Google Strolls a Local Path. Does the Firm Know Its Way?

June 23, 2012

Google is prancing down the catwalk with yet another design in hopes of rivaling competitors. Google Places got to thin so now the risqué Google+ took over to strut their stuff with local search. According to the article Google Places Is Over, Company Makes Google+ the Center Of Gravity for Local Search This new approach will rival the social interaction of Facebook and Twitter by allowing merchants to develop followers and message them.

Google has returned to a two search-box approach for Google+ Local search in order to allow users to narrow their search and:

“If you click the new “Local” tab in Google+ you’re taken to a personalized local home (discovery) page, which offers a mix of popular, social and recommended content. There are several variables that go into the content that appears on this page. The same two people in Seattle won’t see the same page, though aspects of it may be the same.”

This new design is still a work in progress, so more frills may be added later. Right now results are based on overall Zagat point system reviews and posts, along with places touched by your circle. Google has tried to make their model more attractive to users, like Facebook and Twitter. Local search is a tough challenge. Can Google do a Project Runway and “make it work, people.”

Jennifer Shockley, June 23, 2012

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Stephen E. Arnold monitors search, content processing, text mining and related topics from his high-tech nerve center in rural Kentucky. He tries to winnow the goose feathers from the giblets. He works with colleagues worldwide to make this Web log useful to those who want to go "beyond search". Contact him at sa [at] arnoldit.com. His Web site with additional information about search is arnoldit.com.