Announcing Improvements to Maps Related Searches for the UK
The Bing Maps team is happy to announce several improvements we have made to maps related searches on Bing.com for the UK market. Over the last few months we have been hard at work lighting up features to improve our users' experience when searching for addresses, places, maps, directions, etc.
New Features
Here's an overview of just some of the features we've recently enabled for our UK users:
Address Queries. Looking for an address? Search for an address on Bing.com and see where it is on the map. You can also search for addresses with high-precision postcodes. On large screen devices like laptops or tablets, the map is fully dynamic and interactive. This also works for queries for cities, countries, postcodes, and other kinds of places.
Business at Address. Search for an address and see what businesses (if any) are associated with that address. This is great for confirming that the address your friend sent you for the restaurant you're meeting at is actually the right one. Here’s an example for you to try.
Enriched Experience for Simple Maps Queries. Simple queries like 'map' and 'maps' on Bing PC will now trigger a map answer experience centered on your user location, along with autosuggest for places, businesses, and all your favorite locations if you're a signed-in user! Here’s an example for you to try. If you search ‘aerial maps’ you’ll get the same experience, but this time with satellite imagery turned on.
Improved Experience for Directions Queries. Want driving directions to a place? We've made several improvements to our answer for users. We now list out alternate driving routes and provide helpful information like the amount of time you can expect to be stuck in traffic. We've also added 'Search along the route', so if you're taking a road trip, you can see what great attractions and restaurants are along the way. Here’s an example for you to try.
Improved Experience for Latitude & Longitude Queries. This is one for the geeks! Search for lat/long queries on Bing.com and we show the associated address location and list out any businesses nearby. We have also enabled Streetside imagery. Here’s an example for you to try out
We hope you’re as excited about these features as we are and would love to hear your feedback!
– The Bing Maps Team
Source: Bing Blog Feed