We frequently write about global products and services, and that’s fine; national matters also get some attention. But today, we’re hitting close to home (as long as you live in the U.S.), because Yahoo Local has been overhauled.
Granted, this is sort of an American (re)launch, but the idea is there. So is the substance – Yahoo Local features a nice new visual scheme, and some serious beneath-the-skin modifications. “Yahoo is making its biggest update in the last two years to its local search site, allowing customer reviews and proximity to influence results,” reports CNET’s Elinor Mills.
“[U]sers also now have the ability to comment on each other’s reviews,” she continues, and later adds, “Reviewers also can now upload a photo or avatar to accompany their postings. An icon appears next to reviewers who are associated with you via Yahoo Messenger or Yahoo 360.”
I was, at first, suspicious of these upgrades – they hardly mattered if no one used the Yahoo Local site. But I found loads of listings related to Boston, Massachusetts, and more than a few reviews corresponding to Lexington, Kentucky; that’s good enough for me. (If your city’s smaller than Lexington, you’re probably pretty familiar with it already.)
On Search Engine Land, Greg Sterling notes that the service will have to keep up this sort of progress in order to maintain its lead over rivals. But it looks like Yahoo Local is on the right track.
