The Evolution of Online Search
Friday, November 17th, 2006A review from the following article titled:
Small Events Spell Seismic Shifts in Search
Ask has built their brand equity by leaps and bounds surprisingly ever since retiring Jeeves in Feb 2006. The announcement of Jeeves retirement along with a slight re-development of their site and a heavy dose of TV commercials have generated a steady buzz for Ask, but I feel it is yet to be seen if they, or anyone else for that matter, will ever truly compete with Google. They offer great tools and the partnership with Lycos is definitely a step in the right direction, but only time will tell if they have what it takes.
There has been a great deal of talk about the shift of marketing revenue from traditional marketing to SEM (Search Engine Marketing). Google passing the UK’s Channel 4 is a perfect example. This also ties into the 3rd shift regarding newspapers. Newspapers will always exist in some fashion regardless of a decrease in circulation. The proactive newspapers and traditional media outlets have taken the necessary steps to alter their focus from the tired traditional distribution to a more technological distribution. RSS (Really Simple Syndication) and other forms of online syndication have helped them make the shift, but it has also leveled the playing field for the small publishers trying to build their brand. Take CNN’s iReport for example; anyone with a camcorder can now report the news through CNN. Don’t even get me started on youtube.com. I feel that all of this has driven online marketers to expand their Viral Marketing process and use tactics such as video-casts and pod-casts to distribute their message to the masses. Not to mention the ROI is great and results are clearly measurable.
Using the term seismic to describe these shifts is a bit over exaggerated, but I agree that search is clearly evolving. It’s crazy to realize it, but search is really only ten years old. To think of how the industry has changed over ten years makes me really interested and excited about the next tens years. With that said; the fact remains that for best results a site needs to appear as the authority for their relevant subject.
A quick final prediction:
Over the next ten years we will see a huge collaboration of online media outlets including search technology with more traditional forms including TV. Some day within the next ten years people will be able to pause their television, mouse over an item in a commercial, go to the company’s website or search for the item, and finally purchase or research the item from the commercial. I know it’s a bit of a stretch, but think about it. The collaboration of online media and search with traditional media will save traditional forms of marketing. It will be a much needed re-invention of the TV commercial. With the evident shift of the personal computer from a generic information processor to a media work horse, this scenario may happen sooner rather than later.
I’m a search marketing, social media and web development professional from St. Louis, MO. Aside from the aforementioned, I enjoy home brewing, charity work, studying history and anything related to technology. 
