2007: The Year Search Got Personal

This past year saw search engines trying to get personal with their search results. Whether it's through an iGoogle page or your own "My Stuff" page over at ASK, users were able to determine (somewhat) which results were presented to them. ASK even went so far to offer users the ability to opt out of having their search history removed with their ASK Eraser feature.

One of the most innovative moves by the search engines collectively was the transformation of the search results page. It began with Google displaying Universal search results to include images, video, news stories, books, blog post and the like within their main search results. From there ASK rolled out their ASK 3-D interface with a multi-panel search results page (my personal favorite) that offers a great user experience. The other engines were a little slower out of the gate, but are now also incoporating the use of "blended search results". All steps to get more personal with their users. 2007 was the year that search got personal. For users who want to give up a little of their anonimity they received a richer search experience.

So what's in store for search in 2008? Lee Odden over at Top Rank Online Marketing actually has a poll going on, on what will be the big stories in search marketing in 2008. Some of the choices include:

• Death of Universal Search - (uh no, I highly doubt it)
• Mobile Search Explodes - this one's a gimme
• Social Media Marketing Explodes - not sure about this one. Social media marketing tends to be over-rated in my opinion. that is it doesn't work for everyone.
• Search Engine Consolidation - this is an interestig thought
• "Real" Solutions to Click Fraud - is click fraud truly that large of an issue? This can be debated.
• Death of SEO as we know it - many are predicting and calling for this. The one thing about SEO and online marketing is that change is inevitable. SEO will undergo a major transformation, the fact is it already has.

You can see the entire list by visting Lee's blog. As mentioned, I'm not big on making predictions, here are some things that I would like to see in 2008:

* ASK gaining a couple of percentage points in search market share - the team over at ASK has been working pretty hard to improve the user experience. They have a really great product. While it still needs a little work in terms of working to improve relevancy, the experience on an ASK results page is unlike no other search engine.
* Somewhat accurate search volume numbers from a search engine - think that this will never happen? Well Microsoft just happens to be gearing up with a very cool keyword tool (Keyword Service Platform) that will change how Webmasters, Ad agencies and site owners manage their keyword baskets. I was lucky enough to be a part of a demo from Microsoft yesterday. I must say that this tool was impressive unlike anything out there right now. I personally have been waiting for such as tool. Having somewhat accurate search volume numbers can help us improve our client's sites to ensure that when a user completes a query in a search engine, the most relevant result(s) shows up. We're not looking to manipulate search engine results, we're looking to improve the results. We've done our part now it's up to the search engines.
* PubCon becoming the Main Search Engine Conference - from what I have heard this may have already happened. There seems to be some disappointment with Search Engine Strategies and the Search Marketing Expo conferences. However, based on a number of reports from Pubcon 2007 suggest that the December event was the best search related conference of the year. I'd like to see PubCon improve further and offer a better pricepoint so that more marketers and site owners could attend.
* Social Media Marketing to Mature - As mentioned earlier, I think that social media marketing is over-rated. It simply doesn't work for everyone unless you are simply using it to crate a buzz about your business or brand. As a lead gen tool I'm not so sure, at least not yet until we see more consistent success stories. (and yes I know that it has worked well for some, but it depends on what your goals are. If anyone can provide me with a bunch of successful case studies on social media marketing maybe I'll change my view on this, but for now there is too much hype around social media marketing.)
* Search Engines working together more often - I would like to see the search engines work together on consistent protocol to improve the user experience. Let's take for example directory or Wikipedia listings. I have an issue when I perform a query in Google or Yahoo or any other engine and Wikipedia listing show up at the top or near the top of the results. Is there no way (other than opting in to a personalized page) that the engines can get together and determine a consistent way of dealing with Wikipedia listings? Or how about reporting on external links to one's site? Google Webmaster tools and Yahoo Site Explorer do an ok job, but what about more consistency? And what about video, why should I have to submit a video to 5 or 10 video aggregator sites?
* A new search player to emerge - how cool would it be to see a new player in the search engine world emerge in 2008? Can Google dominate forever? (I'm specifically referring to the North American market here.) Will we ever see another Google again when it comes to search?
* An affordable iPhone or gPhone (I know, no gPhone we have Android) that is made available here in Canada. Mobile marketing will be big in 2008, no question.

So while I'm not sure about what's in store for search in 2008, I know what I'd like to see in '08. What about you? Where do you see search going in 2008?


Copyright 2007, Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc.