In a recent conversation with a client, I was asked: “Does it really matter if I buy ad space in Bing and Yahoo! search results? Doesn’t everyone just use Google?”
This got me thinking. In terms of organic search, following SEO best practice will help you rank in other search engines and not just the mighty Google. So a well-optimised page will score highly with all the major search engines.
But what’s best when it comes to buying paid ad space alongside search results? Should all your budget and analytical efforts be focused on Google?
Microsoft is launching a TV ad campaign this week to attempt to persuade web users to make the switch from Google to Bing.
After seeing the Bing ad, which attacks the 'information overload' of Google's results, presumably a few Google users will be persuaded to give Bing a try, but will they be impressed enough to stick with it?
Judging by some user testing I've seen, it will take a lot more from Bing to get users to make the switch...
If you listen to the tech set, you might think that real-time is one of
the most important areas search engines should be focusing on. The
search engines themselves do too.
Google, Bing and Yahoo have all done deals with Twitter to acquire
real-time data. But what do consumers think? According to digital marketing agency OneUpWeb, real-time is real disappointing.
Google may have one of the most valuable brands in the world, but that hasn't meant that it's acted like one. Unlike other brands with global recognition, Google has never really engaged in much traditional advertising.
And for good reason: it really hasn't had to. After all, Google built its reputation with consumers in an almost grassroots fashion. As a search upstart, it found a way to beat larger, entrenched players by offering a more compelling search experience. And with the launch of AdWords, it turned its massive audience into a massive cash cow.
Forecasting the future of any industry is always going to be tough, let alone attempting to predict the future of a market as complex as paid search. Although leading analysts are already estimating paid search spend will grow significantly this year, how this growth is going to happen is still uncertain.
However, it’s obvious that more money will mean the number of tactics, targeting options and channels available for search marketers will need to grow to make sure search that campaigns can deliver ever-increasing return on investment (ROI).
With this in mind, I expect that the following trends are likely to drive paid search growth throughout the coming year...
The 'verticalization' of search continues. Bing, which already
serves up specialized search results for verticals including travel and
shopping, is adding another niche to its portfolio: recipes.
Its
new recipe results pull in data from popular recipe websites and give
searchers the ability to display and filter recipe results via a
recipe-specific interface. The goal, obviously, is to give consumers
searching for their next home cooked meal one more reason to use
Microsoft's 'decision engine'.
2009 has seen a lot of changes in the search market, the recent introduction of real time search for one, so I've been asking some of the UK's search experts about the most significant events of 2009, and their predictions for next year...
When Microsoft launched Bing, there was good reason to be skeptical. After all, Microsoft's previous efforts to compete in the search market hadn't fared so well.
But Bing is different and with the help of a $100m marketing push, has seen steady growth. Granted, Bing's growth in the search market has come at the expense of Yahoo, not Microsoft rival Google, but Microsoft isn't letting up.
Maybe Rupert Murdoch isn't so crazy after all. Little more than two weeks after he essentially stated "Google? We don't need no stinkin' Google", reports have surfaced that Microsoft is talking with News Corp. and other newspaper publishers.
The proposition Microsoft is reportedly floating: "delist" from Google and give Bing exclusivity when it comes to indexing your content. In exchange, Microsoft would pay the publishers the cold hard cash they're so desperately seeking as print revenues continue their rapid erosion.
Google may have one of the most valuable brands in the world, but that hasn't meant that it's acted like one. Unlike other brands with global recognition, Google has never really engaged in much traditional advertising.
When Microsoft launched Bing, there was good reason to be skeptical. After all, Microsoft's previous efforts to compete in the search market hadn't fared so well.
Maybe Rupert Murdoch isn't so crazy after all. Little more than two weeks after he 
