AOL tests local search service

AOL opened up for testing a new local search service, finally adding a component to its search engine that many competitors have had for years.

Those interested in giving the new service a test-drive will find a Local tab in the search box of AOL’s main portal page. When clicked, that tab takes the user to the local search interface on AOL Search.

AOL Local, for now a beta service, lets users find business listings from a specific area, such as a street address, city, state, or ZIP code. The service will return a list of businesses, along with a map indicating where each one is located. Users can also obtain driving directions, AOL said Tuesday.

Currently, AOL Local works with the Windows versions of Internet Explorer 6.0 and higher and Firefox 1.5 and higher. For Mac OS users, AOL Local “partially” supports the Safari and Firefox browsers, meaning that some functionality may be limited and not fully tested. More information about AOL Local can be found on the service’s help page.

Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, and Ask.com have local search services. In addition to maps, business listings, and driving directions, local search engines often provide real-time traffic data and information about local events such as movie times, as well as customer reviews of restaurants, shops, and other commercial establishments.

While lacking a local search engine, AOL has provided many of these features, albeit in different services, such as its MapQuest mapping site, Yellow Pages business directory, and City Guide network of local entertainment guides.

AOL Local has a “powered by MapQuest” tag in its logo, indicating the maps come from this sister AOL property. However, it’s not clear whether AOL Local is tapping other related services such as Yellow Pages and City Guide. The service seems to be limited for now to the United States. AOL didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Having a local search engine is considered a must for Internet search service providers, as the popularity of these sites increases among users and advertisers.

Kelsey Group, a market researcher, forecasts that companies globally will increase their spending on local search engines and online business listing directories an average of 22.3 percent per year through 2011. Advertisers spent $4.1 billion on these sites last year and are expected to spend $11.1 billion in 2011, according to Kelsey Group.

Conversely, ad growth in print Yellow Pages phone directories will be almost flat through 2011, increasing an annual average of 0.9 percent, with $27.8 billion expected to be spent in 2011, according to Kelsey Group.

AOL announced the beta launch of its local search engine at beta.aol.com.