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Google Local Launched In Canada
Shiifty writes "Globe Technology is reporting that Google Local has gone live in Canada. Google.ca partnered with Yellowpages.ca to deliver local answers to search queries by cross referencing Google's 4 billion website database with Yellowpage's 2.4 million listings. Google cited a Kelsey Group study, which said that 25 per cent of all commercial on-line searches are now local in nature."
Finally I'll be able to find nearby places to buy igloos and poutine!
i can now find a porn distributor in MY area, not halfway across the country.
Marge, get me your address book, 4 beers, and my conversation hat.
Google is taking over the world faster than M$ nowadays.
Proponents of the idea that google + "I'm Feeling Lucky" button could be a good contender in the Turing Test have been dismissed with "What if you ask google where your local chip shop is?"
So it's scary and amazing that it could actually have an answer to that question.
"It's not your information. It's information about you" - John Ford, Vice President, Equifax
Small businesses are going to love that - it will almost certainly mean more exposure.
It will also be a valuable resource for going on a holiday - I can find a good coffee shop before I leave home, from the comfort of my PC, instead of struggling with local directories.
"TV is a crutch for those who lack imagination."
I can't wait for this type of thing to become popular. The web has revolutionized information on the global scale, no doubt. But finding information on the local scale often continues to be only slightly better than what you could get by picking up a phone book. I hope that someone (google or not) can come up with a solution to this.
I looked up "plumber" in "windsor, on", of which I know there are about a dozen or more in the yellow pages, and the only ones that show up are across the border in Detroit. I'm sorry but I can't hire a U.S. plumber to work in Windsor - they would need a permit.
Yes we are. And you're going to like it. We welcome our new Google masters...
No, we are going to post an article every time a "US only" Google service will start to expand.
Slashdot anagrams to "Sad Sloth"
I looked for "computer store" (and similar words) in "Toronto, ON" and it found nothing in the Toronto computer getto at College and Spadina. There are dozens of stores there. Maybe they should have got some people to know Canada to try this before going beta.
MONTREAL, Sept. 21 /CNW Telbec/ - Yellow Pages Group (YPG) today
announced a strategic agreement with Google that will make its business
listings available on Google Local Canada, a new local search service that can
be found at http://local.google.ca . As part of the agreement, YPG's 2.4
million Canadian directory listings will be available on the new Google site,
helping to provide users of the service with comprehensive local search
results.
"The distribution agreement provides great benefits for both our
customers and users conducting local searches," commented Jean-Pascal Lion,
Vice President - Electronic Directories, Yellow Pages Group. "In addition to
YellowPages.ca(TM), it gives users another entry point to access our
information which ultimately provides our advertisers with greater exposure.
It really is a win-win situation."
"With the backing of YPG's up-to-date, extensive business listings
database, this new functionality will significantly enhance the user's
experience when doing a search on Local.Google.ca or Google.ca by providing
complete local Canadian information through a single source," notes Mr. Lion.
According to a Kelsey Group study, 25% of all commercial online searches
are now local in nature. Google Local addresses the growing online local
search market and represents the next step in local search technology. YPG's
network of Web sites received 3.8 million unique visitors in July 2004 and
Google Canada's sites received more than 12.3 million unique visitors during
that same period(1). With their combined reach in Canada - more than 72% of
all Canadian Internet users - and their extensive data, YPG and Google should
optimize the relevance and completeness of local searches.
See the forbiden post Here
If you don't live in Canada, you can't end your sentences in eh?! I think there is a special divison of the mounties that like for people like you!
Try:
http://google.ca.eh
Norman Cook's Ode to Sl
This was on the Google Blog two days ago.
FoundNews.com - get paid to blog.,
Both google.ca and local.google.ca traceroute to servers in California... Go fig. I'll be a happy man when Canada actually has some more impressive network capabilities of it's own, instead of routing and piggybacking everything to the US. (sorry if the department of homeland security scares me...) This includes the talented programmers and people who operate the networks themeselves, who all seem to go to the states for the $$. I know we're laying lightpipe down everywhere to get ready for something big coming down the pipe... At least in the greater Toronto area, that is For the record: Name: local.google.ca IP Address: 64.233.167.99 Location: Sunnyvale (37.417N, 122.061W) Network: GOOGLE Name: google.ca IP Address: 216.239.57.104 Location: Sunnyvale (37.417N, 122.061W) Network: GOOGLE
This is not the greatest
"eh" is a very common word and was not included in your search.
Bill
Upon seeing the box was too small, Schrodinger's Elephant breathed a sigh of relief.
I tested plenty of things in 3 much smaller communities than windsor. It found many results; often a few more than the local yellowpages. Seeing as a search for "plumber" in Windsor, ON gives over 15 pages of google results, and the second result is in Windsor (not Detroit), did u really go through all of the pages? I doubt it, but there are many more results in Detroit, that I agree with. It is a familiar interface though, so skipping through those 15 pages wouldn't take that long if you needed something.
This is not likely Google's fault though, I'm sure the Detroit pages that get spidered, happen to have Windsor somewhere on their page, hence they are listed. Maybe a better algorithm could help, but I'm not sure how that type of thing could effectively be filtered (if its even possible).
I just don't think you can make the "Doesn't Work" comment just because you live in a border city where this problem would actually occur. Its kind of like saying that cell phones don't work because they have problems in certain areas.
DD
Our server was slashdooted...
Yeah, I'm Canadian.
Bill
Upon seeing the box was too small, Schrodinger's Elephant breathed a sigh of relief.
i just tried that with my postal code and it made it VERY local. its amazing how people think that a new search engine should forgive bad searching habits. you STILL have to be precise people!
I'll just use my special getting high powers one more time...
Feeling lucky eh?
Modest doubt is called the beacon of the wise. - William Shakespeare
I searched for "bars" in Toronto, ON. Half the results were ice-cream shops. Searching for "pubs" produced the results I was looking for.
Course, the best way to find places in Toronto is either word-of-mouth or NOW magazine anyhoo.
There are 11 types of people in the world: those who understand unary, and those who don't.
'eh', not 'ay'. fucking americans.
Superpages.ca has an option called distance search that I have found quite useful in finding local businesses.
The online Yellow Pages are one of the few legacy databases I use on a regular basis. I am amazed by the clunkiness of the GUI and the general uselessness of these online interfaces. Yellow Page advertisements have traditionally been a huge cash cow for the Baby Bells. If Google can sway users to access their online directories instead, significant advertising dollars should start flowing to this friendly directory service -- and away from the traditional Yellow Pages. One wonders what countermeasures the Baby Bells -- and other owners of Yellow Pages services -- will launch.
Effectiveness at using search engines is enhanced by studying them; I'm wondering if Google has contemplated buying/subsidizing one of the better guides to using Google (like O'Reilley's _Google Pocket Guide_) and distributing on a massive scale. I'm also interested in seeing how Google will work to provide access to their service beyond a traditional web interface.
I really like Google's news service ( news.google.com ) and the beta of their shopping service ( froogle.google.com ). Google's taking on the Yellow Pages could massively shift the landscape of the Internet again.
AdsJunction.com Ad Network
can't find simple things
The Google Local FAQ doesn't mention Canada, but it does give this humorous bit:
5. Does this work everywhere? Can I find a noodle shop in Nagoya?
Google Local only searches for locations in the United States right now. However, we plan on expanding this service to other parts of the world once we work out the kinks in this beta product. In the meantime, we recommend Miyoshiya for noodles in Naka-ku, near downtown.
Global warming is neither science, nor politics. It is a religion.