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econsultancy_xml

Mike Moran of <a href="http://www.searchengineguide.com/mike-moran/why-search-marketers-can-safely-ignore-c.php">Search Engine Guide</a> said: “Each of Google's competitors over the years has claimed that it had a better search engine than Google at one time or another. No one listened, because Google is perfectly good, thank you. The next real battle for Google will be fought on higher ground than just search. Perhaps someone will buy Cuil to mount that attack on Google, but don't expect the battle to be won by Cuil itself”. Speaking to <a href="http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1827331,00.html?xid=feed-cnn-topics">Time</a>, Danny Sullivan of Search Engine Land added: "Anybody who thought [Cuil] was this Google killer can really see now that no, that's not going to happen today - and the likelihood is that's not going to happen a year from now." Judging Cuil this early on is a bit unfair, and I will personally reserve judgement for a bit yet. However, there is no doubt that there is still room for improvement if Cuil wants to become a dominant force in search. This begs the question; who will be able to achieve sufficient success in the search marketplace to compete against Google? The other big three - Yahoo/MSN/Ask There has been a lot of talk regarding the possible merger between Yahoo and Microsoft; a move that would certainly change the current search landscape. However, it would only scratch the surface of search ownership (given that recent search statistics suggest Google has up to 87% of UK users utilising its technologies at present). With new entrants to the marketplace, such as Cuil, I imagine the space that MSN and Yahoo currently occupy is going to become more and more congested. Ask recently carried out a significant shake-up in the way it presents its search index, supported by a fairly significant TV budget. However this seems to have done little to change its current position within the UK search hierarchy. It is therefore unlikely to pick up any more than just token wins now or in the foreseeable future. The advent of Web 2.0 search engines With the advent of Web 2.0 technologies, there are a number of engines providing some innovative solutions. These include engines like Searchme (which provides enhanced flash stacks of its search results); Mnemomap (which provides a more interactive SERP overview); and Quintura (a visual search engine which has received some significant funding over recent years). While these search engines provide a glimpse of what potentially could be the future of search, there is still little pickup for such services, with traditional search services and social media still pretty much dominating the search landscape. The rise of the vertical specific search engine and social media Social media in particular has seen a meteoric rise in popularity over recent years. Sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Bebo have seen millions of subscribers join their ranks. These social networks have become a place for people to find information; a function that was previously been the sole domain of the search engines. For example: <ul> <li>Linkedin – the business network allows people to find other people within the same company, job, location, interests etc.</li> <li>MySpace – which is currently reinventing itself as a primary source for music.</li> <li>SkyScanner – gives users the ability to compare flights.</li> <li>Moneysupermarket – the price comparison website allows easy comparison of financial information.</li> <li>And finally, Facebook – potentially this could throw a couple of cats among the pigeons, not least due to a deal which will integrate MSN Live as Facebook’s search engine results provider (an interesting deal, which may be worth keeping an eye on).</li> </ul> Vertical specific search engines are also thriving in the current climate, such as: <ul> <li>Rightmove in property.</li> <li>Monster in jobs.</li> </ul> While these are not strictly search engines in the traditional sense of the word, they do provide users with more specialised levels of search, and become primary points for such searches, rather than secondary search mechanisms. Thus reducing the initial requirement for the search engine to ‘refine’ the search, and prequalify the browser. There are also a number of very innovative sites such as <a href="http://www.everyscape.com">Everyscape.com</a>, which could still further steal traffic away from secondary competitors such as Yell.com. This is a site the <a href="http://www.mvmediagroup.co.uk">head of search at Mediavest, Jon Myers</a> has raved about - and rightly so in my opinion. Very much like Google StreetMaps in its functionality, it has taken a step further and allows users to even step INSIDE the buildings and get a real feel for a place before they even visit it, as well as offering the ability to advertise within it. This is Web 2.0 being utilised well in my opinion, and is certainly a benchmark for the likes of Yell and Google Local to aspire to. Are there any other potential competitors? There has been a number of other smaller launches over the course of the last year, including Mahalo, the "world's first human powered search engine”. However, none of these are quite in a position (as yet) to effectively compete against the current monopoly Google enjoys. In my opinion, Google’s biggest threat may not come from such sources and may indeed, come from further afield. One of the sessions at SES London discussed just such an issue, with two of the panel suggesting Baidu may provide the biggest test to Google’s monopoly. Baidu enjoys primary market share in China, with 69.5%, and dwarfs Google’s market share of 23%. Only time will tell… So what for Google? Criticism that can never be aimed at Google is that it suffers from at lack of innovation. Over the last couple of years, Google has trialled a number of new services, including; Click to Call, Google Checkout and more recently, Merchant Search. This, alongside more technological advances such as personal and localised search services, have only served to enhance and further establish Google as the primary search vehicle for much of the Western Hemisphere. Such innovation can only serve to keep Google at the forefront of the industry, but like many organisations before it, Google’s time at the pinnacle of the industry will eventually come to the end. My personal thoughts are that this is not going to happen for a good few years yet. Peter Young is the SEO Manager at <a href="http://www.mvmediagroup.co.uk">Mediavest</a>.The views of the author do not necessarily represent those of the publisher.

<FormattedContent xmlns="http://www.e-consultancy.com/schema/formattedContent/"> <Paragraph>Mike Moran of <Link URL="http://www.searchengineguide.com/mike-moran/why-search-marketers-can-safely-ignore-c.php" Window="Self">Search Engine Guide</Link> said:</Paragraph> <Paragraph> <Quote>“Each of Google's competitors over the years has claimed that it had a better search engine than Google at one time or another. No one listened, because Google is perfectly good, thank you. The next real battle for Google will be fought on higher ground than just search. Perhaps someone will buy Cuil to mount that attack on Google, but don't expect the battle to be won by Cuil itself”. </Quote> </Paragraph> <Paragraph>Speaking to <Link URL="http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1827331,00.html?xid=feed-cnn-topics" Window="Self">Time</Link>, Danny Sullivan of Search Engine Land added:</Paragraph> <Paragraph> <Quote>"Anybody who thought [Cuil] was this Google killer can really see now that no, that's not going to happen today - and the likelihood is that's not going to happen a year from now."</Quote> </Paragraph> <Paragraph>Judging Cuil this early on is a bit unfair, and I will personally reserve judgement for a bit yet. However, there is no doubt that there is still room for improvement if Cuil wants to become a dominant force in search.</Paragraph> <Paragraph>This begs the question; <Quote>who will be able to achieve sufficient success in the search marketplace to compete against Google?</Quote><LineBreak /><LineBreak /><Emphasis>The other big three - Yahoo/MSN/Ask</Emphasis><LineBreak /> There has been a lot of talk regarding the possible merger between Yahoo and Microsoft; a move that would certainly change the current search landscape.</Paragraph> <Paragraph>However, it would only scratch the surface of search ownership (<Quote>given that recent search statistics suggest Google has up to 87% of UK users utilising its technologies at present</Quote>). With new entrants to the marketplace, such as Cuil, I imagine the space that MSN and Yahoo currently occupy is going to become more and more congested.<LineBreak /><LineBreak /> Ask recently carried out a significant shake-up in the way it presents its search index, supported by a fairly significant TV budget. However this seems to have done little to change its current position within the UK search hierarchy. It is therefore unlikely to pick up any more than just token wins now or in the foreseeable future.<LineBreak /><Emphasis><LineBreak /> The advent of Web 2.0 search engines</Emphasis><LineBreak /> With the advent of Web 2.0 technologies, there are a number of engines providing some innovative solutions. These include engines like Searchme (which provides enhanced flash stacks of its search results); Mnemomap (which provides a more interactive SERP overview); and Quintura (a visual search engine which has received some significant funding over recent years).<LineBreak /><LineBreak /> While these search engines provide a glimpse of what potentially could be the future of search, there is still little pickup for such services, with traditional search services and social media still pretty much dominating the search landscape.<LineBreak /><LineBreak /><Emphasis>The rise of the vertical specific search engine and social media</Emphasis><LineBreak /> Social media in particular has seen a meteoric rise in popularity over recent years. Sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Bebo have seen millions of subscribers join their ranks. These social networks have become a place for people to find information; a function that was previously been the sole domain of the search engines. For example:</Paragraph> <List Type="Disc"> <ListItem>Linkedin – the business network allows people to find other people within the same company, job, location, interests etc.</ListItem> <ListItem>MySpace – which is currently reinventing itself as a primary source for music.</ListItem> <ListItem>SkyScanner – gives users the ability to compare flights.</ListItem> <ListItem>Moneysupermarket – the price comparison website allows easy comparison of financial information.</ListItem> <ListItem>And finally, Facebook – potentially this could throw a couple of cats among the pigeons, not least due to a deal which will integrate MSN Live as Facebook’s search engine results provider (an interesting deal, which may be worth keeping an eye on).</ListItem> </List> <Paragraph>Vertical specific search engines are also thriving in the current climate, such as:</Paragraph> <List Type="Disc"> <ListItem>Rightmove in property.</ListItem> <ListItem>Monster in jobs.</ListItem> </List> <Paragraph>While these are not strictly search engines in the traditional sense of the word, they do provide users with more specialised levels of search, and become primary points for such searches, rather than secondary search mechanisms. Thus reducing the initial requirement for the search engine to ‘refine’ the search, and prequalify the browser.<LineBreak /><LineBreak /> There are also a number of very innovative sites such as <Link URL="http://www.everyscape.com" Window="Self">Everyscape.com</Link>, which could still further steal traffic away from secondary competitors such as Yell.com.</Paragraph> <Paragraph>This is a site the <Link URL="http://www.mvmediagroup.co.uk" Window="Self">head of search at Mediavest, Jon Myers</Link> has raved about - and rightly so in my opinion. Very much like Google StreetMaps in its functionality, it has taken a step further and allows users to even step INSIDE the buildings and get a real feel for a place before they even visit it, as well as offering the ability to advertise within it. This is Web 2.0 being utilised well in my opinion, and is certainly a benchmark for the likes of Yell and Google Local to aspire to.<LineBreak /><LineBreak /><Emphasis>Are there any other potential competitors?</Emphasis><LineBreak /> There has been a number of other smaller launches over the course of the last year, including Mahalo, the <Quote>"world's first human powered search engine”</Quote>.</Paragraph> <Paragraph>However, none of these are quite in a position (as yet) to effectively compete against the current monopoly Google enjoys. In my opinion, Google’s biggest threat may not come from such sources and may indeed, come from further afield.<LineBreak /><LineBreak /> One of the sessions at SES London discussed just such an issue, with two of the panel suggesting Baidu may provide the biggest test to Google’s monopoly. Baidu enjoys primary market share in China, with 69.5%, and dwarfs Google’s market share of 23%. Only time will tell…<LineBreak /><LineBreak /><Emphasis>So what for Google?<LineBreak /></Emphasis><LineBreak /> Criticism that can never be aimed at Google is that it suffers from at lack of innovation.</Paragraph> <Paragraph>Over the last couple of years, Google has trialled a number of new services, including; Click to Call, Google Checkout and more recently, Merchant Search. This, alongside more technological advances such as personal and localised search services, have only served to enhance and further establish Google as the primary search vehicle for much of the Western Hemisphere. <LineBreak /><LineBreak /> Such innovation can only serve to keep Google at the forefront of the industry, but like many organisations before it, Google’s time at the pinnacle of the industry will eventually come to the end. My personal thoughts are that this is not going to happen for a good few years yet. <LineBreak /><LineBreak /><Quote>Peter Young is the SEO Manager at <Link URL="http://www.mvmediagroup.co.uk" Window="Self">Mediavest</Link>.</Quote><Quote>The views of the author do not necessarily represent those of the publisher.</Quote></Paragraph> </FormattedContent>

2008-08-08T12:53:00+01:00

econsultancy_xml

July saw the much fan-fared launch of <a href="http://www.cuil.com">Cuil</a> (pronounced cool), which so far, to many in the industry, hasn’t quite lived up to the hype. Billed as a potential Google killer and dubbed the “world's biggest search engine”, the initial response has been lukewarm, with mixed reviews from many of the industry. It certainly didn’t help that the site went down shortly after launch and that general first impressions certainly haven’t put Cuil in the same league as Google (or Yahoo and MSN for that matter).

<FormattedContent xmlns="http://www.e-consultancy.com/schema/formattedContent/"> <Paragraph> <Emphasis>July saw the much fan-fared launch of <Link URL="http://www.cuil.com" Window="Self">Cuil</Link> (pronounced cool), which so far, to many in the industry, hasn’t quite lived up to the hype. </Emphasis> </Paragraph> <Paragraph>Billed as a potential Google killer and dubbed the <Quote>“world's biggest search engine”</Quote>, the initial response has been lukewarm, with mixed reviews from many of the industry.</Paragraph> <Paragraph>It certainly didn’t help that the site went down shortly after launch and that general first impressions certainly haven’t put Cuil in the same league as Google (or Yahoo and MSN for that matter).</Paragraph> </FormattedContent>

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366132

Can anyone compete with Google? false

2008-08-11T10:25:00+01:00

can-anyone-compete-with-google

2009-04-30T01:26:51+01:00

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