Yahoo Upgrades Local Again

Of its many properties, I’ve found Yahoo’s Local the most useful. Today the site got another upgrade. From the release:

Sunnyvale, CA – August 15, 2007 – Yahoo! Local (http://local.yahoo.com) unveiled a new look today, announcing a more robust relevancy algorithm and several new product features to focus in on what people want to know about most – what’s best and closest to them. The new version also offers users the ability to comment on reviews; one of several features designed to create more vocal and active user communities. Additional features being launched draw from the deep Yahoo! Local database of events, local businesses, and user ratings and reviews.

New features launched today on Yahoo! Local include:

· Weekender – Offers a weekly selection of events, movies (including show times and reviews), dining picks, Flickr photos, and more to help people plan their weekends.

· Comment on User Reviews – Gives the option of adding comments to user reviews, adding a new level of user-engagement and authenticity to reviews.

· Improved Relevancy Algorithm – Makes search results even more accurate by effectively taking user reviews and other UGC-related items into consideration.

· More “Local Buzz” – Shows the top-moving search terms in your hometown with a new search cloud and exposes the most recent reviews of businesses in your area to see what people are buzzing about.

· Best Local Events – Taps into the Upcoming social events database to include a more prominent display of the best events in your hometown. New venue pages also integrate upcoming events and more detailed venue information.

· Most Popular – Highlights the best of a city in the key categories of Restaurants, Health & Beauty, and Home & Garden.

· My Local Improvements – A new “save for later” feature allows people to save businesses or events to their My Local profile. The added ability to upload a user photo or avatar is designed to create a more personal and vibrant user community.