Highlights brought to you by Search Lately at SMG this week include:
Chrome for Android – What it could mean for Search
Microsoft Advertising adCenter Improvement
SuperBowl - A Search Opportunity
Record E-Commerce Figures for Q4
Google Algorithm Update: Panda 3.2
Microsoft and Yahoo! Search Alliance Will Complete Transition by April
Browse last week’s Search Lately for more details and initial reaction from industry experts on recent hot topics.
Chrome for Android – What it could mean for Search – 8th February 2012 This week Google have unveiled Chrome in a BETA release for smartphones and tablets operating on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich or above. While this product has a number of features that desktop users have become accustomed to, Google have also been hard at work optimizing for mobile devices. One of the unique functions that Chrome mobile brings is the ability to seamlessly sync activity including bookmarks, favourites and open tabs between devices. Following on from the announcements of Search plus Your World and consolidated privacy policies in recent weeks, this release further highlights Google’s pursuit of dominance across platforms and devices.
Although the browser will only be available on devices operating Android 4.0 or above, it could provide advertisers with the ability to cross attribute between devices. It means that Google will be able to more accurately determine the true value of a mobile click or impression by following it through to a potential conversion on a desktop computer. As long as a user is operating Chrome on mobile and desktop, then Google may be able to attribute mobile activity to a desktop conversion or vice versa. User activity can vary quite considerably depending on the device, product and service. An attribution model that is more reflective of the interactions between these devices is ultimately essential in understanding where to effectively invest budgets.
Developments such as this may further prompt users to stay permanently logged in when they are on a desktop and benefit from the added integration that Chrome will bring. Whilst Android devices do not dominate the mobile market in quite the same way that Google dominate the search market, Android users may become increasingly familiar with this new feature and help Chrome increase their market share at the same time. As it is increasingly vital to see the impact offline advertising has on online activity, it is equally important that advertisers are able to see the impact mobile has on desktop conversions. Brands that can utilize this vital link in the chain will be able to maximise the return on investment, and capitalise on the benefits each device has to offer to full effect. – Kevin Ting More read: searchenginewatch.com/article/2144952/Google-Debuts-Chrome-for-Android www.webpronews.com/google-launches-chrome-for-android-2012-02
Microsoft Advertising adCenter Improvement – 8th February 2012 Microsoft Advertising adCenter is now compatible with Chrome and Safari for both PC and Mac. It will certainly make life easier if you are used to switching between Chrome and Internet Explorer to access Bing adCenter. Another improvement is that negative keyword updates are also coming soon! Historically, adCenter has treated negative keywords at the campaign and ad group level as independent and negative keywords stored at the lowest level were applied to filter traffic. The negative keywords functionality will be updated within the next few months, so that negative keywords loaded at the campaign and ad group level will be combined to filter ad traffic. This update will also make it easier to transfer negative keywords from Google Adwords to Microsoft adCenter. – Blair Liu Read more: community.microsoftadvertising.com/blogs/advertiser/archive/2012/02/08/microsoft-advertising-adcenteris-now-compatible-with-chrome-and-safari-for-both-pc-and-mac.aspx
SuperBowl – A Search Opportunity – 7th February 2012 Last Sunday 110 million people watched the New York Giants defeat the New England Patriots 21 -17, making it the most watched sporting event in the US TV history. Whilst only 25% of search terms related to Super Bowl commercials were made on mobile devices prior to the game, searches for these terms soon increased to 41% during the actual game. Top trending searches included terms such as “Tom Brady”, “Giants” and “Madonna”, although plenty of opportunities were available beyond these core terms for advertisers to exploit. Search for terms such as ‘hot wings’ tripled whilst the term “seven layer dip” increased ten-fold. Advertisers should take full advantage of the great opportunity available when events like this arise.
In an ever increasing search industry, brands should be ready to capitalise on peaks in search volumes when major events occur. Advertisers should be quick to react when events take place and be ready to utilize the proactive nature of digital media. With a number of sporting events this year such as the Olympics and Euro 2012 as well as non-sporting events including the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, the opportunities in 2012 seem endless. Whether it is direct response or branding, within search or social, opportunities like the aforementioned Super Bowl, should not be neglected. In today’s world users are searching, watching and consuming more often than not, a multitude of mediums simultaneously. The potential impact of a different desktop and mobile strategy before, during and after such events should not be overlooked if wanting to grab the audience’s attention at the right time and place. Consumer behaviour will naturally fluctuate across platforms and alter as an event approaches. Advertisers should in turn start getting smarter about how and when they communicate with their target audiences in accordance with these important and influential events. Kevin Ting Read More: searchenginewatch.com/article/2143990/Tom-Brady-vs.-Eli-Manning-Brady-Searches-Top-Google-Yahoo lookatthislittlething.tumblr.com/post/17050974944/meat-stadiums-for-your-super-bowl-party-get-to econsultancy.com/us/blog/8932-41-of-super-bowl-ad-searches-during-game-made-via-mobileinfographic
Record E-Commerce Figures for Q4 – 7th February 2012 Recession, what?! Q4 of 2011 continued to show no signs of online shoppers slowing down or struggling in the much talked about recession. Whilst offline reports tell us high street shopping was quieter this year and people were thinking more about their spending in the lead up to Christmas, reports by ComScore contradict this for the online world and tell us there was a 14% year on year increase in online sales overall. Mobile & tablet sales also grew immensely compared to the same period in 2010, and the ease of use features such as price checking and finding locations launched throughout the year assisted with this. Retailers also helped with this by enticing shoppers with incentives such as free delivery for a limited time on any purchases, with more retailers offering this than in 2010. While physical store locations may be struggling, the online space shows no signs of quieting down showing us again the importance of having a prominent online presence. – Jimisha Lakhani Read More: www.searchenginejournal.com/comscore-report-ecommerce-spending/39863/
Google Algorithm Update: Panda 3.2 – 7th February 2012 Another update of the Google Panda algorithm which was released last week caused a drop in rankings and traffic for sites with less relevant content above the fold. Since February 2011, Panda has been updated every 4-8 weeks and Google will continue to do so to return high-quality. From a user’s perspective the update is certainly helpful as many have complained about the difficulty to find relevant content on a site after clicking on a search result. Indeed webmasters might have a different opinion, however if rankings and traffic have dropped due to the update, there are several articles that can help them recover their position. A website that has relevant and fresh content featured in the most important places needn’t worry about being affected by the algorithm. - Christina Zoellmann Read More: blog.ineedhits.com/search-news/panda-3-2-google-confirms-latest-ranking-update-075510900.html
Microsoft and Yahoo! Search Alliance Will Complete Transition by April – 2th February 2012 After testing the delivery of paid search results from adCenter on a small percentage of Yahoo! traffic in France and the UK in mid-January, Microsoft and Yahoo! Search Alliance will soon start the next phase towards combining Bing and Yahoo! Search audiences. Yahoo! Search Marketing users will therefore need to transition their accounts to Microsoft Advertising adCenter in February, and a transition tool will be available as an extra Tab in Yahoo! Search Marketing accounts mid-month as an aid in the process. The Alliance expects to complete the transition in the UK, France and Ireland by the end of April, meaning that advertisers will start benefiting from the new joint audiences by the second quarter of 2012. – Blair Liu Read more: community.microsoftadvertising.com/blogs/advertiser/archive/2012/02/02/british-advertisers-get-ready-tobenefit-from-a-combined-yahoo-and-bing-audience-by-april.aspx
Sources webpronews.com searchenginewatch.com lookatthislittlething.tumblr.com community.microsoftadvertising.com econsultancy.com www.searchenginejournal.com blog.ineedhits.com
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Publisher Kevin Ting
Contributors Jimisha Lakhani Blair Liu Christina Zoellmann