Google is rolling out the new local search features announced earlier this year, including seeing around your surroundings with your phone’s camera. Google Search Features On digital summit in September got attendees excited about the company’s incremental upgrades to native search. Google showed search features for dining restaurants by cuisine and a new search tool included in Google Maps’ Stay View. These changes, as well as others, are now available. Here’s a rundown of the upcoming native search functionality upgrade.
What is new about these new Google Search Features?
Before delving into what has changed, it is critical to note that this upgrade is more than just Local SEO enhancements. Local SEO work is still a long-term technique for individuals who wish to appear at the top of search results in their region without having to invest money. These new Google Search features highlight local publications, providing a real-time macro picture of what is going on in the user’s neighborhood.
Carousel of Local News
This carousel feature, available globally and in all languages, will allow communities to find local publishers that genuinely matter to them efficiently.
News Highlights
Google’s technologies have also updated so that reliable local news appears alongside national publications on Top Stories. Local websites are recommended by those with a larger audience, increasing their significance and reach.
From broad to local
New Local Search Features in this release limit a broad search phrase to results specific to the user’s location. For example, if people search for football, local topics concerning the sport will be included in the list rather than national results.
Search Using a Live View
Beginning next week, Android and iOS users in London, Los Angeles, New York, Paris, San Francisco, and Tokyo can search with Google Maps Live View. Search with Live View lets you utilize your phone’s camera to obtain information about nearby locations. Find out if a company is open, how busy it is, its pricing range, and how many stars it has.
Dish-Based Restaurant Search
There are two new methods to locate eateries in your neighborhood. Search for restaurants that serve a specific cuisine by entering it in manually or using Google Lens to perform a visual search. You can now utilize Lens in the Google app to take a picture or screenshot of a dish, add the words ‘near me,’ and instantly identify a location that offers it nearby.
Locate Electric Vehicle Fast Charging Stations
Google is adding a filter to searches for electric car charging stations to help users discover fast chargers. Look for “EV charging stations” and filter by “rapid charge.” There will be charging stations with 50kW or greater chargers. You may also search for stations in other countries that provide your EV’s plug type. In countries where EV charging stations are accessible, these functionalities are now available on Android and iOS.
Find Wheelchair Accessible Locations in Additional Countries
The option to search Google for wheelchair-accessible, stair-free locations is now available worldwide. If a company has an accessible entrance, you’ll see a wheelchair icon in its profile after enabling the “Accessible Places” feature in the Google Maps app. The identical icon with a strikethrough will appear if a location isn’t wheelchair-accessible.
New Resources for Community News Reporters
In addition to assisting searchers, Google hopes to help journalists by providing them with locally relevant data to use in their stories.
Census Mapper
The Census Mapper project is a map that embedded and displays Census data at the national, state, and county levels and census tracts.
Common Knowledge Project
A new version of this existing tool, which allows journalists in the United States to explore local data, incorporates journalist feedback and new features such as geographic comparisons, new charts, and visuals. Google will continue to invest in developing new tools to help local news publishers create more engaging stories.
What are the benefits of the new local search features?
Google’s Search capabilities guarantee that you get the appropriate information at the right moment in the most relevant manner for your inquiry. It might be a web page or real-world information such as a map or inventory at a local business. The Knowledge Graph provides real-time information about people, locations, and things. Local search is an important part of any SEO strategy that targets customers in a specific region, city, or neighborhood.
Local SEO is where you should concentrate efforts to increase your ranks and visibility in local search results such as Google’s Map Pack/Local Pack.
