September 2009
Real-Time Search is Causing Google to "Caffeine Up"
When I first read a rumor about Michael Jackson collapsing (which I read onFacebook), I immediately went to Twitter to search for the latest information. I knew the TV news would be at least an hour or so behind, as would CNN.com and other online news sources. Sure enough, within minutes, I read on Twitter that Michael Jackson had died.
Similarly, last week when Atlanta was deluged with rain, I searched Twitter to find out how my community was dealing with the floods. That's where I read the latest news, and clicked on numerous links to TwitPic to see photos that Atlantans were posting in real-time.
Ever since Google became dominant, people have speculated about who the next "Google Killer" would be. Ask (as it shed Jeeves)? Yahoo? Bing? We believe that the site that may eventually become more used than Google will not be a traditional search engine, but instead will be a social media site.
It may be Twitter or a similar site, where topics are easily searched by using common hashtags (if you haven't tried this, go to Twitter, log in and look for the search box on the right side of the page. Enter "#atlflood" into the box and click on the magnifying glass to see the latest tweets about the Atlanta flood).
Or it may be Facebook or another social networking site, where people ask their friends for recommendations as to which products to buy, rather than a search engine. A Wired magazine article on this topic in July explains it well, noting that content on Facebook is not accessible by any search engine.
How is Google Responding, and How Will This Affect You?
Google is currently undergoing a major upgrade, which it has code named "Caffeine." They describe Caffeine as an "under the hood" infrastructure change, with the goal of increasing the size and comprehensiveness of their database of web pages, indexing these pages more quickly, and returning more accurate results.
That last part should make marketers pay attention. Yes, the search engine results are going to change somewhat. For example, it appears that profiles and real-time updates from social media sites will rank higher, faster. In addition, "Universal Search" results (such as images, videos, news items, etc.) tend to be moved down the page and appear at the bottom rather than the top.
Fortunately, Google's increasing openness with the search marketing community means that they're talking to us - and, more importantly, listening to us - about major updates like this. You can run test searches on a beta version of Caffeine here (and tell Google if you're dissatisfied with the results via a link at the bottom of the page). An enterprising company has also launched a page where you can enter your website URL and targeted search terms and compare your rankings before and after Caffeine's release (here).
When will Caffeine be launched? Google hasn't said. The good news is, search engine optimization best practices and "white hat" approaches are still the way to go. We have spot-checked our clients' rankings using Caffeine, and for the most part, haven't seen a lot of changes. However, Google isn't done with Caffeine yet, and there's no way to fully know what its effects will be until it's live. We're keeping a close eye on it.
A Quick Social Media Case Study - It Works! (Even on the Weekend)
This past Saturday evening around 6 pm, I posted an article on my blog about an event I had attended the previous day. The use of a social media site (BackNoise ) throughout the event - for largely negative purposes - had disturbed me. After the blog post ("Unexpected Learnings: BackNoise Can Be Toxic") was up, I posted a link to it on Facebook, my personal and business Twitter accounts, and my LinkedIn status. I asked people who had attended the conference to read it and comment.
Did they ever! At 11:30 that same evening (less than six hours later), I did a quick check and nearly fell out of my chair when I saw that 560 people had read the blog post. Sixteen had commented on the blog itself, seven had commented on Facebook, and I'd had more than 20 retweets. By 11:30 the next morning, the post hit the 1000 reader mark and the comments were still rolling in. And...in less than 24 hours, the post became the #7-ranked web page when someone searches for "backnoise" on Google.
The upshot? Besides the fact that too many of us are spending family leisure time on social media sites discussing business on Saturday nights and Sunday mornings...if you've got something to say, social media can be an incredibly fast and effective way to get your message out and start a dialogue with your colleagues, customers, or prospects. And again, social media will be increasingly important for ranking high in Google post-Caffeine.
Budgeting for 2010?
If so, please reread our September 2008 newsletter, which was all about budgeting for search marketing. It even includes a range for what you can expect to spend. All data is still current and up-to-date.
About Us
Prominent Placement, Inc. is an award-winning, full-service search engine marketing (SEM) firm, delivering ROI that traditional marketing channels can't touch, with a level of service that raises the bar. Since 2001, Prominent Placement has managed the entire SEM process for clients across the U.S., empowering businesses to focus on what they do best. Prominent Placement's customized solutions are backed by hard numbers, giving decision makers the confidence they need to make smarter decisions.
For more information, visit our website or call 888.SEM.MKTR (888.736.6587).
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