Google

est combination of usefulness
and proximity.
Get Specific
Immediately below the Search
Within stripe, you’ll notice a blue
band that has various sponsored
links and a brief description of
what these links are. This is similar
to the sponsored links you
would find on other Google
pages. Right below that you may
notice a line that says Show
Only. If you search for a fairly
general topic, as we did with
Barbers, oftentimes Google Local
will allow you to break down the
category into more specific subcategories
using the Show Only
feature. For our search for
Barbers, we have the option to
show only Barbers or show only
Beauty Salons in our requested
area. This will remove a lot of the
irrelevant places and streamline
your search results to better fit
your needs.
Listings
Below the Show Only line we
finally get a peak at our first result.
The first 10 results are assigned
a letter and pinpointed on a
map to the right of the listings. If you
have more than 10 results per page,
you’ll notice that those after the 10th
listing will be represented on the map
with a black dot on their respective
red markers.
Google Local’s listing gives the
name of the establishment and the
phone number below that. Below the
phone number, you may notice a line
that says References. Google Local
gathers information from numerous
Web sites and yellow page directories
among other sources. The Reference
section will give you a link to all the
Web sites that cross reference the
contact information for that business.
For instance, the first listing in our
search is The Walter Beauty Salon.
T HE S EARCH
Click the marker to bring up a dialog box
containing that business’ contact information.
Google Local’s results automatically show a business’
contact information, as well as links to view
directions and references of the establishment.
Google found the location of this establishment
from two references. The
first is www.hellolincoln.com, a Web
site that uses the Yellow Pages from
Lincoln, NE, to list the address of
local businesses.
Google also found the same address
for The Walter Beauty Salon listed on
www.skincareus.com, so that site is
also listed under its references. It’s not
uncommon to spot a business in your
search results that has no references.
Don’t necessarily discount it just because
it doesn’t have a reference.
Since this is still a work in progress,
Google is still listing businesses.
However, businesses are also allowed
to enroll themselves in the Google
Local program. If you see a business
with no references, it could be that
the owner listed the business
himself, and Google hasn’t had
the opportunity to cross reference
the contact information, in
which case it would be wise for
you to double check with your
local yellow pages.
Local Maps
Arguably the coolest feature
of Google Local is its implementation
of Google’s maps. These
interactive charts can let you
zoom in until you’re practically
on the rooftop of the business
you’re looking for.
You can also easily find directions
using Google Local. If you
conducted a search using your
whole address rather than just
your city and state, you should
automatically get directions to
any business that appears on
your results list. There are two
ways you can view these directions.
One way is to click the
Directions link that is located
right under the address. This
should take you to a screen that
has just about everything you’ll
need to find that business, such
as a map with the route highlighted
and step-by-step directions
written out for you. Google also
gives you the travel distance and approximate
time it will take you to reach
your destination along with links to
print or email the page as needed.
To view directions another way,
you can click the appropriate marker
on the map to the right of the listings.
A dialogue box will pop up
with the name, phone number, address,
and directions to and from the
business. If you’re trying to figure
out how to get there, click the To
Here link. Next, enter the address
you’re starting from if it’s not already
in the text box and click Get
Directions. This should take you to
the same page as the first process
and give you the same printing and
emailing options.
Reference Series / Guide To Using Google 47