Call us 0800 088 7486
Since the Google Search Plus changes recently, there appears to have been a backlash from players such as Twitter, as well as the SEO industry and users.
Google has led the way in search since its appearance on the market, replacing such well-loved engines as Altavista as well as the meta search engines – Dogpile etc. Microsoft created Bing in a long delayed response to Google as a ‘decision engine’, and there are computational knowledge engines (Wolfram Alpha), as well as new and novel engines such as DuckDuckGo.
Until recently, none of these engines appeared to threaten Google’s position as the world’s best search engine because Google did one thing better than any other – relevance. However, the latest inclusions of social results and the seeming preference given to Google properties before, for example, original content rather than a discussion about said content, has caused an upset. Whilst the social results can be switched off, many users find the fact that an ‘opt out’ is required an additional niggle to the already heated discussions about Google properties listing above seemingly more relevant non-Google properties. In addition, Google’s removal of Boolean operators (which Bing permits) feels like an unnecessary dumbing down of the search process.
There are many pieces in the blogosphere detailing Google vs Bing vs other search engines, giving examples of where Google has failed to produce the relevant results, compared to the other engines. As Google have always said, the user is only one click away from using any other engine and it seems there are now many changing teh default search engine in their browser to Bing and other options. However, there is a percentage of Internet users who seem entirely unaware that there are other search engines, particularly since many began to use the Net after “Google it” became the replacement term for “search the Internet”.
For internet marketers, the process of SEO has always been a constantly shifting set of sands; however, this latest change to Google’s search results may result in users, especially the more savvy folk, seeking alternatives to Google. For a marketer, this presents a further challenge, particularly if new search engines continue to appear which return to Google’s initial USP – relevance – which Bing appears to be achieving after a shaky start.
It is unlikely, in the short term at least, that Google’s dominance of the market will plunge dramatically. But for those who are seeking to shop or conduct research, the prevalence of social and Google results above independent sources may be irksome enough to prompt a move away from Google to other search resources. And for those whose product set and content is not specifically enhanced by social results or is directly hampered by social SERPs above theirs which lead to less relevant content, it may be time to consider paying less budget and less attention to high Google SERPs.
After all, if your target audience include those who are dissatisfied with Google and who will only hear of you elsewhere, then you will need to increase your marketing efforts across those properties to capture their attention. Are you optimising specifically for other search engines or are you simply increasing social media marketing to stay/regain top SERPS on Google?
Let us know.
New figures have shown that Yahoo! has finally been overtaken by Bing in the US search engine marketing, according to an article published by Search Engine Watch.
Having launched just over two and a half years ago, Bing now has a 15.1 per cent share of the search engine market – compared to the 8.4 per cent on its launch.
The figures, released by comScore, saw Yahoo! slip into third position during 2011. Its share of the market fell from 15.1 per cent to 14.5 per cent.
Google – a site popular for search engine marketing initiatives – built on its lions share of the market, with 65.9 per cent of searches made in the US conducted via the site – representing an increase of 0.5 per cent.
Meanwhile, 18.2 billion searches were made during December – an increase of two per cent compared to November’s figures.
Google conducted 12 billion of those searches; Bing 2.7 billion with Yahoo! coming in just behind with around 2.6 billion searches.
Ask and AOL conducted 531 million and 287 million searches respectively.
News brought to you by ClickThrough – experts in Search Engine Marketing & Internet Marketing.
Although it is impossible to know exactly what is going to happen within the world of SEO, Sujan Patel, writing for Search Engine Journal, has stated that there are five facts that everyone in the industry should be aware of.
He states that these five facts will play a huge role in SEO for years to come and those that take note will succeed in the long run.
Here are just three of those five aforementioned facts in a summarised form:
Fact 1 – Content will remain vital: Despite the introduction of Google’s Panda algorithm earlier in the year – which saw SERPs (search engine results pages) cleared of the content produced by content farms, Patel argues that content remains king.
He finishes by stating that webmasters focused on providing quality content will succeed in the long run – as opposed to those that focus on cheap, spammy articles, which search engines are looking to ‘weed out’.
Fact 2 – SEO for various platforms will increase in importance: Smart phones and tablet devices are increasingly becoming a platform of choice for users when browsing the web; as a result it is important to ensure that your site is optimised for each of these various platforms.
Face 3 – Personalised searches will become widespread: Bing has already launched a personalised search function; this element of search is expected to become a common feature on other search engines in the future too – providing users with results based on their previous search queries.
News brought to you by ClickThrough – experts in SEO, PPC, Multilingual Search Marketing and Website Conversion Enhancement services.
Yahoo! has announced an update to its image search results. An idea previously implemented by rival Google and search partner Bing, Yahoo! search now features an infinite scroll, according to an article published by Search Engine Results.
Users will also be able to share any image that catches their attention via both Facebook and Twitter, as part of the update.
Infinite scrolling has become a common feature in image searching but has not yet made the transition to standard search results – though it has been rumoured and could have a potentially massive impact on SEO.
Rather than featuring pages of results, infinite scrolling – as it suggests – simply allows users to scroll down the page.
Yahoo! has also revealed that other features in image search will remain as they are when the users is scrolling down the page.
Although a positive move by Yahoo!, the move has widely been considered as being implemented too late.
Bing have had the feature in place since 2009, whilst Google implemented the feature into their own image search function last year.
News brought to you by ClickThrough – experts in SEO, PPC, Multilingual Search Marketing and Website Conversion Enhancement services.
Search engine giants Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft’s Bing, are reportedly looking to attract smaller businesses to their platforms by attempting to demystify search engine marketing and PPC advertising, according to an article published by USA Today.
All competing in a market which is set to reach $17 billion by next year – according to figures released by eMarketer – Google, Yahoo! and Bing are looking towards small businesses as a revenue generator.
However as the two disciplines can leave many bewildered, the search engine giants have tried to simplify the process; for example, Google recently released AdWords Express, which sees local businesses’ PPC ad campaigns managed by Google.
Meanwhile Microsoft have launched a loyalty program to encourage advertisers to make the switch to Bing adCenter – a platform that supports ads on both Bing and Yahoo!.
CEO of search consultancy firm, Didit, Kevin Lee, emphasised the importance of local businesses for search engines.
He said: “Small advertisers are critically important, not only because of the huge revenue opportunities, but also because a broad spectrum of local advertisers provides a better user experience.”
News brought to you by ClickThrough – experts in Search Engine Marketing & Internet Marketing.
Whilst Microsoft’s search engine, Bing has overtaken Yahoo! in the popularity stakes, it still has a long way to go if it is to catch Google up.
According to an article published by the Sydney Morning Herald, Bing is set to unveil a whole host a new features and functions, in a bid to compete with Google.
In the past two years Bing has seen its share of the search engine market double.
With the rise in popularity, Bing has become more of a focus for search engine marketing initiatives. It could be that firms look to split their focus between Bing and Google in future.
Stefan Weitz, a senior director at Bing Search USA, commented on the new features.
He said: “People are going to see really great results from the things they expect and they’re going to see some surprise with things they didn’t expect.
“We create experiences for you, for example if you want to go on holiday, we can strap together all the web’s power,” he added.
However, rather than simply offering the same features already provided by Google, Weitz stated that Bing would take a different approach, continuing: “It’s focusing a lot on how we can build search-and-find into search-and-do.
“There’ll be some pretty clear difference with Google.”
News brought to you by ClickThrough – specialists in Search Engine Optimisation and Internet Marketing.
In line with the search alliance formed by the two companies, Yahoo! has revealed that search adverts for the platform will be sold via Microsoft’s Advertising adCentre from next year, according to an article published by New Media Age.
The move is part of a bid to improve the collective reach of both Yahoo! and Bing – both of which are popular platforms for search engine marketing initiatives.
Microsoft’s marketing lead for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Cedric Chambaz confirmed that announcement in an official post on the Microsoft Advertising blog; he also revealed that the change has already been made in North America.
Yahoo! and Microsoft have also revealed that they will be selling their display ads with AOL, however this pact will currently only effect those buyers in North America.
A statement released by Yahoo! stated: “The ad partnership announcement today reflects a solution for premium digital display advertising inventory, that addresses the specific needs of the US market.”
The statement also added that current system in place in Europe, the Middle East and Africa was the “right one.”
News brought to you by ClickThrough – experts in Search Engine Marketing & Internet Marketing.
Bing – a popular platform for search engine marketing initiatives – has announced the release of an expanded set of Webmaster Tools, according to an article published by Search Engine Watch.
This latest update is one of many to be implemented by Bing over the past couple of months – having previously updated the tools with Honey Badger and integrated Yahoo! Site Explorer data into their Webmaster Tools.
Webmaster Tools will provide users with a number of new functions; here are some of the highlights:
Malware Notification – Webmaster Tools will now notify site owners via email of malware issues found on the site.
DNS Verification – Site owners will now be able to verify the ownership of their site simply by using CNAME DNS records – rather than having to upload an XML file.
Integrated adCenter Data – Any adCenter data will now feature in Traffic Data, according to SEW, whilst Average Cost Per Click (CPC) will be featured in a separate column in any reports.
Bing’s Duane Forrester, speaking to SEW, revealed that the search engine giant implemented the changes in a bid to aid site owners and webmasters in fixing their sites.
News brought to you by ClickThrough – experts in Search Engine Marketing & Internet Marketing.
Microsoft and Mozilla have joined forces to develop a new version of the popular web browser, Firefox, which instead of utilising Google as its default search engine uses Bing – in both its home page and search bar – according to an article published by the International Business Times.
A popular platform for search engine marketing initiatives, Bing’s new Firefox browser can be downloaded from www.firefoxwithbing.com.
Those users already operating a standard Firefox browser will be able to gain access to the new features simply by installing a plug-in.
While Microsoft’s Internet Explorer is the world’s browser of choice, Firefox has gained significant ground since 2004.
However, it has been predicted that Google’s – who previously held close ties with Firefox – Chrome browser could become the second most popular browser by the middle of next year, according to a number of web statisticians.
According to StatCounter, Internet Explorer is used by 42 per cent of users worldwide, whilst Firefox lies in second place with 28 per cent of users choosing it as their browser of choice.
News brought to you by ClickThrough – a best practice Internet Marketing Agency.
Already holding the majority of the search engine market – and also a popular search engine marketing platform – Google has become the latest potential suitor for Yahoo!, according to an article published by Hexus.net.
Microsoft are said to be discussing a deal with a number of partners, however Google has now emerged and is rumoured to be talking to private equity firms about funding a potential bid.
With Google already holding a 65 per cent share of the search engine market, it would be unable to directly takeover Yahoo! – who themselves have a 14.7 per cent share.
Google would, however, be able to take over their struggling rival with a shadow bid.
If any Google takeover of Yahoo! – currently said be valued at $20 billion – was to come off, it could deal a serious blow to the ambitions of Microsoft and its search engine, Bing – which recently formed a Search Alliance with Yahoo!
News brought to you by ClickThrough – experts in SEO, PPC, Multilingual Search Marketing and Website Conversion Enhancement services.
