Local Search
Building an experience for everyone
The Local Search vertical connects people with places and businesses in the real world. It encompasses a large dataset of place details: structured info like opening hours and addresses, UGC like photos and user reviews, and merchant inputs like updates, menus, and Q&A. The same data powers Google Maps.
The opportunity is enormous: Local Search serves 760MM DAU, and it triggers on 18% of Search traffic. This scale presents challenges for making a product that is universally accessible, legible, usable, and helpful. It has to work for all humans, everywhere.
UX must continually advocate for the user, and any success or regression is multiplied across each of their experiences.
Local Search provides a cohesive experience for numerous and varied local user journeys
Scalable Place Attributes
As COVID-19 unfolded, there was a surge in place edits as businesses adopted new opening hours, or closed down temporarily; users wanted to know more about a place before they went there. Research told us users wanted confidence that what they saw on Google was correct. That was something our team hadn’t struggled with in a long time.
I worked with a UX writer/content strategist and a PM to design a system for displaying “scalable place attributes” within local search results. These structured data are specific to categories (e.g., restaurants, pharmacies, grocery stores) and describe key information about what the place does or doesn’t offer.
We worked up permutations of iconography, text strings, list delineators, position, and color
By the fall of 2020, the closures stabilized and businesses began to reopen with new restrictions and practices – plexiglass partitions and distancing requirements were everywhere. Users wanted to know what to expect at a place, so we extended our scalable attributes to include place safety information.
Users can quickly see what safety precautions a business is taking
COVID-19 testing & vaccine access
I was the lead designer for Local Search’s features related to COVID-19 testing and vaccine availability. As testing and vaccines rolled out in the US, they filtered from the federal government to a patchwork of state and local agencies, each with their own eligibility rules and websites. Our goal was to reduce the complexity in the process by providing users with accessible data they could use to keep themselves safe.
Users could find and book available appointments through Google Search
When vaccines became available, Google partnered with the White House’s United States Digital Services team to act as a front end to vaccines.gov. Google was able to show availability at one minute resolution. At launch, over 10,000 people were using Local Search to book their vaccine appointment every minute.
We extended this framework to support vaccine rollouts in other countries around the world. In India, for example, doses must be scheduled separately, and subsidy policies meant some locations were free and others were paid.
Each country’s rollout is different and our system supports them all
Crisis alerts
The world faces numerous crises each year, like hurricanes, earthquakes, fires, and conflicts. During these times, people naturally turn to Google for information, seeking updates and resources. The existing Crisis Alerts on Search successfully directed users to verified info on dedicated result pages. However, a critical gap existed: users searching for local businesses or points of interest within affected areas wouldn't receive any warning about the ongoing crisis.
Users searching for places within a crisis zone weren't receiving crucial information about the event, potentially putting themselves at risk or hindering their ability to make informed decisions.
Crisis alerts appear before users travel to an affected area
The final solution integrated the crisis alert seamlessly into the Local Search experience. Whenever a user searched for or viewed a place within an affected area, a prominent alert banner appeared. This banner included essential information like the type of crisis, its location, and a call to action for more details. The touch target of the alert directly led users to the dedicated result page with comprehensive information and resources.
The initial implementation focused on natural disasters, but the underlying design was created to be flexible and adaptable. We envisioned expanding the solution to cover other types of crises, such as public health emergencies or localized events. The modular design allowed for adjustments to information displayed and visual cues based on the specific crisis type.
The system supports a wide set of alert types and gives users a clear path to learn more
Contact me for a full case study walkthrough.