Web reviews are gaining more prominence in Google search results as the search engine builds them into its local results. As part of a launch of new Google Local features on Thursday, Google Inc. is tapping into Web reviews to provide a snapshot of the online ratings and comments about restaurants, shops and other local business, Google executives said during an interview here at the Search Engines Strategies 2005 Conference & Expo.
Google also has begun to display structured data, such as hours of operation and payment methods, within business listings and has switched the maps within local results to its recently released Google Maps instead of external providers.