Bing Integrates Further with Facebook – 18th January 2013 While Facebook have been claiming all the headlines and attention this week with the release of ‘Graph Search’, Bing have also been making some further progress towards a socially integrated search engine. Microsoft has made significant changes this week to enhance their social search capabilities by adding more content within the Social Sidebar feature (currently US only). Microsoft have claimed “around five times more content from their Facebook friends than before” will be available with a deeper integration with status updates, comments, photos and interest from your personalised Facebook community.
This integration with Facebook that Bing are slowly increasing is definitely something that could eventually make a difference against the battle with Google for market share. Although we have known about this merger and sharing of data for a while now, be prepared for further updates as the year progresses. It still seems too early to tell how much more Bing need to do or can do to fight back against Google and ultimately win users from Google. However, with Facebook’s launch of the ‘Social Graph’ function this week and their potential of further utilising their partnership with Amazin, do not put it beyond Bing to start make some bigger waves in this battle. Keep watching this space! -
Kevin Ting
For more details: http://searchengineland.com/bing-adds-5x-more-facebook-content-tosocial-sidebar-145480 http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2236941/Facebook-Graph-SearchWhat-About-Bing
Facebook announce “Graph Search”, a new dimension of smart search – 18th January 2013 You want to know which Restaurants in London your friends have been to or which of your friends in New York like live music? This is now possible with the new smart search function on Facebook. It allows you to find connections in new ways. Everything you or your friends have shared is now searchable. This might influence future search behaviour in general since people are more likely to trust results found on their friends’ walls rather than Google, as recommendations from real people rather than from an automated algorithm-based system. An example of this might be if you were planning a trip to Paris. What would you rather do? Ask your friends who have been there recently for a recommendation or go to a search engine and spend hours searching through tips from people you don’t know? -
Christina Zoellmann
For more details: http://econsultancy.com/uk/blog/61876-why-facebook-s-graph-search-isa-gamechanger Read even further feedback on the latest development from Facebook, from some of the big voices in the industry answering questions such as: What do you see as being the main opportunities for brands? Will it kick off another race for ‘likes’ among brands so they show up more in search? Will it result in an increase in spam requests if people are easier to find? http://econsultancy.com/uk/blog/61882-facebook-s-graph-search-whatdoes-it-mean-for-marketers
GA Matched Search Queries Report Vs. AdWords Keyword Detail Report – 18th January 2013 An article from Search Engine Land has summarised the pros and cons of 2 similar reports from Google Analytics (GA) and Google Adwords. Matched Search Queries Report This report from Google Analytics offers insights into the searched for keywords that lead to paid advertising conversions. This report only includes AdWords data.
With this data, you can apply advanced filters, or custom filters, to single out a variety of segmented traffic. You can also look at search query versus landing page/exit page data using the secondary dimension feature. Keyword Detail Report This report from Google AdWords can be pulled for all campaigns/a single campaign/a single AdGroup within a campaign. When you are diagnosing issues with keywords/landing pages this report enables you to drill-down with up to 24 different metrics available. –
Blair Liu
More Details: http://searchengineland.com/analytics-matched-search-queries-vsadwords-keyword-details-report-144833
Search Retargeting Comes to Facebook – 11th January 2013 Search retargeting has finally come to Facebook after the initial launch of FBX (Facebook’s Advertising Exchange) in June last year. This new feature allow user intent to dictate when ads are displayed, what they contain and to whom they are served, much in the same way that paid search works.
Facebook advertising has proven to be a very important marketing tool for many businesses, given the 1 billion user reach and granular targeting, which is much more accurate than traditional SEM, since individual user data is more readily available so targeting has a greater effect. Where Facebook was lacking in many respects as an equivalent to SEM was that searches within Facebook could not be specifically targeted. As of December, this has been addressed with the emergence of FBX partners, who can identify target groups based on search user information gathered from other search engines such as Google and Bing.
Where things get really interesting is the implementation of search retargeting and its value to businesses. As opposed to conventional retargeting whereby a user has visited your site and is then retargeted with display ads, with the search iteration on Facebook users are targeted based on the keywords they type in the aforementioned search engines. This increases scope greatly and allows lesser known companies to increase awareness in people who are unaware of them and the products they offer. A further not insignificant advantage is the price associated with this activity, which is a fraction of what it costs to run equivalent activity through AdWords. Once you factor in available serving options, such as day parting and geotargeting, this makes for a very desirable proposition. In the past year, talk of a Facebook dedicated search bar and its effects on SEM and how it positions itself in the market has increased. In light of developments such as FBX and search retargeting, it would appear integration of display, social and search has never been greater, improving advertising efficiency and providing truly insightful data for marketers to optimise towards, adding value to businesses of all shapes and sizes. –
Jafar Mahir
More Details: http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2235626/Search-Retargeting-Arriveson-Facebooks-Advertising-Exchange