Tuesday, 07, Apr 2009 09:15
Google has announced changes to its search engine that mean it is now easier for web users to perform local searches - something that could give businesses a boost when it comes to search engine optimisation(SEO).
The search engine announced yesterday (April 6th) that it now attempts to return more local search results whenever a user types in a query that does not contain a location, such as 'restaurants' or 'dentist'.
It uses IP address matching to determine which area the web user is in and display results relevant to that location. Users can also amend their location if needed.
Commenting on the announcement, Mike Sachoff of WebProNews suggested that the changes could be a boon for businesses targeting customers in their local area.
"Google's latest move will help local businesses rank for generic terms without having to spend on SEO," he remarked.
Last month, Google announced that it is adding more options to its Google News service to allow users to view more news articles from local sources if they wish.
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