, Local Business Ads. The official overview page from Google can be found here. ClickZ has their write up here and News.com over here. I am sure you have questions, such as how do I get my logo in the local results? Well here are three useful answers for you...

First one; You can create a new local business ad at any time by following these steps: (1) Log in to your AdWords account at https://adwords.google.com. (2) Click the keyword-targeted campaign that contains the Ad Group you want to edit. (3) Click the appropriate Ad Group. (4) Click the Create New Local Business Ad link. (5) Identify the Google Local business listing you want to advertise. If you don't have a listing, learn how to add your business to our local listings. (6) Enter your description lines and URL. (The business name, address, and phone number of your business will be automatically taken from Google Local.) (7) Choose a business icon. The icon you choose will appear for all local business ads in the campaign. (8) Optional: Upload a business image to appear in the info window that expands from your map marker. (9) Click Save Ad.

Second one; Each local business ad can include an image. The image you upload for your local business ad will display in the info window that expands from the map marker associated with your ad.

Please follow these guidelines and requirements for local business ad images: - Dimensions: 125x125 pixels maximum - File size: 20k maximum - File types: JPG, GIF, PNG - Format limitations: All images must be static (no animation, flash or other rich formats) - Other restrictions: The image may be a logo or photo that relates to your business. All images will be - reviewed by an AdWords Specialist. Regardless of your business type, images must be appropriate for all audiences.

Third one; The map marker for each local business ads contains a business icon. You can choose an icon from a list provided during local business ad creation. The icon is set at the campaign level, so all ads within one campaign will display the same icon.

Posted by Barry Schwartz at 8:06 AM | Permalink

March 24, 2006

Google Tests New Image Ads In Google Local

Shimon Sandler found that Google Local is testing another form of PPC ads in Google Local. If you search on booksellers nyc at Google Local, and if you look at the map you will notice some results have little coffee icons. If you click on the coffee icon within the map, more info pops up. This pop up contains a header named "Sponsored Link" and with local information and a large Barnes and Noble logo.

PostScript: Shimon also says that this is named "GeoAds." Reportedly, it is available to all, if not most business segments. How do you sign up for your business? Well, I am not 100% sure. You can go to Google Base and do a bulk upload of your multiple business listings or add/edit your local business listing. I tried the local business listing, but was unsuccessful in adding a sponsored listing or logo to my result.

If you are a Mac user, like myself, you most likely won't see the coffee icon, in either Safari or even Firefox. But if you are a PC user, you should see the result on both IE and FireFox. Here are screen captures if you are like me.

Perspective Screen Capture:

Zoom In Screen Capture:

This is an alternative form of ads in Google Local. First time we noticed sponsored ads was when Google placed blue pins in the results.

Want to discuss? Join our forum thread named Google Tries Alternative to Blue Pins in Google Local Maps.

Posted by Barry Schwartz at 9:40 AM | Permalink

March 10, 2006

Google Partners With BenQ& Google Removing Ads from Mobile Content?

PaidContent links to a story at Mob Happy describing how Google Mobile has removed the ads on his site. The before and after shot display that graphical ad is missing in mobile version. PaidContent says that "the ad in question wouldn't work very well on a mobile phone but it's beside the point." A publisher lives based of the ads they sell on their pages, for Google or Skweezer to remove them, is just not right. Maybe that is why "Google has been aggressively partnering with cell phone hardware manufacturers," from SearchViews?

Posted by Barry Schwartz at 9:26 AM | Permalink

February 10, 2006

Google Increases Resolution of Torino in Google Earth and Local

The Google blog announced yesterday, in the spirit of the Olympics, they have "updated Google Earth and Google Local with high resolution imagery of the surrounding area." I was able to get as close as a 100 feet on Google Local Torino. If you have Google Earth installed, you can click here to zoom into Torino on your desktop. The Google Blog also links to Google Maps Mania Blog's Winter Olympics Google Maps Mashups with some cool uses of the Google Maps API and the Olympics.

Postscript: If you're looking for fast facts about the games and some cool databases, check Resource Shelf.

Posted by Barry Schwartz at 9:57 AM | Permalink

January 24, 2006

New and More Detailed Imagery Comes to Google Local and Google Earth

Via Google Blogoscoped and this post on the Google Blog, word that Google has added some new and improved imagery offering greater detail to Google Earth and Google Local users.

From the Google Blog post: Not only have we added extensive 6-inch imagery for many parts of the U.K., but we've updated the Google Local database to match the coverage we have in Google Earth, and (drum roll, please) ... we've added two more zoom levels in Google Local's Satellite mode! Now for many areas around the world you can see a lot more detail than you could before.

Posted by Gary Price at 7:30 PM | Permalink

January 18, 2006

Still Seeing "Blue Pins" on Some Google Maps; Google Now Testing Paid Links in Google Earth

Although some sites are reporting that the Google Maps "blue pin test" is no longer visible, I'm seeing the blue pins on some Google Maps results pages as of this morning.

The pins represent the location of the sponsored links that come above editorial listings to the left of the map. As we know, when Google tests something it might be visible with one search and a moment later, it's gone. Then, an two minutes or two hours later it's back but you're the only one who can see it. In fact, that's what happened today. Here's a screen cap of what I was occasionally seeing as of 11:20am today when searching for hotels NYC. RustyBrick told me he was also still seeing the blue pins

While we're on the topic of Google tests, a SEW Blog reader sent a note saying that he was seeing paid listings when running business searches with Google Earth (GE). I opened GE and spotted the same thing (in some situations) when clicking on the mapped location of a business. Here's a screen cap. I'm checking with Google to see if this is new, something old that we never noticed, or another test. Stay tuned.

Postscript: A Google spokesperson has just confirmed to SEW that they are testing (on a limited basis) paid links in Google Earth.

As part of our continuing effort to provide a positive advertising experience for users and advertisers, we are always exploring ways to improve the way we display ads. We are currently conducting a limited test of ads in Google Earth. We do not have any other specifics to share at this time.

Posted by Gary Price at 11:22 AM | Permalink

January 12, 2006

More on Google Local App for the Blackberry, Expect Google Talk for Blackberry by Spring

A Threadwatch post: Google - Evil Blackberries, points to a Reuters article that offers a bit more detail about the just released version Google Local client software on Blackberry devices that we first posted about last week.

The article points out that Google Talk will also become available (text only) for Blackberry devices by the Spring. The Google Local client is already online. The official announcement from Research in Motion is here.

Other services already provide mobile versions of their IM services. Most of what's available depends on the phone/device and your wireless provider. I've used both Yahoo Instant Messenger via the Yahoo Mobile portal and a client app (one of many) called Toccer, to access AOL Instant Messenger on my Treo. A mobile version of MSN Messenger is also available.

Postscript: Both AOL and Yahoo announced deals with Blackberry (aka Research in Motion) to make IM clients for their services available in in March 2005.

Posted by Gary Price at 2:58 PM | Permalink

Google Tests New Local Ads On Maps

Google Tests Local Ads on Maps at ClickZ covers David Galbraith spotting that Google now appears to be inserting paid ads into maps on Google Local. For a search on hotels new york, he's spotted "blue pins" that correspond to what may be new sponsored links that come above editorial listings to the left of the map.

On my end, I see the textual ads but not the blue pins. Neither does Gary. A search for pizza san francisco shows a text ad but no blue pins. A few other searches I did also showed sponsored ads but no pins.

As I said, the sponsored links seem new. I don't recall seeing them on Google Local before, but it could be they were there but less noticeable before Google Local and Google Maps merged. We're checking on this and tracking down the mystery blue pins!

Want to comment or discuss? Visit our SEW Forums thread, AdWords Balloons in Google Maps.

Postscript: Statement from Google, "As part of our continuing effort to provide a positive advertising experience for users and advertisers, we are always exploring ways to improve the way we display ads. We are currently conducting a limited test of ads on Google Local. We do not have any other specific details to share at this time." Also, text ads have been on Google Local since 2004.

Posted by Danny Sullivan at 11:56 AM | Permalink

December 27, 2005

Google To Limit Photo Resolution Of Israeli Military Sites

We reported earlier about a great New York Times article looking at how various governments around the world have been made nervous by aerial images posted in Google Maps. Now via Google Blogoscoped, there's a report out of Israel that Google has agreed to limit the resolution of military installations in Israel, something the NYT article says is mandated by US law.

Posted by Danny Sullivan at 10:21 AM | Permalink

November 22, 2005

Froogle Offers Local Shopping Feature

Google's Froogle shopping search engine added a new feature to let people find products and services for sale in bricks-and-mortar stores near locations they designate.

For example, if you wanted to find all the stores selling cameras near Newport Beach, California, a search for cameras newport beach or cameras 92663 brings back matching results, both in a list and plotted on a map. You can also search just for cameras, then enter a ZIP code, city or state into a second search box that will appear.

How is this different from just doing a search on Google Local? Well, you can compare. Here's cameras 92663 on Google Local. You'll see that camera stores are listed in Google Local, while Froogle lists individual cameras for sale in various locations.

Another example is a search for ipod video 92663. In that case, Froogle shows you that several CompUSA stores have it in stock. A quick drive, and it would be in your hands if you needed it fast. In contrast, the same search on Google Local does poorly, bringing back two Apple Stores that probably have the item in stock but mostly a lot of places that won't, such as The Friends Of The Newport Beach Library.

Google's Shopping Service to List User's Local Stores from the New York Times and Google unveils tool to map shopping trips from the Associated Press say the data comes from a third-party inventory database that Google won't name. Google has long accepted feeds from merchants and others for Froogle, so it's likely making use of multiple sources to compile the data. Both stories cover that Google hopes the new Google Base service will also help add this type of data into Froogle in the future.

Comparison Engines notes that the feature CNET already offers a Local Stores search as part of its CNET Shopper service. Sadly, a search for ipod video 92663 brought up no matches, nor did I have much luck coming up with any product that would show me a Local Stores tab in addition to the Online Stores tab as you see in this example.

Postscript from Gary: Two other online shopping databases also allow you to search by location/Zip Code. First, Cairo.com, the shopping search engine allows the user to enter a location/Zip and a product type of category and find where products are available locally. For example, this search for Cameras 20901 found a number of hits for stores near my home (you can narrow by a radius). The results appear to come from primarily large retailers (Target, Rite Aid, Circuit City, etc.). One-click provides a map and directions to the store. Another useful feature from Cairo is their "Sales Alert" feature that will notify you by email if/when the price of a specific product is reduced. Cairo also offers a "price match tracker" to learn if another store is selling the item for a lower price. Btw, the Cairo datatbase is also completely browsable.

Second, ShopLocal.com offers much the same with mostly items from prirmarily large national stores but I also spotted a few regional and local merchants. ShopLocal also provides price alerts and does offer some online shopping options. For example, you can quickly determine the online price versus going to the store and purchase price.

Postscript 2 From Gary: It's also worth noting that Amazon.com offers an option to order selected books online and then and then pick the book up at a nearby brick and mortar bookstore. For example, a search for John's "The Search" illustrates this option.

The same is true for electronics. For example, I can order this Apple 30GB Color iPod from Circuit City online and then go pick it up today at a nearby Circuit City location.

Posted by Danny Sullivan at 7:56 AM | Permalink

November 8, 2005

Google Print Is Google's Ninth Most Popular Service

With all the debate over what Google Print might do to publishers, I was wondering if anyone was even using the service? Surely it wouldn't even crack the top ten of the most used Google services. As it turns out, indeed it does.

I turned to Bill Tancer of competitive intelligence service Hitwise, who showed on his great blog recently how most traffic from Google Print flows "downstream" to online book sellers.

That's not surprising, given that Google provides links to booksellers as part of the pages it displays in Google Print. FYI, last time we checked, Google said it does not earn of off any book sales generated from visits that Google Print generates.

But how many people actually use Google Print at all? Bill said Hitwise couldn't generate audience estimates, but he did give me a percentage breakdown of traffic to all Google sites for a one week period ending Nov. 5. The summary is below (rounded to the nearest tenth of a percent for all visits, except those below a tenth of a percent):

1. Google Web Search: 79.9 percent
2. Google Image Search: 9.2 percent
3. Google Mail/Gmail: 5.6 percent
4. Google News: 1.6 percent
5. Google Maps: 0.8 percent
6. Froogle: 0.7 percent
7. Google Scholar: 0.6 percent
8. Google Groups/Groups 2 Beta: 0.5 percent
9. Google Print: 0.4 percent
10. Google Earth: 0.3 percent
11. Google Directory: 0.2 percent
12. Google Local: 0.1 percent
13. Google Answers: 0.1 percent
14. Google AdWords: 0.06 percent
15. Google Desktop Search: 0.04 percent
16. Google Talk: 0.02 percent

As you can see, Google Print doesn't have a ton of use compared to other Google services -- but it was still impressive to see it cracked the top ten.

Also notice how Google Local is below Google Maps. Google recently turned Google Maps into Google Local, and it's not hard to see why. If Google Maps was getting more traffic, the merging the two was an easy way to get more usage of local.

However, earlier this year Google said that Google Local was more popular than Froogle. It could be that Hitwise might not be counting the Google Maps/Google Local visits correctly due to the change. I'm checking with Bill on this and will postscript a follow up.

Posted by Danny Sullivan at 1:37 PM | Permalink

November 7, 2005

Google Local Goes Mobile

Adding to its various search services for mobile phones, Google has introduced Google Local for mobile, a stripped down version of its web-based local search, with heavy emphasis on maps and driving directions. It's a nice, but limited service, and only works on Java-enabled mobile phones at this point. More about the new service in today's SearchDay article, Google Launches Local for Mobile.

Posted by Chris Sherman at 12:00 AM | Permalink

October 6, 2005

Google Merges Maps & Local, Brings North America Out of Beta

Google Local and Maps are now a single unified service, known as Google Local.

"Google maps has always integrated local listings, and I think this takes it to the level we always have seen it from the engineering level," said Brett Taylor, product manager of Google Local.

With the new integration, if you have a saved location in Google Local you will now see a map of that place when you start a search, rather than later in search results. You'll also be able to use the satellite imagery and hybrid map/satellite photo combination when viewing local search results.

Maps and Local have been unified in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Japan. Both the U.S. and Canada versions have also been moved out of beta and are now official Google services.

Google Maps will still be available at maps.google.com.

Posted by Chris Sherman at 12:00 AM | Permalink

September 2, 2005

Google Launches Google Local In China

I've been meaning to mention long-time search marketer Shakil Khan's new blog on life in China, Chinawhite, where he's going to be touching on search out there. I had it as part of a wrap-up on various China items for next week. But Threadwatch notes that Shak's spotted a Pacific Epoch story on a new Google Local China service in beta. I tried cars in Beijing in English, and have no idea what I got back -- but it does look like local listings for the area, along with a map.

Posted by Danny Sullivan at 1:34 PM | Permalink

May 10, 2005

Google Local UK Gets Mobile Site; Google Scholar Lets Any Library Add Links

Google Local UK has gained a new mobile site and the Google Scholar program now allows any library to establish direct links to content.

Google Blogoscoped notes that a mobile version of Google Local for the UK is now online. Google Local rolled out in the UK last month with a web, mapping and SMS service. More here: Google UK Gets Local Listings & Maps.

Over on ResourceShelf, my Direct Links to Articles: Google Scholar is Now Open to All Libraries explains how the Google Scholar program has expanded to allow any library to set-up direct links from to the full text of articles found in the Google Scholar database, assuming they have institutional subscriptions to the material. This effort began as a small pilot project in February.

BTW, don't forget many public libraries provide direct access to fee-based databases from home or office for free! All you need is a library card. These databases contain full text articles, full text books, and more. Each library offers different databases so be sure to find out what you can access. Here's an article with more info and a few examples.

Posted by Gary Price at 9:26 AM | Permalink

May 4, 2005

UK: Local Directory Publisher Inks Deal With Google To Sell AdWords

Revolution reports that Google has signed an agreement with Thomson, a major player in the UK directory business to sell AdWords. According to the article, the Thomson sales force of more than 500 sales-reps will soon be hitting the streets selling AdWords to small and medium size businesses.

Google AdWords is an integral part of its ThomsonLocal.com online directory and WebFinder.com search engine marketing offerings...Thomson can send link click-throughs directly to a business's website or to a specially created information page on ThomsonLocal.com for businesses without a web presence.

Posted by Gary Price at 11:16 AM | Permalink

May 3, 2005

Google Signs Deal for Content With InfoUSA

This Dow Jones story and a news release alert us to the fact that Google has just signed a content deal with Omaha-based InfoUSA to license their business database for use with Google Local.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

InfoUSA is a well-known and respected player in the business info marketplace. They provide a variety of databases to marketers, libraries, and others. They also offer a free online telephone lookups (white and yellow pages) for people and businesses.

Yahoo Local has been using data from InfoUSA for a long time. For example, note the "some business information provided by InfoUSA" at the bottom of this Yahoo Local results page.

In addition to compiling business listings, InfoUSA spends time verifying and updating each listing in their database.

Posted by Gary Price at 1:01 PM | Permalink

April 21, 2005

Google Local Partners With AccuWeather

Just checked the weather at AccuWeather? Google Local is now over there, in the company's first outsourcing of Google Local to a partner. For example, here's the local forecast page for Newport Beach, California. Look in the upper-right hand corner, and you'll see the ability to do a local business search now powered by Google. So go find that local pizza place (I like Gina's), get a slice and sit in the sun.

Posted by Danny Sullivan at 10:38 AM | Permalink

April 19, 2005

Google UK Gets Local Listings & Maps

Google Local UK has now launched. Not listed? Some data is gathered in partnership with Yell.com. Want to search locally on your mobile? A Google Local SMS service is also offered (though doesn't appear fully implemented yet). It's supposed to be similar to what rolled out for the US last week. Texting instructions for Google Local UK are here.

Google Maps UK has also now launched. Yes, you can even drag your way across the Atlantic and over to the US, if you like. Satellite coverage as provided by Google Maps in the US is not yet online.

Can't wait? UK's 192.com Directory Database Relaunches; Aerial Images for Many UK Locations Available from Gary earlier this month explains another service you can try for those aerial views. You can also try TerraServer, World Wind (see Gary's review),

Posted by Danny Sullivan at 7:58 AM | Permalink

April 18, 2005

Overture Becomes Yahoo Search Marketing & Comparing Listing Products At Yahoo To Google

The rebranding promised in March has happened. Overture has officially become Yahoo Search Marketing, marked by the launch of a new Yahoo Search Marketing site that lists all of Yahoo's search-related listing products.

It's a good change that ought to help new advertisers. Rather than having to explain that they need to buy "Overture" to be on Yahoo, Yahoo can now direct them to a site that retains its branding.

But with rebranding can come confusion, so I thought it would be helpful to look at all the products listed at the new site and also compare them to Google products. In particular, an email I got from a reader prompted the idea:

I am trying to find the "comparable" Yahoo program to Google AdWords. Since their rebranding of Overture last week, I'm still looking unsuccessfully for something like Precision Match, but it looks as if the program has been axed?

We've been using Google AdWords since it launched and are very happy with the format and back office (most of all the results). Is Yahoo offering a similar program? Honestly, I've read about their "Sponsored Search" and it's simply not obvious.

Meanwhile at our Search Engine Watch forums, a thread on the rebranding shows similar confusion:

I thought Overture was being renamed to Yahoo Search Marketing, but this page boasts a range of products, including Shopping, Travel, Directory, PPI & Overture (sponsored search).

The chart below gives you a side-by-side look at all the products listed on the new Yahoo site, along with some other listings areas that I thought made sense to add. If you're a Search Engine Watch member, see this extended post that provides commentary and additional advice and information about each listing area.

Listing Type Yahoo Google Web Search Listings Yahoo Submit Your Site Add Your URL To Google Web Search Paid Inclusion Search Submit Express & Search Submit Pro n/a (but advertisers can get listing support) Search Ads (Paid Placement) Sponsored Search AdWords (search targeted) Contextual Ads Content Match AdWords (content-targeted; AdSense is name for PUBLISHER program) Shopping Listings Product Submit Froogle Feed (free) Travel Listings Travel Submit n/a Directory Listings Directory Submit ODP Submit Local Search Ads Local Sponsored Search AdWords Regional & Local Targeting Local Search Listings Local Enhanced Listings & Local Listings (free) Google Local Business Center News Listings Yahoo News Submissions Google News Source Suggestion

Want to discuss the change from Overture to Yahoo? Visit our forum thread, Yahoo! Search Marketing is Released. Also check out Yahoo To Buy Overture for background on Yahoo buying Overture back in 2003, GoTo Makes Overture To New Name for the last rebranding Overture went through, that of losing it original name of GoTo back in 2001 and GoTo Sells Positions, about GoTo's launch in 1998.

Posted by Danny Sullivan at 9:48 AM | Permalink

April 12, 2005

Search Google Local via Your Cell Phone

Google has introduced mobile phone access for its local search service, and has managed to squeeze just about all of the features of the desktop version into the form factor of a cell phone. It's slick and nicely done.

Today's SearchDay article, Google Debuts Local Mobile, describes the new service in depth.

Posted by Chris Sherman at 12:00 AM | Permalink

March 31, 2005

New From Google Labs: Google Ride Finder

New from Google Labs is Google Ride Finder (GRF). This service uses GPS data to pinpoint and map (using Google Maps) the location of taxis, limos, and shuttle vehicles available for hire in 10 U.S. metro areas.

The 10 areas are: + Baltimore, MD + Chicago, IL + Cleveland, OH + Dallas, TX + Milwaukee, WI + New York, NY + Phoenix, AZ + San Jose, CA + St. Louis, MO + Washington, DC

For example, in the Baltimore/Washington Metro area Google is working with Super Shuttle (a company that takes people to and from the area airports) and just one taxi company in Alexandria, Virginia.

In San Jose, Google maps the whereabouts of taxis from Silicon Valley and Yellow Cab - San Jose and Checker Cab of Silicon Valley.

Remember, just because a taxi or shuttle van is only block or two away from your location doesn't guarantee they're going to come and pick you up but heck, this might help get the taxi/limo there sooner. More importantly, I think this is an interesting beta of location aware services that will soon become part of our daily lives. Google also provides a page where fleet owners can ask for more info about becoming part of the service.

Google also mentions that they're "working closely" with a variety of companies including Mobile Knowledge, Tranware, and Vettro. I wonder if they're also using some of the technology they got with the acquisition of ZipDash that Mike B. blogged about yesterday.

This service would also be useful to mobile web users. I'm guessing that the Google Mobile team has this on their "to do" list.

Google Ride Finder reminds me of another service called NextBus that does the same type of thing with bus and train location info for several U.S. metro locations. They even offer a web alert service.

It also reminds me of several air traffic info services that have been around for years. I'm not talking about the many sites that offer estimated arrival times of when a plane is due to arrive at an airport but the tools that also provide near real-time maps and other data (speed, direction, altitude) of all planes currently in an FAA database. You can see what I mean here and/or here (look for the quick track menu).

Posted by Gary Price at 11:55 PM | Permalink

March 15, 2005

Google Local Gains Tools For Businesses

Just launched, the new Google Local Business Center allows US business to find their their listings in Google Local (such as this one for Hotties Pizza in a search for pizza 92663) and make edits to it. It also allows those not already listed in Google Local to gain new listings.

The key to the new system is a PIN code that Google says will be mailed to the business's bricks-and-mortar address. Once you've gained a PIN, you'll be able to add or edit things like your address, phone number, hours of operation, type of cuisine, web address and email contact.

Information about the new system doesn't appear to yet be added to Google Local help information, but watch that area, and I'm sure it will be added soon.

Google Local listings recently gained additional details, as covered more in our Enhancements Made to Google Local post.

Postscript: As a reminder, Yahoo Local offers a similar business editing feature covered more here: Yahoo Bolsters Local Search Business Listings.

Posted by Danny Sullivan at 10:08 AM | Permalink

March 3, 2005

Enhancements Made to Google Local (Beta)

Google is enhancing Google Local today with three new features.

Here's what you'll find:

Google Maps are now available on Google Local on both the U.S. and Canadian sites. Before today, Google was using maps provided by a third party on Google Local.

The next two features should remind you of what you've seen with product reviews on Froogle and Google's recently released movie info and review service.

After finding the desired entry on a Google Local results page and clicking, you'll now see a page with a variety of information about the business that Google has been compiled from various open web sites.

Here's an example:

Let's say you're searching for restaurants located in the Zip Code 60611 (Chicago). The first entry is for Eli's the Place for Steak on Chicago Avenue.

When you click on the listing link, you'll now find a page with additional information (links to menus, hours of operation, payment info, etc.) automatically extracted from open web sources like Amazon.com, CitySearch.com, and Frommers.

Below this info, you'll find reviews of the Eli's extracted from various web sites. Review are automaticallt analyzed. If it's a positive review, you'll see a green block next to the summary. If it's a negative review, you'll see a red one.

At the bottom of most pages you'll find "reference" links about the business from Google's web index.

Of course, not every listing in Google Local will have additional info and reviews. For example, this listing for a Radio Shack store in Chicago only contains reference links about the store.

Btw, I ran a variety of searches on Google Local Canada looking for review/info pages was unable to find any.

Posted by Gary Price at 12:35 AM | Permalink

February 11, 2005

Google Local Pulls More Than Froogle

Interesting interview from Fortune, Google: Going Beyond the Web, where Google surprisingly says that its Google Local service was getting more page views than its Froogle shopping search service, even before the recent placement of Google Local on the home page. Also some comments from director of consumer web products Marissa Mayer (who I agree deserves a much better title) on the long-term "moonshot" project of Google Print. Thanks to Search Engine Guide for the tip.

Posted by Danny Sullivan at 7:26 AM | Permalink

February 8, 2005

New Google Maps Now Live

Google has released a new Google Maps service via its Google Labs site. Covering the United States, it allows you to drag maps around to find a new location, rather than the usual method of clicking to recenter and reload a page.

Once you've selected an area, you can then keyword search to make local information appear on the map. For pizza places on the Balboa Peninsula in Newport Beach, it worked pretty well. For apartment rentals, the map suddenly zoomed out from a scale of about 1 mile to 50 miles. But zooming back helped to show places I knew should be listed.

To do the searches, I found the area I was interested in, then used the search box above the map. A Local Search link above the map can also be selected. Doing that will let you specifically say to search the map below or you can enter a new city and/or search location. A Directions link brings up two boxes allowing you to enter a starting and ending address to generate driving directions, in the map and with turn-by-turn guidance.

On the Google Maps home page, you'll also find boxes to generate directions on the right-hand side of the page, as well as boxes letting you locate a local business or zoom directly to a location.

Google Maps doesn't offer traffic information, as was recently added to Yahoo Maps. See Yahoo Offers Real-Time Traffic Reports for more about that. Yahoo Maps vs. MapQuest looks at an LA Times article on Yahoo's own work to further develop its own mapping system. And from Chris Sherman, Yahoo Enhances Local Search with Maps looks at how Yahoo Maps allows for local information to be added to Yahoo Maps.

For more, see the Google Maps FAQ and tour pages. Want to discuss or comment? Visit our forum thread, Google Maps: Fresh out of Google Labs.

Postscript: Also see Gary's A Few Minutes With Google Maps

Posted by Danny Sullivan at 6:17 AM | Permalink

February 3, 2005

Google Local Moves To Home Page But Stays In Beta

News from Google that its Google Local service has now moved to the home pages of the US-based Google site and Google Canada. Previously, the service was only accessible to those who knew to go directly to the Google Local site or who saw Google Local results inserted into Google through a OneBox display.

Despite the move, the service remains in beta. First launched as a Google Labs project in September 2003, then released as a formal beta in March 2004, Google Local has been in development for between a year and two and a half years, depending on what start date you go with.

Either way is a long time and adds further fuel to the fire of Google not knowing how to get products out of beta. More telling is the fact that Google previously had suggested that Google Local would only make it to the home page when the beta process was over. From my story about Google losing its tab interface last year:

Google Local Search, rolled out earlier this month, does not appear as a search link on the home page. Google doesn't believe the service is yet developed enough for this type of visibility to be given.

"This is a long way from its lab launch, but it's still a product that's in beta," said Marissa Mayer, Google's director of consumer web products, when talking with Search Engine Watch editors about the local launch earlier this month. "When we are more comfortable taking it out of beta, I think then we'd be really look at adding a tab."

So why does Froogle, also in beta, get home page visibility? That product was launched well over a year ago, and recently Froogle was upgraded. Apparently, this tipped the scales in its favor.

For more on Google and its growing beta problem, see NYT On Yahoo's US Gains & Google's Endless Betas, More On The Endless Betas Of Google, and if you're a Search Engine Watch member, my Breaking Out Of Google's Beta Limbo that charts when major Google services were launched and how they they were (or still are) in beta.

For those keeping score, it's now 5 of 7 major services on the home page -- or 71 percent -- remaining in beta. That's if you're a Google Desktop user. If you're not, then it's 4 out of 6 major services in beta or 66 percent.

For more on Google Local, see these past articles from Search Engine Watch:

• Local Search Part 2: Google & Mobilemaps Bring Back Geosearching: On Google's local product that first appeared in September 2003.  
• Google Pushes Local Search Into the Limelight: On Google Local moving out of Google Labs in March 2004.  
• Google Enhances Local Search: On changes made to the service in September 2004 but problems that still remain.  
• New Google Local Sites: On Google Local sites beyond the US and Canada  
• More On FAST Beats Google For AOL Local: On major Google partner AOL deciding against using Google's local results.

Posted by Danny Sullivan at 7:16 AM | Permalink

January 21, 2005

More On FAST Beats Google For AOL Local

Our AOL Search: Playing In the Big Leagues Now on the new AOL Search release commented on FAST being selected over Google to power upcoming changes to AOL's local search service. Google bypassed in search deal from the Boston Globe takes a closer look at the win by FAST.

Posted by Danny Sullivan at 2:29 PM | Permalink

November 23, 2004

New Google Local Sites

Several sites, including Google Blogoscoped, Zorgloob, and IntelligenceCenter.com are reporting that Google Local is now online for several European countries.

+ Google Local France + Google Local Germany + Google Local Italy + Google Local Denmark + Google Local Norway + Google Local Ukraine

I did a bit of checking on my own and discovered: + Google Local Portugal + Google Local Russia + Google Local Poland

In some cases the interface and search is working. In other cases, only the interface has been translated and is not producing local results.

Posted by Gary Price at 11:43 AM | Permalink

September 21, 2004

Google Local Canada is Now Online

Yellow Pages dials onto Google Canada Source: Canadian Press

Google has just launched another local search product, this time in Canada. The database includes more than 2.4 million listings from a partnerhsip with Canada's Yellow Pages Group.

I haven't had much time to test out Google Local-Canada but after few (very few) quick searches some of the same types of problems that I pointed out in this recent post about Google Local-U.S. also occur at Google Local-Canada.

If you're keeping score: Google Local: U.S. and Canada Yahoo Local: U.S. and Australia

Postscript: ClickZ also has a write-up here now: Google Gets Local in Canada

Posted by Gary Price at 5:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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