On Monday, November 15, Google introduced Hotpot, a location-based service that encourages users to rate and review local businesses. Hotpot then makes personal recommendations based upon ratings made by the user and their friends.

Google Maps for Android was updated to include a “Rate Places” widget. Google says an iPhone version will be released soon.

Google Hotpot is the company’s move to compete with destinations like Yelp and Foursquare, which are becoming users’ first stop when looking for local businesses.

This increased customization of search results will likely impact local search engine optimization and we are staying on top of the constant changes.