Research tells us that visual information is generally remembered better than verbal information (InfoVis). That is why our News team here at ninemsn does a great job of differentiating us from our competitors - offering more visual information to a story that may be lacking in depth.

View the article: One dead in Sydney air crash

A great article by Search Engine Guide's Jackie Barker on the Local search industry (US specific) as well as marketing tactics.

http://www.searchengineguide.com/jackie-baker/local-search-with-matt-mcgee-sbm-unleash.php

To make this more relevant to the Australian market, the Local Search: SEO and PPC Tactics can be expanded. You can add your business to Local sites, such as http://mylocal.ninemsn.com.au/ by submitting a listing with Yellow Pages. This will get you coverage not only wherever the listing is distributed online, but also in the paper Yellow Pages book. You can also target display advertising to appear on Local sites only. This enables a very broad reach, you can't target as effectively as PPC.

You will notice as you zoom in on certain parts of the world in Live Search Maps, the Bird's eye button will turn from grayed-out into white text.

You can now start exploring and get to know your favourite city, from a different angle and very close up ...

Centerpoint (AMP) Tower

Sydney Opera House 

Sydney Harbour Bridge (close-up)

At the moment, you can use Bird's eye view images of Sydney CBD, Gold Coast, Wollongong and Hobart. More imagery of Australia is on the way.

Here is a hint...

This is the first in a series of feature posts, calling out some of the functions of the ninemsn Local sites, that you just might not know about if you have not visited or explored them.

On both Live Search Maps and mylocal, for any local business listing you find through conducting a business type or business name search, you can send the details to any mobile phone in Australia. It costs the user nothing to send the message from the page, which can be conveniently kept on hand and used for a follow up call to the business.

Find any business listing

Click 'send to mobile' button

So try a business search on maps.live.com.au or mylocal.ninemsn.com.au and see for yourself. Have a play and post your feedback about the experience.

An article in the press today, which mentions maps.live.com.au.

From 'Position' magazine