Yahoo! goes local
I still prefer the SBC (formerly Pacbell) Yellow Pages when it comes to finding an exhaustive list of businesses in a category. Google doesn't deliver. Citysearch doesn't deliver although does better than most when it comes to restaurants. And I somehow doubt that Yahoo! will be any better. According to this Wall Street Journal story (subscription required):
The Sunnyvale, Calif., company yesterday began testing the new local search engine, available at local.yahoo.com1, saying the site greatly improves the ability of users' to find directions, maps and other information related to everything from restaurants to movie theaters to day spas. The new local search engine lets users enter a location -- a ZIP Code, say -- and simple search words like "pizza" or "parking" to find all of the pizzerias and parking garages in a particular area. Yahoo also has begun letting users rate and review businesses in their area through its local search site. The search results Yahoo provides include advertisements, called "sponsored results," for local businesses.