Now Google, Bing and Yahoo are returning localized results for non-local queries

Posted by admin in Local Search

Now all three big search engines, Google, Bing and Yahoo are returning localized searches for non-local queries.  All three have said that their goal is to figure out what users intentions are when they search and fulfill those intentions with the search results.

You might say to yourself “How can the search engines know what my intent is when I search.”  More often than not it’s not that hard to figure out.  Of course there are instances when they’re still completely off the mark, but they’re getting better and better at figuring out intent.

Here’s an easy one that I did recently to test.  I searched (not logged in to any of the big three) for pizza.  Now, 99 times out of 100 when someone types pizza into the search box they are looking for a local place to get some pizza.  So this one is a no brainer.

Click the images to see them larger:

You can clearly see that each of the search engines is giving me local pizza restaurants near where I am searching from.  If I owned a pizza place in this neighborhood, I’d always want to be in the map pack of each of the search engines.  In most cases the highlighted local businesses are accurate, but there are a bunch of pizza places in this neighborhood that are not showing here.  So there is work to be done on those listings.

It’s now more important than ever for Local Small Businesses to make sure that they have a handle on how their business is being presented online.  Even if your small business doesn’t have a website  it is crucial to claim your listings at each of the big three search engines Google, Bing and Yahoo.  The localization of search results is going to continue and every small business will be affected.  Don’t get left behind.  Take control of how your business is seen online.