Google Launches Hotpot Local Focused Search with Social Integration

Google Places added a new social element called Hotpot that allows you to make recommendations that are then shared with your friends or contacts.  Hotpot is integrated with Google Places, getting business owners to claim their listings to help Google build their efforts in the online Yellow Pages space, while using social networking to build reviews for their products.

You can add reviews on your smart phone by using Google Maps for Mobile and Hotpot also has its own Twitter account with a likely tie in for users to Tweet their reviews.  Google shared on their Blog last month that about 1/2 of their search traffic was locally focused “More than 20 percent of Google searches now have a local intent, and it’s clear that finding information about what’s immediately around you is important…. With Google Hotpot, we’re excited to take local search to the next level by making it more personal with recommendations powered by you and your friends”.

Yahoo has a similar system called Yahoo Local for several years which also launched social integration features at the Web 2.0 conference November 2009.  Microsoft stated that 53% of searches were of local focus on the Bing search engine thus the Big Three have all seen the value in expanding locally focused content.  Buyers are searching with a local focus to find local companies and services on the Internet – is your business setup on the local business directories?  Contact Internet Builder Consulting today to have our experts setup your local listings online and integrate or setup business social networking for you at 816-842-7774.

Robert ‘Dot Com’ Jackson
Internet & Technology Expert
Internet Builder Consulting – Building BETTER websites, Social Marketing and Search Engine Optimization Solutions since 1995