Google launches Google Local and Google Maps in the UK

Google launched two new services for England’s version. Google Local UK is the result of the collaboration between the search engine and Yell.com, the English version of Yellow Pages. From now on, British users will be able to search information about stores or other businesses directly through Google.co.uk, by simply introducing the zip code or the address. The results will be accompanied by phone number, address and web link of the desired location.

Yell supplied Google 2 million addresses, but we don’t know how much was paid for this data base.

It is the first time when Google develops such services for another market than the American one and Google believes this service is a possibility offered to its clients so that they track their ads.

Google Maps UK offers the same services as the American version and it is integrated in Google Local UK.
Google Local UK is still in the trial stage and some users have announced that the maps provided by the American companies Navteq and TeleAtlas sometimes contain inexactitudes or incorrect information.

Users can use Google SMS to access the information, the service being operational in all cell phone networks from Great Britain. The British version of Google has been used by 14 million Englishmen.

Google, which has nine divisions in Europe, has recently started to sell ads for Google’s national searches and it is interesting to see what will be the next country where Google will launch Local and Maps.

It is estimated that in the next 5 years the market of local searches will reach 3.4 billion USD and in 2005 the income from search advertising ads will reach 7.9 billion dollars world wide and Google will have the lion’s share.