The mobile/local marketplace may get a big lift thanks to a partnership between Apple and search giant Google. Today, Google announced that it is offering an iPhone app for Google […]

The mobile/local marketplace may get a big lift thanks to a partnership between Apple and search giant Google. Today, Google announced that it is offering an iPhone app for Google Places with Hotpot.

Brafton has reported that Google Hotpot is a location-based service that makes recommendations according to consumers' locations and social data. Google executive Marissa Mayer has suggested that Hotpot would give the search giant an edge in the location-based market, and the company recently announced it has pushed its Hotpot data to general Google Map searches. Now, Google is bringing this service to its mobile competitor, Apple.

"We realize the importance of finding places you’ll love while you're out and about, no matter what mobile device you use," the company says in its official blog post about the app. Notably, Google announced a Google Places with Hotpot app in Google Maps for Android months ago.

Android is gaining ground in the mobile market, with Brafton recently reporting that Android devices are gaining the most rapid adoption in the market. Nonetheless, the iPhone has been generating significant buzz because of Apple's recent partnership with Verizon.

Google officials likely introduced Google Places with Hotpot as an iPhone app to help the company gain ground in the local ad market. As Brafton has reported, local is currently Google's top priority – and marketers may want to make it theirs, as well.

Experts at the recent Affiliate Summit West conference expressed belief that local marketing is a must this year; one attendee reported that more than 90 percent of purchases (the majority of which begin with web research) occur within 20 miles of consumers’ homes.