A Look Into the Upcoming Google Maps Update

One of the notable updates announced during the past week is for Google Maps, which will be having new features in the upcoming months. Maps is one of the most popular Google services, as it provides users with a platform that allows them to navigate and travel more conveniently than before. It is also an essential local SEO tool that helps businesses and important locations become more visible.

Being one of the most important services that Google offers, it is fitting that it receives some of the most important updates that will help improve its user-friendliness and introduce new features that help expand its functionality.

Explore

One of the updates will be a newly redesigned Explore tab, which allows users to browse new and nearby locations conveniently. The explore tab is already one of the integral features of Google Maps and seeing it receive an update will help make improve its performance, and provide users with the best choices.

The current explore tab has options that allow you to look for the nearest places, such as restaurants, cafes, ATMs, gas stations, pharmacies, and groceries. While this feature already provides you with some quality choices, the update will streamline this feature, and present more top options, with reviews being taken into account more.

Personal Preferences

Along with the new Explore design, a new tab called “For You” will also be launched. Personal preferences have been taken into account more when it comes to search and other Google services, and this is ones of the updates that continues the trend.

The “For You” feature acts like a newsfeed which presents the user with recommended places to go. Users also have the ability to “follow” certain location and receive updates on new and upcoming places that might interest you. The look and feel of this new feature is similar to a social media site, which makes the interface much more user-friendly, and ensure that you would not need to use a different app to look for the best places nearby.

Users also get a list of events and weekly trends, which comes in handy when you are going out to try something new. Google Maps will also look into various local news articles which are about places you want to go as well, which helps give the best results that are tailored for your preferences.

Google Lens and Street View Integration and AI Technology

Along with improved user-focused features, Google Maps will also be receiving an augmented reality upgrade with the integration of Google Lens, along with AI technology. AI technology is one of the technologies that are currently being developed by Google, with Google Duplex soon becoming a part of Google Assistant.

The Google Lens integration also comes with Google Street View and is used to help users navigate using the Lens and Maps. Using this new feature, users would be able to receive directions on where to go and prevents one from getting lost. Adding Google Lens allows you to identify various street signs and landmarks, which would then be linked to Maps and Street View. The AI technology is used to interact and guide the user to their destination and provide the best routes.

Group Planning

Lastly, another major Google Maps update is the addition of Group Planning, which allows users to pick the best places to dine with your friends and family. This simple yet effective feature allows you to select a number of suggestions from the list of nearby places, which you can share with your friends and family. This is a great feature, as it helps make deciding where to eat much easier by helping narrow down the selection.

Key Takeaway

These features will be launched by mid-year on mobile devices, which pushes Google’s mobile-first agenda further. The best thing about these updates is that it makes one of the most reliable Google services even more versatile and effective, by adding extra features that make it more intuitive and user-focused. We are surely looking forward to trying this out once it gets released locally.

If you have questions and inquiries about Google Maps or SEO in general, leave a comment below and let’s talk.