A method and apparatus for improving searching capability on a Web. At
index time, a Web page is spidered and the text and metatags returned to a
processor. The processor extracts spatial information from the text and
metatags. A geocode is generated for the spatial information. The geocode
is then indexed along with the remaining contents of the page. A
subsequent query during query time can search for entries based on
proximity to a known location using the indexed geocode.