The Google Blog announced that when you conduct searches at Google.com for local specific information, you may get local reviews and business comparisons. For example a search on pizza 10010 returns three results, all with five stars, from pizza restaurants in NYC. Here is a screen capture:

It also works with movies 10010.

On the business front, a search on web 10901, brings up a local result for my business (RustyBrick) and two of my competitors, with no reviews.

Other search engines return similar results. For example, Ask.com for a search on pizza 10010 brings up 3 local results with refinements at the bottom that direct you to Ask City with reviews and more. Also, Yahoo Search has reviews and three local listings for a search on pizza 10010.

Related Topics: Google: Maps & Local | Google: OneBox, Plus Box & Direct Answers | Search Engines: Maps & Local Search Engines | Search Features: Shortcuts

About The Author: Barry Schwartz is Search Engine Land's News Editor and owns RustyBrick, a NY based web consulting firm. He also runs Search Engine Roundtable, a popular search blog on very advanced SEM topics. Barry's personal blog is named Cartoon Barry and he can be followed on Twitter here. For more background information on Barry, see his full bio over here. See more articles by Barry Schwartz