One embodiment of the present invention provides a system that automatically identifies a standalone location, wherein a standalone location is a location which can be unambiguously identified by a name for the location alone. During operation, the system receives inputs from an interface for a search engine, wherein the interface includes two or more boxes, including a non-location box for receiving terms specifying what a user is searching for in a query, and a location box for receiving terms specifying a geographic location associated with the query. Next, the system receives a term to be evaluated. The system then uses the inputs to determine: a non-location score for the term which indicates how frequently the term appears in the non-location box; and a location score for the term which indicates how frequently the term appears in the location box. Next, the system determines whether the term is a standalone location based on the non-location score and the location score for the term.