The History Of Google Places, All On One Page

Maybe it’s my bias as a longtime fan/practitioner of local search and SEO. Or maybe it’s because I’m mentioned as one of the sources/contributors. But more likely it’s just that this is an important search reference document, and that’s why I think that anyone interested or involved in local search should know about it.

David Mihm has published A Brief History of Google Places — an excellent historical document that covers back to 2004 when Google launched what was then called “Google Local,” all the way through the “Google Maps” days and now up to the current Google Places era.

Important milestones are separated into categories like “SERP/Interface Updates” and “Feature Releases.” And each milestone links off to an original source for background. In addition to the online document, it’s also available in several downloadable, infographic-style versions, too.

If you work or play in local search, don’t miss this.