Microsoft expands local search into U.K.
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Microsoft Corp. is expanding its local, photo-based search service into the United Kingdom, and adding traffic information for the U.S. service.
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Microsoft announced its free Live Search 411 service, a directory assistance line with more features than the average local directory listing.
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Google said it was expanding its staff of engineers in Europe to improve its products in local markets outside the United States.
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Google &#038; Yahoo Driving Local Search Growth Last night comScore released a new analysis of the size and growth of the local search market in the United States. comScore defines local search as &#8216;searches conducted by consumers on the local or directory (Yellow Pages) sections of leading search sites, and other searches identified as having local [...]
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(InfoWorld) - AOL opened up for testing a new local search service, finally adding a component to its search engine that many competitors have had for years. Those interested in giving the new service a test-drive will find a Local tab in the search box of AOL's main portal page. When clicked, that tab takes the user to the local search interface on AOL Search. AOL Local, for now a beta service, lets users find business listings from a specific area, such as a street address, city, state, or ZIP code. The service will return a list of businesses, along with a map indicating where each one is located. Users can also obtain driving directions, AOL said Tuesday. Currently, AOL Local works with the Windows versions of Internet Explorer 6.0 and higher and Firefox 1.5 and higher. For Mac OS users, AOL Local "partially" supports the Safari and Firefox browsers, meaning that some functionality may be limited and not fully tested. More information about AOL Local can be found on the service's help page. Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, and Ask.com have local search services. In addition to maps, business listings, and driving directions, local search engines often provide real-time traffic data andÂ information about local eventsÂ such asÂ movie times, as well as customer reviews of restaurants, shops, and other commercial establishments. While lacking a local search engine, AOL has provided many of these features, albeit in different services,Â such asÂ its MapQuest mapping site, Yellow Pages business directory, and City Guide network of local entertainment guides. AOL Local has a "powered by MapQuest" tag in its logo, indicating the maps come from this sister AOL property. However, it's not clear whether AOL Local is tapping other related servicesÂ such asÂ Yellow Pages and City Guide. The service seems to be limited for now to the United States. AOL didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. Having a local search engine is considered a must for Internet search service providers, as the popularity of these sites increases among users and advertisers. Kelsey Group, a market researcher, forecasts that companies globally willÂ increase their spending on local search enginesÂ and online business listing directories an average of 22.3 percent per year through 2011. Advertisers spent $4.1 billion on these sites last year and are expected to spend $11.1 billion in 2011, according to Kelsey Group. Conversely, ad growth in print Yellow Pages phone directories will be almost flat through 2011, increasing an annual average of 0.9 percent, with $27.8 billion expected to be spent in 2011, according to Kelsey Group. AOL announced the beta launch of its local search engine at beta.aol.com.
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Preloaded with maps of North America and eastern and western Europe, the N&uuml;vifone will be Garmin's first device to include Google Local Search.
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Microsoft on Thursday officially unveiled the new beta version of its MSN Search site, the company&#39;s hotly anticipated attempt to take on Google for Web searching.
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Users will see the coupons displayed with maps when they search on Google Local.
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Microsoft Corp.  on Monday unveiled a new, preliminary version of its search tool for finding documents, e-mail and other files stored on personal computer hard drives.
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Trying to catch up with Google, Microsoft says it will change the way computer users search.
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Microsoft Corp has officially muscled into the search engine market by launching its Windows Live Search after just seven months in beta.  The company's new search portal boasts several new features, including updated image and local search, related search and an updated user interface.
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Microsoft Corp. is quickening its march into search by setting up an advisory group of industry insiders to preview its search-engine plans and research.
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Microsoft has released a preliminary version of its search tool for finding documents, e-mail messages and other files stored on personal computer hard drives.
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Microsoft unveils the finished version of its home-grown search engine.
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Microsoft continues to make acquisitions to boost its online services and advertising strategy. Early Wednesday, the company said it snapped up Multimap, a U.K. company that provides online mapping for Europe, North America, and Australia.
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IF YOU are planning to head to London for holiday, don&#39;t forget to stop by at Google first. The Internet search firm has launched its Froogle price comparison website in Britain, expanding the company&#39;s e-commerce
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Coinciding with the preview of Microsoft's new MSN Search, Google has announced its search index has nearly doubled to a massive 8 billion documents. The company says users will now find more results on obscure topics that previously returned just a handful of Web pages. The new index places Google's search scope far beyond its rivals, but as Google V.P. of Engineering Bill Coughran notes, "The real test is how well we do in finding what you want from within those pages. We'll keep improving that too."