Google Maps has introduced a useful new feature called “What’s Here,” which allows you to use the map as a kind of discovery tool. Select a point, right click and the menu appears with a new choice “what’s here,” allowing discovery of — you guessed it — what’s at/around the designated site or point. The answers and options change depending on the level of zoom. User-generated maps and content appear along with more traditional data sources in the left pane accordingly.

Here’s an example in San Francisco for the Ferry Building:

Clicking the link “explore this area” yields additional content:

It appears to work outside the US as well:

This is obviously not a major upgrade, and in fact What’s Here is somewhat buried behind a right click. But it’s a helpful new feature and adds incrementally to the value of Google Maps, offering people one more reason to keep using it.

Related Topics: Google: Maps & Local | Search Engines: Maps & Local Search Engines

About The Author: Greg Sterling is a Contributing Editor at Search Engine Land. He writes a personal blog Screenwerk, about SoLoMo issues and connecting the dots between online and offline. He also posts at Internet2Go, which is focused on the mobile Internet. Follow him @gsterling. See more articles by Greg Sterling