Google’s launched Place Search today, bringing hyper local search results to its widening array of tools. It’s a visual search aid, including a map with red pins marking your search results on a map. Google’s providing another layer of detail to help contextualize your query, and offer a wealth of information in a single search page.
Google introduces the new product,
Today we’re introducing Place Search, a new kind of local search result that organizes the world’s information around places. We’ve clustered search results around specific locations so you can more easily make comparisons and decide where to go. Say you’re looking for that great barbecue restaurant with live music. With Place Search here’s what you’ll get:
This is the true incorporation of its Google Maps efforts, which have been receiving a heady amount of flack in Europe, just beating an FTC investigation earlier this morning. The visual search was preempted by a local ads roll out for Places integration, a sign that indicated search queries will become quite involved. It will, indeed, have an impact on local business marketing.
[...] search utility now completely powers Yahoo search in the US and Canada, and even Google's making tweaks to is visual search aids that appear similar to format's Bing's been using for some [...]