The Change Mariner

New Developments In Local Search

Search Engine Watch:

When I need a local product or service, I get low-tech but efficient. I pull the yellow pages off my bookshelf. Within a few minutes, I've found companies that can meet my needs.

Surely web-wide search engines ought to be just as efficient at finding local commercial information! Sadly, no. I've always found that searching the web for local commerce results is often a disappointing experience.

Fortunately, there are signs that local search is about to get better. Overture is testing a local search product, while Google is beta testing its new Search By Location service. In addition, long-time local search player CitySearch is expanding its efforts. These developments and others could mean that I'll stop reaching for that printed yellow pages in the future -- and so might you.