Foursquare Rolls Out Ne...

This morning, Foursquare launched an updated version of its “Explore” feature for both its iPhone and Android applications. The new version brings over several of the features already available through Foursquare on the web , including filters, photos in search results and the ability to change your location. After updating your mobile app, you’ll see the improvements in the “Explore,” section, Foursquare’s local guide which is augmented by your friends’ recommendations and visits as well as other Foursquare users’ tips and comments. Like a mini local search engine, you can search for venues by category (“coffee,” “nightlife”), name, or even something very specific, like what  food you’re in the mood for (“tuna,” “burgers”). You can also tap “Specials” to see just those venues offering check-in or mayor discounts. Starting today, you’ll now be able to use the new filter button (at the top right on iOS or bottom right on Android) to narrow your search results by options like “New to me,” places you’ve already been, “Both,” or, alternatively, you can choose to see those places your friends have tried. You can also use Explore to find recommended places in areas outside your current location, as determined by your phone’s GPS. You can either type in a location or drag the map around, then pinch or tap to zoom into new neighborhoods. Although still sometimes overlooked by those who just use Foursquare as a checkin service/social network, Explore represents a key new direction for the location-based startup. The idea, as Foursquare founder Dennis Crowley explained last month when Explore arrived on the web, is to try to “make local search much smarter…it’s based off what you and your friends actually do, where you go and when you go.” And, for obvious reasons, local search is much smarter when you can actually use it while on the go. The new Foursquare apps are out now, check the appropriate app store for the update.

TripIt Owner Concur Bac...

Travel and expense management company Concur revealed in its earnings today that it made an undisclosed investment in Room 77, a comprehensive and personalized search engine and review site focused exclusively on finding and booking hotel rooms. Room 77, which officially launched in public beta in February, has collected and indexed data on more than 500,000 hotel rooms in 2,500 properties and also crowdsources reviews and ratings from travelers. The site provides travelers with specific details about each hotel room at a property, including the room category, square footage, bed type, elevator proximity and if it is a connecting room. For each room, Room 77 also generates a virtual Room View, simulating the actual view from that room’s window using Google Earth-enabled technology. The company also recently added the ability to book rooms on the site. Room 77 will reveals prices directly in search results, from Orbitz, Expedia, Travelocity, Priceline, Hotels.com, Cheaptickets and others. You can compare pricing for multiple room categories in grid view, which allows you to see what the next category room includes and for how much more that will cost you. The startup was founded by Brad Gerstner (who is also founder and CEO of Altimeter Capital, former CEO of National Leisure Group and a current Orbitz board member), and has raised $13.5 million from General Catalyst Expedia and Zillow founder Rich Barton, Erik Blachford (Former President and CEO of IAC Travel); Hugh Crean (Former President and CEO of Farecast; GM of Bing Travel); Bob Pittman (Founder of MTV); PAR Capital Management; Sutter Hill Ventures; and Felicis Ventures. This isn’t the first investment for Concur in a travel-related startup. Concur put $5 million in flight price tracker Yapta and invested $40 million in online travel site Cleartrip. Concur also acquired TripIt, and GlobalExpense in 2011.

Google Image Search Add...

Google has updated its Google Image Search experience with a redesign targeted towards users of tablet devices, including the Apple iPad. Now, when you’re browsing through image results on your tablet computer (yep, Android tablets, too), you can tap an image result in the carousel view to expand the image on the screen. You can then begin swiping through the rest of the image search results to continue browsing. Below each image is information about the photo itself, including the usual: title, description and URL of the page where the image is found. You can tap on the webpage preview option to visit the website hosting the image. This new feature is an extension of Google’s previous image search enhancements for tablets from back in July . At the time, Google introduced several tablet-optimized enhancements, including larger image previews, continuous scrolling and faster loading of thumbnails. The new image carousel is launching today in over 40 languages, says Google via blog post . Google didn’t specify which versions of Android support the update, but the video shows it running on Honeycomb.

The brand has been very...

The brand has been very reputable in the car business. Congratulations on topping the rankings and search results for automobile companies. They've done good SEO services , what can be their secret?

Google Expands Search R...

Google continues to test new and interesting ways to provide information when searching for places of interest. While many have complained about how information was in a sense taken away from Place Page results, we now see some of the information resurfacing in the SERP’s. Take a look at the example below of a local restaurant in Raleigh, NC. Normally there would be a simple map in the right column but Google now providing pictures, information about the restaurant and a pegman street view option to click on as well. All in all, it’s a nice result page. The Inside Search blog gives some more information about this move. This new type of layout may appear on the search results page for a range of real-world places — restaurants, hotels, local businesses, landmarks, museums and more. Of course, the local information that appears will vary depending on what’s available online. So the next time you plan your visit to the New England Aquarium or Fenway Park, you might be able to check out their opening hours, get directions, and find the nearest transit stops, all from a simple Google search. Google is once again playing with the local search formula but this time it is not including the place page. In fact, it is moving place page information to the main SERP rather than keeping it a click away in the place page. Does this mean that place pages are less important? That’s not likely. In fact, where place pages are most likely to be integrated into the Google ecosystem is ultimately through Google+. It’s the perfect place to give that kind of information in the place page format. The idea of giving more information on the first page that you see in a search just makes more sense from a user’s perspective. What would be very interesting is if Google started to give one result this kind of treatment when a more general search is conducted. Imagine the power of being the “showcased” restaurant or destination when a more broad search is conducted like “italian restaurant raleigh, nc”. That kind of position in the SERP’s and the factors that would get someone there will make local SEO’s heads spin. But for now this use of the SERP real estate for a direct search makes sense for all involved. After all, if someone is looking for specific information about a specific place why not present as much as you can in the SERP rather than making the searcher dig deeper? So what’s your take? Do you like this kind of search result? Join the Marketing Pilgrim Facebook Community