Google Simplifies Local Search Control
Not even a week after Marissa Mayer was charged with handling Google’s location and local services, Google is rolling out its first change. Google will soon add a “Change location” link to the left panel on its search results pages, making it easier for searchers to find local businesses and provide an accurate location setting.
It will look like this:
Currently if you want to see or change your local search settings and you aren’t signed in to Google, you have to modify them inside Google’s “View customizations” link on the results page.
For example, if you’re planning a trip to Chicago, changing your location to Chicago will bring local results when you search for [weather], [hotels], and [restaurants]. Google says you can specify to the ZIP code or be as general as an entire country.
Aside from improving organic results, making this feature more prominent could entice more searchers to hand over a more accurate demographic data and give Google more info to help them better serve ads.