Instead of showing you restaurants, hotels, and stores related to your keyword search, now Google automatically knows where you are at. How?
Some cell phones are GPS-enabled, and Google will use this for very accurate positioning. For cell phones without GPS, positioning is determined based on cell tower triangulation and Google Maps, accurate within 10 city blocks.
What are the implications of this to local search?
You better be listed. Having a listing with Google’s Local Search will be more important than ever. This way you can not only make sure you are listed, but that people can find you based on your menu, product lines, and services. Take the time for meaningful customer-based descriptions with lingo that your customer will use to find you.
It’s a Win Win Win. The consumer, your business, and Google all win on this one. For customers, this is a dream to have instant access to local businesses in your hand. For the small mom and pop shop to the big corporation, if you have location then you instantly have a one-up on competitors. This gives you more access to more customers than ever before. For Google, it’s a gold mine for getting more advertisers, more competition for ad bids, and happy advertisers with better conversion rates.
Below is Google’s video introducing “My Location” as they call it, which is still in beta.
This opens up a whole new game of Local Search. What other implications does this have to Local and Mobile Search?
