Search is a big channel. There are die-hard people in the SEO world who never think about paid search as part of search…it’s advertising they say. There are PPC jockeys who have disdain for anything that doesn’t have an easy metric and a quick way to A-B test. Anything else is squishy, they say.
Well, any debate that pits natural search vs. paid search is missing the synergistic whole.
It’s all SEARCH.
Search is about the traffic that comes from results to specific queries. And while there is a difference between the way paid and natural search works, as a marketer, it may help you to think of them as a single channel, because they work together so well.
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Welcome to the new world of internet intimacy and the acceleration of image-based search.
I watched the unveiling of the Apple iPad with some genuine excitement the other day. At the end of the presentation, I can honestly say that I was underwhelmed. The iPad is just a big iPhone…so what?!?
And then I thought…wait a minute…the thing is a big iPhone…that changes everything! (Well, not really, but it does have some interesting implications.) What has really resonated with me is the concept of intimacy. With Steve Jobs demonstrating the iPad from a cushy looking chair, engaging the internet with his finger, it dawned on me what has just happened. The internet became a much less cerebral place. No longer is your interactivity with content tempered by mouse navigation, the internet reacts to your finger. It is instinctual, organic and perhaps even a little impulsive.
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As the New Year turns, it’s normal to look ahead. So here is my list of what’s coming up in the world of natural search for 2010. In lieu of predictions, however, I’d like to offer up something a bit more actionable: a rundown of key areas that will require online marketers’ focus and attention to maximize natural search success in the coming year.
1. Mobile Matters – I have actually been beating the mobile drum since I worked on mobile search in 1997, but this year, mobile really matters. (Google and Apple have spent almost $1 billion in the last quarter to buy mobile ad networks…that should tell you something!) The growth of mobile is torrid and with the rise of the smartphone and ubiquitous 3G, mobile search is working. In 2010, you will see an appreciable amount of traffic from mobile browsers. Are you thinking of how you can present yourself to the mobile user? If you aren’t now, you should be.
2. Images Matter – Visual search is hot. There have been dozens and dozens of early stage visual search engines that have been no better than demo-ware. But Google Image search has exploded, and we see that our clients are driving traffic through images searches. (If you are looking for a red dress, doesn’t it make sense to look for the red dress in pictures?) And with the advent of Google Goggles, image search will continue to explode. Are you optimizing your images to be relevant and available for image search?
3. Not Being a Dog Matters – Do you remember this incredible cartoon which touted the invisibility of who you are online? Well, the world has changed dramatically since then, and your reputation as a marketer is now well known on the internet. In 2009, I suggested that reputation was about to become an important part of the online world, and 2010 that will become even more valuable. How you behave as a marketer, how you share information with customers, and how you engage with customers will have an impact on your search visibility in 2010.
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Google Caffeine’s obsession with speed will bring tremendous opportunities for marketers in 2010 – but you’d better get moving now.
Anyone who knows me knows that I am mildly obsessed with coffee. I savor it, gulp it, glory in it. But really, it is all about the caffeine. Caffeine makes me feel alive. Caffeine makes me engaged. Caffeine makes my heart purr along at 600 beats per minute. Caffeine is essential. Google shares my love for the caffeinated lifestyle. They are obsessed with speed. They want their servers chugging along like they’ve spent the afternoon with 400 of their favorite baristas. Google is ready to rock Caffeine, their new internal search architecture. Google Caffeine is ready to roll out after the holidays.
What Does Google Caffeine Mean to Marketers?
Fundamentally, it doesn’t change your current search positions a lot. The essential algorithm that Google uses to determine which sites are relevant for particular terms isn’t really changing that much in the near term (but look out…big changes are coming…more on that before Christmas). But there are nuances that are becoming evident:
1. Indexing - Caffeine is all about indexing speed for Google. How many more pages can Google add to its index and how quickly? Caffeine represents a significant change in Google’s housekeeping. This is good for Google. They are speeding up the indexing because the web is exploding in its growth. (See my Here Comes The Flood for more info on the whats, whys, and wheres of the explosions). Google needs to get faster so that it can keep up with the deluge of new information and links. The takeaway for marketers is that you can expect to see your newer pages show up in the index (but not necessarily well ranked) sooner. Speed of indexation is good, but a bigger index means that you have even MORE work to do to keep yourself visible. You will likely have to do less work to become seen by Google, but more work to be visible to searchers.
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Google Commerce Search is the latest addition to a formidable merchant-centric tool set.
I spend more time every week thinking about Google than I play with my kids. I know, that is a sad declaration on the state of my life, but, Google keeps expanding its universe, and I still have the same number of kids.
I know that I am forgetting a few things here, but Google has its fingers in an enormous portion of the merchant marketing pie:
- Google.com: Google controls the presentation layer before a searcher makes a click.
- Maps: Google controls who and what shows up where for local search.
- Google Affiliate Program: Yup, you heard that right, you can do affiliate programs through Google now.
- Google Shopping: A free (for now) comparison shopping engine.
- Google Checkout: Google wants to be your transaction partner.
- And starting today, Google has unleashed Google Commerce Search.
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With micro-blogging and social media about to swamp current search algorithms, reputation will be the new PageRank.
Last week was a busy one in the search world. Bing and Google both announced new relationships with Twitter, soon making all public tweets indexable and searchable from your favorite search engine. Bing also announced that Facebook updates would be part of the search experience.
This is the first step in a MASSIVE change in the way search works.
Why is this a massive change? With these true torrents of content emerging from Twitter and Facebook, it will be impossible for the search engines to use their traditional metrics to determine what is an authoritative search result. The traditional authority-based algorithm becomes significantly less relevant.
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Real time search is a game changer, and marketers must begin to master the art of frequency if they want to remain competitive and visible.
Natural search is always changing. And the past few weeks have been no exception. We’ve seen an essential takeover of Yahoo search by Bing, and we’ve seen Google unfurl a new natural search infrastructure with its preview of Google Caffeine. But the most striking change in search (and this is undoubtedly part of the Caffeine update) is the increased indexing speed and visibility of near real time search. On every Google search, there is a spot on the top left of the page for search options.
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We love sushi. Delicious, delectable, delightful…I could go on all day. But we are faced with a new challenge in the search world: search sushi. During Google’s Spring Searchology event, Google unleashed a bunch of new search options, allowing users to filter searches by media (video, forum, review, etc) and by time (all time, recently, past week, etc.) So this opens up all kinds of opportunities for search dominance. By leveraging time-sensitive content with tradition al well-linked content, you can really position yourself to cover all of the bases for search.
But as Marissa Mayer was introducing the 2009 version of Google’s Universal Search, she mentioned that it was like a “Bento Box” of search results.
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March 9, 2010 7:31 am
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