Archive for November, 2009

The Future Of Search

Friday, November 13th, 2009

The Future Of Search

Every day, it seems, we in the Online Marketing Industry ponder the same question…where is this thing going? What is the future of search? If you’ve been around as many years as I have, this age-old-question never gets tired. In fact, the constant change and the unknowing is likely why many of us got into search in the first place. Those who guessed right over the years (link bulders, content writers, bloggers, reputation managers) have built tremendous businesses for themselves. Others have maintained and grown their SEO companies, one client at a time. Either way, our Industry continues to thrive on the education and understanding of how search works and how can it improve over time.

So, where is this going? Well, if you believe Google CEO, Eric Schmidt, the search engines (if they had their way) would “connect straight to your brain” so they would know exactly what you intended when you searched.  Of course, this is a joke, but the point being that the holy grail of search is to give the user one exactly right answer to a query. That is a lofty goal but a goal nonetheless set by the top search engine – so if there is any indication on where this thing may be going – consider this as the proper direction.

When looking at some of the recent advances in search results being made by Bing and Yahoo!, you can see positive strides being made towards making this goal a reality (and really giving the user the exact right result to their query).  Yahoo! Search now offers Search History, Related Search, and Search Monkey results in their left hand channel, as well as Yahoo! Travel (a top portal site) information such a hotels, flights, maps, and restaurant guides.

Bing, of course, is the first so-called “decision” engine and had already incorporated these types of feature sets into their SERPS. All these enhancements are meant to provide users with better, more relevant results and a more personalized experienced- the same goal of the future that Eric Schmidt from Google shared above. Interestingly enough, this approach seems to be working. Bing’s share of market increased from 8% to 9.2% last month.

So, what is the future of search?  It likely will include more personalization and a better understanding of what you mean when you type (search contextual web). Will it take the form of what we currently see today? Chances are likely that the way we see results will change, as it’s been changing rapidly these past few years. Keep in mind, moble search is coming and coming fast…

Maybe the name signifies a true wake up call but on August 10th, 2009 Google announced it will be launching changes to it’s search engine algorithm with it’s soon-to-launch “Caffeine” update. This update will be geared to compete more effectively with Social Media sites that provide “real-time search”, an important feature already employed at effectively Twitter and currently in-the-works at Facebook. Real-time search will allow searchers to obtain information as it happens, something the major search engines have always been very ineffective at providing. The true goal of the “Caffeine” update is to indexing content faster, something Google already does fairly quickly. According to the Google Webmaster Central Team, this update is “the first step in a process that will let us push the envelope on size, indexing speed, accuracy, comprehensiveness and other dimensions”.  Google is still testing the “Caffeine” update but look for it to roll out soon.
On another note, Google is now randomly experimenting with “bread crumbs” in their search engine results pages (SERPS). Bread crumbs, just like on e-commerce sites, provide links that help users know exactly what page they are on and gives them an ability to find their way back home. These are showing up randomly in the SERPS but look for a more aggressive roll out in the near future. This is an exciting feature set that will provide extra value to searchers. Way to go Google on this one!

No Comments »

Off The Grid – Greetings From Hawaii

Friday, November 13th, 2009

Off The Grid – Greetings From Hawaii

Every once in a great while, I get a chance to go “off the grid” (also known as a “vacation”) for a short period of time. This year, I am in Hawaii for a friend’s wedding. It is during these not-often-enough breaks from the real world that I get a chance to reflect on the rapidity of change in our Industry and, more importantly, to see how many days I can go without using my laptop/cell phone. As far as locations go, there is no better place on earth than Hawaii to disconnect from reality. Being on “Hawaii time” means never having to be hurried, hassled, or stressed. This, of course, completely goes against my life in San Diego where every minute of every day is spent working on client campaigns or chasing down new business ideas and opportunities. Even my spare time is used to read up marketing books, blogs, and publications to stay current in this ever-changing Industry/profession I’ve chosen.  In Hawaii, however, time stands still. My only concern here, it seems, is when to go to the store and get some more POG juice. It is this sharp contrast in realities that led me to write this blog. Just to be clear though… I, of course, couldn’t go a single day here without plugging into the Internet. However, the difference is that the way I manage my time out here is extremely unusual. I can now reorganize and re-categorize hundreds of daily messages into new priorities (with only a handful of them truly being what I would call “important”). I can work periodically instead of at the manic pace I maintain back home. Perhaps it is because I know that when I wake up here in Hawaii, people on the East Coast are just about to finish their day. And perhaps that fact is what causes me to work much more efficiently and in much less time out here? Or maybe the sun is starting to affect my thinking? Whatever it is,  I hope to bring this new notion of time back to the mainland with me.

No Comments »

Bing On The Rise

Friday, November 13th, 2009

Bing On The Rise

Guess what the fastest growing search engine is? That’s right…Bing.com. While Google still owns a gigantic market share (65%), Bing has been steadily climbing the past 5-6 months and now accounts for 10.7% of all searches. In August, the Microsoft-backed engine Bing rose 22.1% making it the fastest growing search engine. Their growth comes mainly at Yahoo’s expense, which fell to 4.2% it’s lowest mark ever. What’s worse, is that the much anticipated Micro-Hoo merger (Yahoo! and Microsoft) is likely to face “fierce U.S. Department of Justice scrutiny” according to the November, 2009 edition of Website Magazine.

So, why is Bing rising so quickly? Below I’ve listed a few thoughts:

• Advertising – Give credit where credit is due. Bing’s advertising has been nothing short of brilliant. Positioning themselves as the world’s first “decision-engine”, Bing has been able to differentiate themselves from the other engine’s by offering something unique. It also doesn’t hurt that Bing’s ad campaign has had the financial backing of Microsoft. As such, Bing ads have had significant frequency and reach in both traditional and interactive media.
• Innovation – Let’s face it, search has been in need of a makeover since 2006. And While Google has slowly introduced enhancements to SERP’s (search engine result pages) such as video, local, predictive text, and shopping nothing much has changed for years. Bing, on the other hand, has been innovating since its launch. Take a look at their visual search where users can scroll through images arranged into rows and hover over images to produce a bubble containing more information about the product and you’ll quickly get why Bing is gaining fast acceptance and notoriety.
• It’s Not Google – For years, many have tried to knock off Google… all have failed. Still, anti-Google sentiment persists and Bing offers a real alternative for people that have grown dissatisfied or were concerned about giving one search engine the entire market. Don’t get me wrong, anti-Google sentiment is small but likely still a factor.

Will Bing ever topple Google’s dominance? Not likely. Still Bing’s meteoric rise has livened up an industry that had simply accepted things as they were (and as they have been for the past 5 years). No matter what, however, Bing has done the unthinkable and has shaken up the search market and have made things a lot more interesting.

No Comments »