On Tuesday Bloomberg reported that Marissa Mayer, VP of search at Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), would be taking on a new role, being put in charge of location and local services. I've been thinking for years that local search was an untapped area. We've seen each of the major search engines make moves toward local, but nothing seems to have stuck.

With the growing popularity of location-based services like FourSquare and Gowalla, and the new location awareness in Facebook, it's clear that location is a growing area. If a business knows you're in the area, it can create custom offers on the fly to lure you in--such as a coupon for a free drink or 10 percent off your next purchase.

Someone as clever as Mayer should be able to help build a link between location and local search and make it more useful for users. Right now, Location based services are basically used for checking in--a bit annoying for those who have to put up with the noise--but information that could prove useful in the right circumstances.

The report also states that Mayer has been named to the Operating Committee, which is Google's most senior management group. Frankly, I'm surprised she wasn't already part of that group, given her high-profile role within the company.

Udi Manber, who is currently VP of engineering for web search, will take over Mayer's role.

For more information:
- see the Bloomberg article

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