Periodic, if not constant, change in search marketing is a certainty. Proof positive is that “Google” didn’t even exist 10 years ago and is accepted in the vernacular as a verb (“She “Googled” this or that”). The growing use of online media provide new avenues for searchers. Watch for the changes, and always ask yourself, what is out there and how will your customers find you?
Today at SES New York, speakers focused on what Google has done and what they could do better in “Beyond Googling: Where Will Your Customers Be Searching in Five Years?” The session was moderated by (one of our favorites) John Marshall, SES Advisory Board, CTO, Market Motive.
Anne Kennedy, SES Advisory Board (another favorite), Managing Partner and Founder, Beyond Ink focused on video search:
•   Regarding spending, follow the money. Flat is the new up. Online is going to grow while general advertising spend will stay flat with TV ads getting the lion’s share. Additionally, social marketing sites and mobile phones are starting to move up the chart.
•   Trending: Growth & projections show that search is going down while video will go way up (according to emarketer, November 2008).
•   Online US ad spending will increase despite declining total advertising spend.
•   Convergence of internet and TV, particularly on mobile, will drive spend.
•   Video screens are getting smaller.
•   Consider what the kids up to now.
•   Become aware of things such as Hulu which provides the ability to surf TV from a PC for free.
•   Google TV is running into some roadblocks with traditional roadblocks.
•   Watch the rise of video and mobile trends. Daily mobile use has doubled in US.
•   What’s in it for Google? It has YouTube as a video platform. Google TV is also a video ad platform. This gives them more ways to play which equals more ways to pay.
•   Small screen video is next big thing in search because it is ubiquitous, always connected and ready at hand.
•   Mobile convergence is rising. Due in part by the iphone effect, mobile search rose 40% in 2nd and 3rd quarter of 08.
•   Watch the small screen.
Pauline Ores, SES Advisory Board, Senior Marketing Manager, Social Media Engagement, IBM Corporation:
•   Deep web, which encompasses spaces that Google doesn’t search (i.e. media, databases) is specialized and even larger than the World Wide Web.
•   Semantic web addresses complexity of users. It makes it possible for the web to understand and satisfy the requests of people and machines of the web.
•   Existing meta model puts themselves (Google) between the deep and semantic web and you.
•   New model has user directly linked to deep and semantic search. Twitter is an example. It searches but goes out directly to humans.
•    What can Google do? They can get deeper by doing a better job with semantic web.  Semantic is more valuable because it is targeted and narrow. Get deeper with more content.
•   The challenge arose when another model rose up. Not all people were going through Google. People started helping each other. Google’s model must change or they will have competition from other networks such as Twitter – which is a network of people with relationships with each other.
Frank Watson, CEO, Kangamurra Media focused on Twitter:
•   Is Twitter giving Google twedgies? The question of the hour is whether or not Twitter will mature enough to become the new Google.
•   Arrival of the existence of something other than Google.
•   People like communing with other people for social interaction, ego stroking, information sharing, picture sharing, etc.
•   A lot of companies make a lot of money on Twitter now. It can generate some very serious traffic.
•   Could Twitter be Google’s Excite?
•   Twitter provides real time search.
•   Google loses in real time search so users ask friends instead of search engines. This momentum can cause major change.
•   For example, news sites are saving money by getting people to Twitter instead of sending out reporters.
•   Google wins if Twitter gets too spammy or something else comes along
•   There are lots of tools for Twitter such as: Twellow (Twitter yellow pages), Twitterhawk, Twittervision and Twtpolls.
•   Twitter is giving people the opportunity to do anything they want. The sky is the limit.
