Google getting more local with search
Posted by Brett Pringle on 24 Apr 2009 | Tagged as: Local Search
In the first week of April, Google announced changes to search results for local queries, such as restaurants and dentists, etc that would use a location based search such as dentists in Bristol. To make searches easier results are tailored to match the users IP address without having to type the location within the search query. Traditionally, search queries that include a location would turn up results displayed on a map; however, with this new update the need to use locations within your search queries should no longer be necessary, in theory.
This update has been rolled out worldwide (it has not affected Google South Africa, which has yet to display map listings for any location based search) and also includes results for street addresses and stores without the location.
Now, this is not completely accurate, as the location results are based on IP addresses and you are able to use the “change location” option from within the results to fine tune your search query.
This has not been the only change from Google recently; keeping to the local theme Google AdWords Keyword Tool (as well as the external version) has also seen a change towards local. Columns now display “local search volume” volumes against “global search volumes” for keyword queries. The overall average column will definitely be missed (at least by me), as local search volumes only display the previous month’s search volumes. These results are tailored to the country selected prior to querying your desired keyword for further information. Results are not based on region.
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Some may think that changes to local results within Google will help avoid the need for SEO. However, with the inaccuracies that accompany IP address matching combined with the fact that these changes may not work for all search queries, business owners would do well not to forget about optimising for local search.
But the local search changes from Google are a step in the right direction
