A new feature appears to have been released by Google recently (I only noticed today but it may have been around for longer) which brings up a post code selection box on some generic, product/service based keywords, which could be deemed location specific.
On a search for doors a postcode input box appears beneath the top 3 paid search listings, and above the natural search results. On input of your postcode maps listings are brought up around the specified location.
This is a nice little tool from Google and will certainly bring a lot more traffic for their maps listings. In the past they have only been able to display maps listings when it was clearly identified through the search phrase what area the person was looking in (i.e. hotel Manchester) but with this new tool they have the potential to get traffic from any generic keyword which could be location specific.
The tool also gives you the option to save your location which also means that once this is done, Google will serve maps listings for your location on a lot more search phrases as it knows exactly where you are. it could potentially also be used for location targeting PPC ads. The only problem with this is if your are searching for a service you don’t want in your locality, e.g. a hotel somewhere you are visiting, you aren’t going to get the most useful results.
