Google Hacks 2Nd Edition [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

Hack 7. Think Global, Google Local

Take web searching to the streetsyour
street, in fact. Google Local narrows down all those zillions of
results to those within range of a particular city, state, or postal
code .

While the Web and Google have taught us to
think global when it comes to looking for information, web searches
often fail in the simple task of finding things in our own backyards.
Sure, the island of Celebes is the home to Sulawesi Kalossi, but
where can I find the finest cup of Sulawesi coffee within walking
distance? And even more importantly: do they have free wireless
Internet access?

That's not to say that Google isn't
paying attention to any mention of locale in your queries. If you
were, let's say, to search for scooters san
francisco, you would notice a set of local San Francisco
finds ["Quick Links" earlier in
this chapter] at the top of the results page. As you can see in Figure 1-18, Google also provides addresses, phone
numbers, and mileage (from the center of San Francisco, presumably).

Google combines its index with data gleaned from the Yellow Pages to
zero in on local results that very often prove interesting and
useful.

This data is so interesting, in fact, that Google has taken the
service beyond that sprinkling of magic links, launching Google Local
(http://local.google.com), a
location-aware frontend to the Google search engine. The Google Local
home page (Figure 1-19) looks very much like what
you're used to from Google, the only real difference
being that there are two search boxes instead of just the one: What
and Where. In the What box, you type your search query as usual. In
the Where box, you can localize your search by providing a city (by
itself, if the city is unambiguously well-knowne.g., San
Francisco or New York, not Rome or Concord) and a state name or Zip
Code.

Before you get too excited about finding that perfect coffee shop on the island of Celebes, you should know that Google Local searches the United States and Canada only. Don't get too used to that limitation, though: Google is planning on expanding.

Before you click the Google Search button, notice that a
"Remember this location" checkbox
is checked by default so that the next time you visit, Google will
fill in your preferred locale for you.

You can change the Where at any time and, as long as that "Remember this location" checkbox is checked, Google will remember for next time. If, for some reason, you'd like to clear the Where completely, just point your browser at http://local.google.com/local?sl=1.

My query for scooters san
francisco turned up a nice collection of scooter shops,
service centers, and other motorcycle- and scooter-focused results in
and around San Francisco, as shown in Figure 1-20.
Notice that each of the results is assigned a letter (e.g., San
Francisco Scooter Centre is "A")
associated with a pin in the map of the area to the right. Each
result, as with the magic links, has associated address, phone
number, and mileage information; there's also a link
to driving directions over at MapQuest.com.

You can further constrain the search using the
"Search within: 1 mile - 5 miles - 15 miles - 45
miles" links in the Google Local toolbar or by
dropping down into one of the "Show
only" categories listed beneath the query fields at
the top of the page.

Click one of the results and you're taken not to the
site itself (in fact, the business or service may not even
have a web site ... shocking, I know!), but to
further detail. If the business or service does indeed have a web
presence, it's likely to be the first of the
references listed. But this isn't necessarily so;
for instance, while Figure 1-21, the map zeros in on
only that one result and Google appends References to the bottom of
the page. These are sites that refer to (and I don't
just mean link to) the search result that you're
focused on.

You can pan around by clicking anywhere on any map to pull that bit into the center or clicking the N, S, E, W links to the right of the map. Zoom using the Zoom In or Zoom Out links or jump directly to a particular scale (e.g., Street or City) by clicking any link on the zoom numbered scale. Click the Larger Map link at the bottom of any map for a more detailed view of the area or Driving Directions to find your way there, no matter where you are.

While Google Local is still in beta at the time of this writing, it
certainly seems to have promise. About the only thing missing at this
point is the ability to narrow a locale to the area around a
particular address rather than just city or Zip Code.

1.19.1. See Also

Yahoo Local
(http://local.yahoo.com) actually
goes even more local than Google Local, supporting full addresses
rather than just city, state, and Zip Code.