October 2003 SE Updates
October 1st, 2003
Search Engine Updates for...
| Overture (Inktomi/Fast/AltaVista) | Lycos | ODP | LookSmart | Yahoo | MSN |
In this month's issue...
- DMOZ submission down
- MSN Search News
- New GEO search feature in Google Labs
- New LookSmart Pricing Policy
- Yahoo new "Products" Tab
- FAST Add URL now emulates AltaVista's
Google Update - http://www.google.com
What's new
New GEO search feature in Google Labs
Google is testing a new Search by Location feature within their Google labs section. The feature allows you to add a US address, city & state or zip to a search query in order to help you find merchants and services within a local venue. The results provide you with a Mapquest map and pages that contain matching location text.
In theory, this search service should make it easier to find a plumber, florist, mechanic, etc. – especially handy if you live in a large town or city. In practice, we found a few glitches but Google's FAQ readily admits the service is in the preliminary testing phase and they are inviting suggestions and feedback. They even mention that "Sometimes it decides on its own to break for a nice pot of Earl Grey and some fresh silicon wafers."
For the time being, standard Yellow page type search results (like superpages.com) are far superior but, stay tuned, the people at Google are good at what they do. We suspect they'll work ou...
