The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a space-based global navigation satellite system (GNSS) that provides location and time information in all weather, anywhere on or near the Earth, where there is an unobstructed line of sight to four or more GPS satellites. It is maintained by the United States government and is freely accessible by anyone with a GPS receiver with some technical limitations which are only removed for military users.
The GPS project was developed in 1973 to overcome the limitations of previous navigation systems,[1] integrating ideas from several predecessors, including a number of classified engineering design studies from the 1960s. GPS was created and realized by the U.S. Department of Defense (USDOD) and was originally run with 24 satellites. It became fully operational in 1994.
Search by location requires a location aware device like in iPhone that uses GPS and location database for search terms. Google maps puts this all together.
In order to have your business show up on Google Maps you should search first as this information sometimes comes from other sources like Yellow Pages and other local sources. If however you are not listed you can enter your business details for free at Google Maps.
Blow is an example page for a Google Maps listing for Big Trousers complete with place data, category type, and analytics results for search. Of course you can always pay for a better result or a sponsored link at Google maps just as you can for Google search. For most this is not a required option but as this type of search becomes more widely used it is worth keeping an eye on the competition. If you are in an industry that is competitive for a specific location like for instance plmbing Electrical or fast food then this type of service will be critical.
