Threat and Opportunity in Local Search Algorithm

The search engine’s have spent the last decade or so perfecting the universal search algorithm that will return the most relevant and trusted results for its customer, the searcher. With internet search becoming the primary avenue for consumers to find information, products, and services the search engines have enjoyed enormous growth. However, just as with any organization, the search engines are looking for growth opportunities. The prospects for local search provide that opportunity.

The universal search engine algorithm developed by Google, Yahoo!, and MSN has not been particularly adept at returning good local results for its customer. This has presented both a threat and an opportunity for the Big Three. The threat lies in the prospect of one of the three creating a superior local search algorithm than the other and cornering the market on this growing segment of search. For that matter, whose to say that a start-up or second tier search engine won’t master it and start to gobble up market share. The opportuniy lies in the great rewards that are promised to the search engine that can return better local results. This opportunity has spurred the search engines to invest more research and development into the local search algorithm and interface.

The release in January of the Local 10-pack by Google Maps has raised the stakes of the game. The previous Local 3-pack was garnering complaints from businesses and searchers alike for it’s limited capacity. The 10-pack has put Google in the lead among the big three in Local Search but Yahoo! has shown that they are a formidable opponent in the competition to create the most effective local search algorithm. Although the Yahoo! local interface shows more paid ads and less organic results than similar searches than Google, the results from Yahoo! focus more on reviews.

June 20, 2008  Tags:   Posted in: Uncategorized

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