Google Maps Displaying More Locations

Google Maps has made some changes in the number of businesses it shows on the map for a given query. It has decided to display the customary 10 search results in the left column but increase the number of what I would call “secondary listings” on the map. The “text view” remains unchanged.

Here’s a search for “cafes north beach san francisco”:

Each small red dot conforms to the general query criteria (but this brings up a ranking/algorithm question). Interestingly, when one sorts by rating the secondary listings (dots) also change accordingly (i.e., “4 stars and up”):

There’s no comparable change in mobile that I could find, although the Google blog post suggests that it’s coming to “other domains” soon.

Google is moving in the right direction with this but there’s something awkward about the presentation of 10 results on the left and dozens of points on the map. I suspect this will evolve over time and we’ll see changes to how many listings get shown in the left panel or in the “text view.”