The Hindu Business Line : Add your bit

Returning to India after a stint in the US, Ravi, an avid surfer of the Internet, found it difficult to locate small yet useful information — such as a Chinese restaurant in his area/place of posting.

Not to worry. There’s a way out. “The India-specific search product, Google Local Search, is a useful tool for users searching the Web for locally relevant information,” says Amit Somany, Product Manager, Head of Search, Consumer A pplication and Infrastructure at Google India.

People search the Web for all kinds of information — placement consultant for a business process outsourcing firm, PG Diploma in Fashion Technology, travel information and booking, among others.

By simply doing a search on <http://local.google.co.in> one can get information of local relevance, says Somany.

Build the local database - G.R.N. Somashekar

But that’s not all. The surfer has a role to play too, for information on local businesses, such as restaurants, shops and hotels, will not be available if the same has not been added to Google Local, says Somany.

Take, for instance, coaching classes for Plus Two children.

You probably are conducting the class for 50 students in a small room. You may be known in and around that area. How do you get better reach and for free? Just get online, make your listing, such as contact details, address, your offering, etc, available to users, even if you are working offline.

The Google Local Business Centre at < http://www.google.co.in/local/add> allows any business to add its information to Google Local for free, he says.

When users search on Google Local Search, the listed business information is displayed.

Local Business Centre already exists in other geographies.

“The Local Search and Local Business Centre will provide better local business results by increasing the corpus and depth of business listings and ensure visibility on the Internet for free,” he says.

These will typically provide the address, phone contacts and location of local shops, establishments and institutions — and will also link their own Web sites, if available.

According to Somany, millions of questions are posed everyday on the search engines — from eye clinic to fashion institute, to old age home in Bangalore, guest house in Anna Nagar, Chennai, or best place to hang out in Delhi.

Such information can be made available at the click of the mouse by listing it on Google Local, says Somany.

lnr@thehindu.co.in

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