Introduction to local searching

Remember when once a year we received a thick, paper phone book delivered to our home? We would hang onto that book for the entire year, flipping through it to find names, numbers, and addresses of individuals as well as businesses in our area. If we needed our car repaired, to buy a part for our washing machine, or to find out what time our favorite restaurant opened we’d pull out the thick book, put on our glasses, turn to the back half that contained the yellow pages, and start looking. Wow, have times changed. Local searches are now available with just a few quick keystrokes on our computer, or even mobile device, and we have unlimited information readily available. The information is current in comparison to the yearly printing of the phone book. Google places, also known as Google local, is designed to connect searchers with local places. There is a mechanism for businesses to input their information so others can find them through the search based on key words and content. This can be particularly beneficial for businesses since in today’s world customers expect to be able to find up-to-date information very quickly. From a professional standpoint, it can improve efficiency by providing easy access to multiple sources, and allow for comparison in order to locate what one needs.

In this blog, I’ll attempt to give an overview of the process, as well as perform some local searches and describe what I am able to locate. Hopefully my research will help anyone who is interested in finding things that are “close to home.”