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Google’s New Local Search Features Have Arrived
Google is launching several local search features that were announced at the company’s annual Search On conference months ago.
Google is finally releasing the local search features that were teased earlier this year, including the ability to use your phone’s camera to search your surroundings.
Google’s innovative updates to local search had people buzzing at its Search On virtual conference in September.
Google previewed a new search capability built into Google Maps’ Live View, as well as the ability to search for restaurants by dish.
These updates, as well as others, are now available. Here’s a rundown of the local search updates that are going live today.
Google Local Search Updates
Search Using a Live View
Google Maps searches will be available beginning next week. Live View is now available on Android and iOS in London, Los Angeles, New York, Paris, San Francisco, and Tokyo.
Search with Live View lets you use your phone’s camera to find information about nearby locations. Find out if a business is open, how busy it is, what its price range is, and how many stars it has.
Dish-Based Restaurant Search
There are two new ways to locate restaurants in your neighborhood.
Search for restaurants that serve a specific dish by typing it in manually or using Google Lens to conduct a visual search.
Google’s ‘multisearch near me’ service is now available in English in the United States. You can now use Lens in the Google app to take a picture or screenshot of a dish, add the words ‘near me,’ and instantly find a location that sells it nearby.
Locate Electric Vehicle Fast Charging Stations
Google is adding a filter to searches for electric vehicle charging stations to help users find fast chargers.
Look for “EV charging stations” and then filter by “fast charge.” There will be charging stations with 50kW or higher chargers.
You can also search for stations in other countries that offer your EV’s plug type.
In countries where EV charging stations are available, these features are now available on Android and iOS.
Find Wheelchair Accessible Locations in Additional Countries
The ability to search Google for wheelchair-accessible, stair-free locations is now available throughout the world.
If a business has an accessible entrance, you’ll see a wheelchair icon in its profile after enabling the “Accessible Places” setting in the Google Maps app.
If a location isn’t wheelchair-accessible, the same icon with a strikethrough will appear.
About the author
PAUL SMITH - For over 20 years I have worked with businesses, enterprises and brands in Australia, NZ, UK and US to drive digital marketing growth using organic and paid traffic strategies. No fluff or BS, just straight-forward return on investment.
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