Google has really done quite a job turning Google Maps into more than just an app for navigating from point “A” to point “B.” You can now find the restaurants that you should visit while away in a particular city, where to go for entertainment, and any historical landmarks that must be viewed in person. Even the basic navigation function of Maps has been greatly improved with the addition of speed limit signs, traffic light information, incident reporting, and more. Google notes that the Google Maps community makes more than 20 million submissions a day and that many of these include “recommendations for their favorite spots, updates to business services, fresh reviews and ratings, photos, answers to other people’s questions, updated addresses and more.”
Google adds a new community feed to Google Maps that helps local businesses connect to consumers
Today, Google announced that it has created a new and easier way for Google Maps users to obtain updates and recommendations from trusted local sources. This info can be found in the new community feed found in the Google Maps’ Explore tabs. In its blog post, the company wrote, “The feed shows you the latest reviews, photos and posts added to Google Maps by local experts and people you follow as well as food and drink merchants.”
The new feed shows you what is happening in your area. “Every day, you can come to your feed to see what’s happening in your area. Wondering if your favorite Mexican restaurant has added a new dish to the menu? If you follow them on Maps, you’ll get their updates in your feed. Looking for a new nearby hike or a popular day trip near your city? Browse the feed for top recommendations of things to do from Google Maps users in that area. By panning and zooming the map, you can find helpful information for almost any location in the world, thanks to contributions from in-the-know locals.”
The community feed takes the local information submitted to Google and molds it to fit your interests. Google explains it this way. If in the Google Maps food and drink preferences you marked down an interest in Italian Food, you will see more recommendations, reviews, photos and business posts about that style of cuisine. And the community feed also helps businesses connect with consumers. These places can relay to potential customers their takeout or delivery options, COVID-19 safety rules and more. According to Google, testing of the community feed reveals that posts from merchants are showing up more than twice as much as before the feed existed. You can help learn more about your local area with the community feed which is rolling out now globally on the iOS and Android versions of Google Maps.
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