Following in others’ footsteps, Yahoo says it’s now showing its local shortcut on certain queries that don’t include a local modifier.

When you search for the name of a business, or a local business category, Yahoo will show the local shortcut if it believes the search has local intent. For me, typing “pizza” into Yahoo’s search box returns a map with local results.

Google started doing the same thing this spring, and Bing also offers the same feature, so Yahoo is playing a bit of catch-up here. But Yahoo’s results will, in some cases, be better because, when available, it uses the location that users provide via their Yahoo Profile; Google and Bing both rely more on IP-based targeting, which is far from accurate for some users.

One other improvement Yahoo has made over how Google and Bing implement this is the inclusion of neighborhood filtering. A person in Seattle who’s looking for pizza will get the option to narrow results by neighborhood.

Related Topics: Yahoo: Maps & Local | Yahoo: Shortcuts

About The Author: Matt McGee is Search Engine Land's Executive News Editor, responsible for overseeing our daily news coverage. His news career includes time spent in TV, radio, and print journalism. His web career continues to include a small number of SEO and social media consulting clients, as well as regular speaking engagements at marketing events around the U.S. He blogs at Small Business Search Marketing and can be found on Twitter at @MattMcGee and/or on Google Plus. See more articles by Matt McGee