Looking at Google’s updated “Google Icons” you can see how far the world has come in a short time. From traditional icons like birds and plants to more fanciful creatures like sea anemones, mini pandas, fur seals, and exotic plant life.
In many ways Google has been ahead of its competitors in its ability to understand the needs of searchers and the relevance of their searches. However, what hasn’t changed is the fact that it remains the most powerful search engine on the web today. Let’s take a look at some of the search trends that are sure to affect the future of search.
Search advertising is still king; while the marketplaces are clearly trying to appeal to the average user, search advertising remains strong. The major players, like Google, Yahoo, MSN, etc. have great ads as well as effective targeting technologies, but for the average Joe to get a link or an ad to show up in his or her search results, the search engine still has to push its marketing efforts.
Marketplaces are well aware of the importance of bidding wars in their business model. When Google introduced a bidding system for those who wanted their search results to appear in the top ten for a particular term, the results made such a big impact that Google actually announced a win-win with advertisers: a lower-bid winner gets a higher position than it otherwise would have received, and a Google ad placement inside Google’s site appears at the top of the page if it is placed correctly. This dynamic created an explosion of interest for those advertisers who wanted their ad to be in front of Google’s home page.
With so many major players in the market place playing by their own rules, they may not have the same focus on the recent changes in search algorithms and their consequences for their business models. But for the smaller players, these changes are definitely changing the game.
In addition to changing the algorithms, Google also recently announced changes to the way media items are ranked. Previously, Google would include sites in its list that offered relevant and accurate information about specific terms that were searched for. Now Google now allows pages to be counted in its results if they contain organic content, in other words, posts on blogs, forums, newsgroups, and so on.
If this sounds confusing, rest assured that Google will give some preference to those sites that are prominently featured in its rankings, meaning that sites that contain no advertising will be given less weight in its ranks. Sites that use an A.S.P. are also counted, and news articles are included in the equation.
Some observers believe that Google is trying to exert control over the market place and attempt to implement policies that could create a monopoly on search. Indeed, the company has announced a number of new ideas that could change the dynamic and deliver better results. What is certain is that Google will attempt to change the game and make it easier for it to control the search world.
One of the latest changes is in search results for social networking sites. Google is now focusing more on the likes of Facebook and Twitter, and by doing so, will take away some of the freshness from the search engines. Expect to see major changes with this recent change.
Not all changes that Google has made are in the search itself. It has done quite a bit in areas such as Google News, Buzz, and Squidoo to name a few. For example, in Google News, there are new sections for sports and travel, and in Buzz there are sections for popular TV shows, movie reviews, and so on.
As the Internet continues to grow, we will surely see even more of the advances mentioned above. As long as Google maintains its dominance in online search, consumers will continue to rely on it for their needs.