Today, Google announced plans to revamp its mobile search, combining two of the important components of the future of paid search advertising we discussed yesterday. New features include the ability to speak what you're searching for into the phone with Google Voice Search and the option to search by clicking and dragging an image into the search box. With Google Goggles, you can point your phone at words in any language to get an instant translation.
What do you folks think about the importance of mobile and local in the future of search? I rarely search for things locally because I feel the information I want is hard to find and inaccurate. Maybe big improvements in the area will help change my mind. However, I definitely agree that mobile is the way of the future. I even find myself searching the web on my iPhone when I'm at home and just too lazy to walk over to the computer. Do you have any other opinions?
2 comments:
There is a great youtube presentation by Amit Singhal at Google that i would recommend to all of you who are taking this course. It covers what Google see and how they are developing new smart searching solutions for users.
http://youtu.be/p8h4bzn8gxU
Thank you, Adeel. I appreciate your sending this youtube link to us – great presentation! Amit Singhal’s comparison between mobile and desktop searches was particularly insightful; he started the presentation by explaining how humans are constantly seeking knowledge. When we’re at our desks, it’s easy to find answers to our questions using the Internet in front of us. When we’re away from our desks, we confront a barrier to knowledge since we don't have our computers. Thanks to mobile devices, this is no longer a problem; mobile searching has broken the barrier between ourselves and information we need.
Singhal showed graphs illustrating the rate of search traffic by day of the week for both desktops and mobile devices. For desktops, the rate of search traffic is highest on Mondays; it then steadily decreases until Friday, then rises up again on Friday throughout the weekend. For mobiles, the rate remains constant Monday through Friday, then spikes up on Friday and remains high throughout the weekend. This trend reflects the fact that even though people are out and about on weekends, they’re still seeking information.
Singhal then compared search traffic for desktops and mobiles by time of day. For desktops, the trend is highest during working hours (9am through 6pm). For mobiles, the trend increases throughout working hours and remains high even after people have come home from work. This pattern reinforces people’s tendency to seek knowledge, even when they're not at work. There is also a negative correlation between desktop and mobile searches during lunchtime (11am-1pm). When desktop searches decrease during lunchtime, mobile searches spike up; during their breaks, people entertain themselves by surfing the net while grabbing lunch outside of work.
Mobile searching has expanded the ways companies can market themselves. People are not only accessible when they’re online at work, but also during their leisure time. Thanks to mobile devices, the medium for digital marketing has greatly expanded, which creates more opportunities for advertisers.
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