Google Maps is one of the most popular mapping applications out there, whether it’s on desktop computers or mobile devices, and Google is constantly improving it. In addition to all the cool features the company has added over the years, especially following its major 2012 Google Maps overhaul, there’s one neat trick not many regular users may know about, and it can significantly improve your Google Maps experience.
FROM EARLIER: You can download the completely redesigned Google Maps for iOS right now
Detailed by Google Operating System, the trick is quite simple: instead of searching for stuff on Google Search and then clicking on a Google Maps link for location-related results, you should try searching directly inside Google Maps. Google will then return a map showing exactly the location you seek.
“One of the coolest Google Maps features is the integration with Google’s Knowledge Graph. Besides providing useful information about different places, Knowledge Graph makes the search feature smarter,” the publication writes.
So, searching for anything that might return a location in Google Search should be done inside Google Maps. The publication offers some examples, including “Canada capital,” “Tom Cruise birthplace,” “Amazon river where does it start,” or “largest city in India.”
This smart Google Maps search trick works both on the desktop and mobile versions of Google Maps.
A few images showing such searches complete with instant location results follow below.
