Is FACEBOOK the answer to effective advertising on YouTube?…..Part 2
The search you never knew you made
Our experience with Google searches up until recently has been pretty simple. Go to the Google home page and then type in the search words you think will show you the results you want. Google only knows what we want based on the information and words we type into the search field. Undeniably Google has provided us with answers to these searches better than any other search engine on the planet. So well that most people do not bother to look for answers on any other search engines such as Yahoo or Microsoft Live (Now called BING) because the answers they find on Google are meeting or exceeding our expectations. Google’s ability to be our “one stop shop” for internet searches has sparked numerous new industries focusing on getting companies to the digital version of the “holy land”……the first page of a Google search related to what product and services a company offers.
What you probably didn’t know is that Google is starting to tailor or change search results from user to user based on who they are, where they are and what they have searched for in the past. Google does this by tracking your web habits through your Google login. If you have a Gmail account and you stay logged into Gmail or Google throughout the day, you are in essence helping Google build a profile about you that they will use to help them provide more relevant search results for you specifically.
You can read a little more on this topic at: http://searchenginewatch.com/3631746
The Good: You may just get more of what you are looking for from Google. In the long run this personalized search process may in fact increase the accuracy of your search and every other person’s search on the planet. It could change the dynamics of Google’s overall search algorithm to a point where Search Engine Optimization (SEO) companies are no longer effective at getting their clients to the “holy” page 1 of a Google search because there are far too many variables for them to control or influence. This will mean that the content that shows up on a Google search is much more likely to be real, valid and desired content for the Google user.
The Bad: Small business owners will no longer be able to effectively utilize companies such as Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Marketing (SEM) firms to increase their presence or level of awareness to their customers on the Web. They are going to have to manage the process themselves through the valid creation of content, information and or answers to whatever their customers may be searching for related to their company. I can’t say that this is necessarily a bad thing but it is definitely a dramatic shift in how companies will market themselves on the Web. SEO companies will fade away or migrate to different service offerings, costing countless jobs to be lost in the technology industry…… or perhaps these companies will find a new niche and creating countless new jobs. I didn’t sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night so I don’t know what will happen but time will tell and it will surely be interesting.
To be continued….
What does Google fear about Bing.com?
About 3 months ago I was in the deep bowels of Google’s “even more” section and found a question based search engine that was being developed. This was not your grandmother’s search engine, oh no, this was a search engine that would allow you to ask a question and have Google come up with a smart answer. Think of climbing the mountain to ask the wise monk the meaning of life or maybe why Twinkies are so popular.
Its purpose was to give you an answer that was insightful and based on all the data Google had indexed and a “thought process” algorithm applied to that data. It is important to understand that this is the theoretical “Holy Grail” of search engines. Why? Imagine a team of scientists working on finding a way to improve the effectiveness of solar panels. They are stumped with a particular problem so what do they do? They ask Google what the answer is to the problem that has them stumped and like a really, really smart person Google answers the question or gives major insight into the answer. Talk about standing on the shoulders of giants! We will one day be able to stand on not just the insights and information of a few, but of all information contained on the web.
I thought this answer based search experiment of Google’s was pretty neat stuff but obviously needed more work. That must have been why it was buried in the Labs section of Google’s tools. I toyed with the search and then moved on to other things that were on my mind, like work and paying bills.
Enter…..Bing.com. Weeks after I stumbled upon the question based search engine of Google’s, Microsoft launched Bing.com. It was touted as a new kind of search engine that was smart and able to “think” of answers for your questions and searches. This made me think of the question based search engine I had found on Google a few weeks earlier. So I went back to look and compare Google’s engine to Bing’s engine. To my surprise Google’s question based search engine was gone! Nothing, nada, zip. Not even evidence that it had ever been there just a few weeks earlier.
I don’t know what to think about this other than this is Google pulling their cards closer to their chest so their competitors can’t gauge their progress on the next generation of search engines. This does make me wonder what Bing has that Google fears though.
**Please note that this was not Google Answers at Answers.google.com, which was retired back in 2006.
Is FREE good?
I am, currently reading the book Free: The Future of a Radical Price.
Check it out on Amazon for about $25
Or get it for ……Free (that’s right) from Audible.com
I have read many reviews on this book from the main stream media and I have to say I find them to be slanted in a cynical way against the Free business model. I suggest you check out what the author has to say for yourself and discard the mainstream “anti Free” sentiments.