Google announced yesterday that they are ramping up their Realtime Search functionality.

They first introduced the real-time search features last December, with a goal to provide real-time content from a comprehensive set of sources, integrated right into your usual search results. Yesterday they made significant enhancements, giving real-time information its own URL for easier viewing and manipulation.

On this new homepage you’ll find a variety of tools to help you refine and understand your results, including:

• Geographic refinements to find updates and news near you, or in a region you specify.
• Conversations view, making it easy to follow a discussion on the real-time web. Browse the entire conversation in a single glance from newest to oldest.
• Updated content to Google Alerts, making it easy to stay informed about a topic of your choosing. You can create an alert if your topic appears on Twitter or other services.

Google even put together a demo video with tips on how to use the new features:

Do you think you’ll be using Google Realtime?