Yahoo to offer indoor maps and boost local results

Yahoo will begin including indoor maps in their newly updated map product, but the company doesn't seem to want to go toe to toe with Google on local mapping.

Yahoo still continues to make upgrades to local search and maps. The recent addition of indoor maps was delivered in partnership with Nokia’s Here division. Nokia has been building a library of indoor (venue) maps across 45 countries for years now.

Yahoo is also adding local content and listings from Yelp into its main search results. This content will help to improve the user-experience and prevent users from abandoning Yahoo for Google or Bing. Yelp offers an API allows third party developers to utilize Yelp reviews and local listings. Like Bing and Google, Yahoo has invested in designing a more elaborate display of local business content into its search result pages.

Even though Yahoo doesn't wish to take on Bing or Google in local and indoor search, because of the sheer expense. It does need to continue to deliver a strong and contemporary search experience overall to retain users.