Search Sense

Garett Rogers of ZDNet has discovered a new Google interface likely designed for mobile. As most mobile studies reveal the reluctance of users to enter long search queries, generally limiting to just one or two words, the new interface provides a logical way forward. At least for location based queries where it is easier to disambiguate and provide a navigational structure for discovering local information.

You can have a play with the interface here http://www.google.com/m/lcb

And here’s a sequence I tried out earlier starting with a search for ‘Brighton’

Where once the only indication of search volume on a particular keyterm was a little green bar with 6 positions; 0 for hardly any search volume, 1 for a bit more search volume and 5 for freakin’ loads of search volume; the Google Adwords Keyword Tool now gives an indication of search volume on 0 to 100 scale. That’s a granularity increase of almost 16 times for the numerically obsessed!

According to Readwriteweb this may be the start of the mighty Google allowing much more access to its vast array of data-banks (highly anonomised, of course).

Perhaps I should be fearing my job? A good proportion of what I do is taking the tiny spotlights into the void that is the internet, compiling them, normalising them with data that I know is accurate and then visualising that in a way that reveals insight - data-mashing if you like. If really granular, accurate information is readily available; perhaps there won’t be a place for my team and I at ICrossing UK?

I actually don’t think this true. In fact, I think it’s exciting and a great source of opportunity. If we can take really good information from different digital marketing functions and help to give consumers what they want, when they want it then we, our clients, and most importantly, the user will benefit. Search informs website build which informs social media strategy which informs display advertising and vice versa and ad finitum….

Take a look at Swivel to see how interesting and useful insight can come out of making the data openly accessible.

Google’s latest innovations in the way it displays search results in its natural listings has huge implications for user experience and the way we create websites.

‘Sitelinks’ emerged late last year. They are the links that appear under the number 1 search listing that enable you to click directly on a main navigational link that resides on the destination site - think of them as shortcuts. OK, so this helps us get from A-B better and extends the brand’s success at capturing search real estate - effectively pushing other sites lower down the results page.

This example for Woolworths illustrates the natural search navigation at work:

A good overview of Sitelinks can be found on the Google Webmastercentral blog here.

More recently Google has started presenting a ’secondary search’ box within the natural results. This allows people to search all pages that Google has from a site without leaving the search engine. Which means that the much of the huge usability investment you may have made can be by-passed in a click…

The implications are more clear than ever. Search friendly site design means taking into account the whole user journey, from search through to action. This extends the idea of usability from optimising e.g. a shopping cart process into the way people navigate through brand networks.

Now x this by every device and interface Google will interact with people in 3 years time. Wow.

Once we accept that we have lost control of the ‘home page’, and that every page on our site can now reside somewhere else before the click,we can start to put search at the heart of our creative planning. not an original idea, but one that I will keep repeating until someone tells me I am insane, and then I will not believe them.

You can now access Google Webmaster Central on your iGoogle homepage giving you speedy access to diagnostics and stats for your sites. When logged in, click on a verified site and from the ‘tools’ menu, click’ gadgets’ at the bottom

Recently I’ve been finding the ‘top searches query’ pretty useful, its a relatively new addition to the Webaster Tools and as well as showing the ‘top search queries’ you get average position for both impressions as well as actual clicks. Good for getting a rough idea of poor clickthough.

Google have also finally updated backlinks displaying in the Webmaster tools, the first time since early January.

Technopedia has a round up of the top marketing articles of 2007. With over 250 articles, this is an extremely comprehensive and useful resource. There are articles covering all the various online marketing services we offer such as SEO, paid search, social media, web development, and content.

Best Internet Marketing Blog Posts of 2007