« Search Tricks #1 | Main | About That Name... »

August 26, 2004

Livin' la vida Local

So, it�s been three weeks now since our Yahoo! Local beta launched. As Jeff referenced, local search is a key area of focus for us, and holds a lot of promise.

We�ve gotten a ton of comments and suggestions. The overall feedback is quite positive, and the virtual suggestion box is overflowing with great ideas and useful critiques, such as this recent suggested enhancement from Dave Winer. This kind of stuff pumps us up.

Of course we�ve also gotten some constructive criticism too. Most of it�s around holes in the data. Just like cell phone service�there can be dead zones. Comprehensiveness is one of the biggest challenges and we�re focusing a lot of time and energy on it.

Here�s the thing about local content: some of the best stuff isn�t on the Web, which makes the aggregation process pretty manual. Right now, we have more depth in some areas than others, largely because restaurants and hotels have taken to electronic publishing more quickly than, say, roofers and barbers.

Over time, you�ll see us expand the breadth and depth of information available. It�s out there, but it�s gonna take a little time to get it all. We think merchant and user communities can be very helpful in providing fresh, accurate content.

To that point, a way to help build out the content on Yahoo! Local, is to submit a review of your own, like my eloquent write-up on Sal�s Pizzeria in Mamaroneck NY.

Not only have we gotten a ton of restaurant reviews � people are submitting reviews on just about anyplace or anyone. I�ve seen reviews for dentists, auto repair shops, even the local dry cleaner. We�ve received thousands of reviews already, and in general, they�ve been very informative.

So, what�s next, you ask? We�re working on some improvements based on what we�ve heard from users and pundits since releasing the beta version. You�ll see for yourself shortly but I�ll chime in here every so often with updates. In the meantime�

Think globally, search locally�

Paul Levine
GM of Yahoo! Local

Permalink | Bookmark | del.icio.us | digg | Filed In: Local

Comments

Yahoo Local Beta is awesome. i have tried it several times.However I dont use it very often because...I'm French and have just gone back from vacation....Now if you tell Yahoo France to launch a similar product that'd be great !!!!

Posted by: Guillaume | August 26, 2004 10:45 PM

I've been intrested in the progress of "local search" for a while. Just the other day I was looking for "Printers Atlanta" but did't get any relevant info. So I flexed wy fingers and opened the yellow pages (the horror).

I've tested the yahoo local and sent in some suggestions to list the web development companies that I work for.

The question that I have about local is this: Is it meant to be simply like like "yellow pages" and just list businesses and services? If so why would someone use this over the yellow pages directory listings or even "city search like pages?

I think it would be great if local search included all things local. Example when I first get to yahoo and do a search it offers the option to search locally. (I know you already have the "search in yellow pages" option) But let's say I'm searching for a "band", "book club" or of coures a "blog" ( I often search for local bloggers). This is not information that would be listed in the yellow pages or your local search since they are not businesses or services.

I'm now stepping off my soap box. Thanks for listening (reading) and thanks for the info. I look forward to reading more.

"Because There's a Bastard In All of Us"
The Mad Dater - A Dating Blog
http://themaddater.blogspot.com

Posted by: The Mad Dater | August 27, 2004 04:59 AM

Great question about the scope of local search.

Our mission is to help users find any information that relates to a particular area. We started with businesses and services. Over time we plan to add things like local events, community resources, web sites that relate to a particular location, and so on. So that would make it easy to find your favorite bands, book clubs, and local blogs.

That's the plan -- pending the feedback we're gathering from folks like you. So far, "all things local" has been a popular request. Thanks for the suggestion...

Paul

Posted by: Paul Levine | August 27, 2004 06:12 PM

I worked on a local events search service for Infoseek/Disney about five years ago. We ended up getting parted out as the Go.com portal failed, but had built a pretty cool service by then. However, one compelling idea was never implemented, which was to build on-the-ground relationships with local organizers who run such things as sports leagues, book clubs and such. Get them to come on as local experts and leverage their enthusiasm and knowledge (offering publicity and tools in return). The theory was that automation and in-house knowledge can only take you so far.

I think that to really make the local thing work you need to be connected in the community in some real way. That's why the newspaper sites have long been considered the major players in the local space. Really doing it right would probably involve forcing the content people and the sales people to work together. Horrors!

Posted by: Chris Mitchell | August 31, 2004 04:13 PM

I've observed that reviews tend to suffer from "ballot stuffing" on popular review sites such as Amazon.com. How do you plan on preventing people from planting artificially positive reviews about their own businesses (or a PR firm's client's businesses) and artifically negative reviews for their competitors?

Posted by: Andrew | September 2, 2004 05:03 AM

I found this when catching up on the blog. As a native of Mamaroneck, I got a kick out of seeing Sal's featured here. Hands down, best sicilian anywhere. Thanks, Paul

Posted by: David Berkowitz | September 14, 2004 12:44 PM