Google’s on a mission to make its Place Pages valuable hubs of location information. Today the company added verification for local businesses who claim their pages and a post to your Place Page feature. It’s a yet another maneuver in Google’s continuing strategy to dethrone Yelp as the de facto resource for local venue information and customer review data.

Google brought a rich database of information to Google Maps in September with Place Pages , and now those detailed results on businesses and points of interest are available within Google Earth as well. To access the Place Page for a particular location, just click the “View more information” link at the bottom of the summary overlay that pops up when you click on a business or place of interest

Yelp has built a social media empire by becoming the top destination for finding information and reviews on local businesses and restaurants.