johannamck - 6:37 pm on Apr 9, 2004 (gmt 0)

In most cases, people do a "local search" to find a brick-and-mortar business.

So, I think it's justified that e.g. in response to a search for "Ford Mytown MyState", Google delivers the Yellow Pages entry of the local dealership and a map as the first search result.

Of course, this makes it harder for (in this example) nationwide car shopping directories and auto part info sites with contextual ads. Few searchers will go beyond the basic Yellow Page info.

This is sad in a way, because there are many elaborate sites based on local-type searches that will be less likely to be found now. People looking for "Pizza Palo Alto CA" will be less likely to find that great site that reviews all Italian restaurants in Palo Alto (another made-up example).

The results can also give an unfair advantage to businesses in the geographical center of a town.

***

I wonder what may come next. Today local yellow page info, tomorrow local message boards and weather, next week maybe local matchmaking services, classifieds and meetups. Google could become the next Microsoft, integrating as much "outside" services into their search as possible. Technically, it would not be a problem, and it would make their site stickier and the results much cleaner. (This is not an attack on Google, just common sense. This is what I would try, long-term, if I were them.)

P.S.: Did anyone else catch Conan O'Brien's joke about Google and 1984? Funny.

P.P.S.: Is anybody else seeing gross mistakes in the "local" results? For example, searching for "Churches MyTown MyState" yields a list of churches ONLY from a neighboring town. It seems that Google prefers a yellow page entry 5 miles away over a phonebook entry 0.2 miles away, or maybe some sources are not complete (?).