Today at the Museum of Modern Art in San Francisco, Google announced a significant user experience update called Google Instant Search which transforms traditional search engine result pages (SERP) from a static list of results to an AJAX powered result set that updates with every keystroke.

Similar to the recent integration of social media sites Twitter and Facebook into the search engine result page, this update take another leap forward combining the speed and efficiency of Google Caffeine’s infrastructure update (which allows search results to be 50% fresher), Google Suggest (which anticipates/predicts your query as you type) and the use of Asynchronous JavaScript which eliminates the need for a page refresh — allowing content to change dynamically in real-time.

For example, typing B into Google will generate results for Bank of America or Best Buy, however once you type L Google quickly updates the top results to reflect a Blackberry result set. Google explains how Instant works in the clip below.

The move to AJAX should come as no surprise as Google has been known to test AJAX powered results in the past; however, moving forward Instant Search will be the default user experience for all googlers in the United States (using Chrome, Firefox, IE 8 & Safari) depending on internet connection speeds. Slower connections will default to the traditional static search results that may display a small error message notifying you as to why instant search was deactivated. Instant Search will continue to leverage any available historical search data to personalize and improve its ability to accurately predict the users query intent.

For marketers wondering how Instant Search will affect paid search campaigns, SEO or analytics? The quick answer: It does not. Google confirmed that no algorithmic changes were made to their natural search relevancy score, and that traditional SEO tactics should remain a core focus for SEO technicians. In addition, Google stated Instant Search will not interfere with paid search ads in any way- including impressions, quality scores and the number of paid listings displayed per each keyword query. Based on our 360i’s internal test, referral data is still being passed and should continue to be captured by web analytics tools such as Omintiure, Google Analytics and Coremetrics.

Most importantly, it should be noted that although no major changes were directly made to relevancy and quality score algorithms for natural and paid search, the method used for counting impression has changed significantly due to the launch of Instant Search. As per the recent post on Google webmaster Central blog:

1. Your site is displayed in search results as a response to a user’s completed query (e.g. by pressing “enter” or selecting a term from autocomplete). This is the traditional model.

With Google Instant, we also measure impressions in these new cases:

2. The user begins to type a term on Google and clicks on a link on the page, such as a search result, ad, or a related search.

3. The user stops typing, and the results are displayed for a minimum of 3 seconds.

Expect to see impression counts inflate as more users (signed in or anonymous) are defaulted to the Instant Search platform. Although Google emphatically says ‘No,’ we can’t help but wonder if this change in impression counting will indirectly impact paid search quality scores…hmmm.

Instant search is confined to the United States but Google expects to roll out the new service to other languages/countries, mobile devices and browsers search boxes (e.g. chrome, Firefox, IE) in the coming months.

Although few would argue the merits of an Instant Search experience for mobile devices, the use of instant search via the desktop is open to debate. Google insist this change will improve the speed at which users interact with search results (saving 2-5 seconds per query) and may even contribute to more exploratory experiences, whereby users spend more time exploring topics associated with their keyword query as opposed to one-off search and click experience. We here at 360i are just as excited as Google, and expect search behavior to shift as more and more begin to experience Instant Search for themselves.

- Chris Humber, SEO Director at 360i

Historically, a Google keyword search (brand or non brand) would only result in a single subdomain such as ‘www.yourdomain.com’ appearing one or two times within the natural rankings.  But today, the number of ranking opportunities for a single subdomain (and consequently a portfolio of subdomains) has expanded to an unknown limit. Therefore, if a given domain according to Google’s judgment (algorithm) provides multiple results across unique URLs, the domain might rank numerous times. This update shakes up the natural rankings and potential domination strategies for certain types of search queries, those with a “brand plus” combination.

Brand Plus = A search query that includes a brand name + keyword phrase

For example:  Previously, a domain www.amazon.com might have only occupied two top rank positions for a search on brand plus term such as “Amazon bedding,” but today Google allows www.amazon.com URLs to rank for nearly all page one results.

Google’s update appears to be a step towards better supporting highly navigational queries, and in a sense restricting the scope of this to branded search terms for now. In the past, search engines have rolled out various means to assist searchers in this respect, but this is the most extreme manifestation of it to date. (Remember the additional search box ?) In fact, the revise algorithm produces very similar search results as seen in Google’s advanced site colon search.

The new result shakeup does not appear to be affecting all brands equally, arguably by establishing a threshold for brand entities that exhibit a high level of navigational click-through. Retailers offering products across many verticals such as Amazon are able to surface a large amount of options on the first search result page for brand + category keywords.

Conclusion

If you are investing heavily in search, it’s important to evaluate some key areas that coincide with the update:

-Evaluate trends in your natural traffic, specifically for brand plus keywords to measure any lift that has occurred.

-Begin testing strategies in your Google PPC campaigns to alter “brand plus keyword” budgets, bid tactics, those aligned to keywords now rendering multiple natural rankings or total page dominance.

-Review the website’s top level navigation and taxonomy to understand if certain categories or sub categories are producing more authority in relation to the Google update. As you learn more, consider new SEO best practices to capitalize on, such as domain authority for your “brands + keywords.”

• Evaluate individual domains under your ownership. Hosting tactics should be considered, for example ‘http://www.parentbrand.com/subbrand/content.html‘ vs. ‘http://www.subrand.com/content.html.’ Evaluate the pros and cons of both scenarios.
• Determine if your domain(s) offer enough content to even support multiple brand plus rankings.
• If you do have multiple brand plus rankings, how well do your title and meta data read in the SERPs, and do they produce optimal user click-through rates? Appraise those ranking URLs to ensure the landing page experience delivers on conversion goals.

-Retail sites should evaluate shopping comparison engine performance for any new changes in performance. Shopping Comparison Engines such as bizrate, mysimon, shopzilla along with affiliate sites will probably get hit hard by the update, becoming suppressed in the rankings. In turn, retail brands who actively participate in Shopping Comparison Engines are likely see a decrease in traffic or CSE revenues over the next month.  But, they should not panic! It’s very likely that traffic and revenue is being seen through natural clicks without a CPC routed through the shopping comparison listing previously ranking.

These are just a few initial things to look out for. Google is not averse to test and learn with these  evolving algorithmic conditions, but the update appears official for now.  As Google states in their blog post: “We are always reassessing our ranking and user interface, making hundreds of changes each year. We expect today’s improvement will help users find deeper results from a single site, while still providing diversity on the results page.”

Regardless, the update is now in effect, and marketers must start evaluating “brand plus” keywords in their search campaigns.  Site owners should not be surprised if natural traffic notices a lift for these terms.

Google Expands Its ‘RealTime’ Search of Tweets, Buzzes

On Thursday, search market leader Google made strides in order to make its results more up-to-the-minute. Google Realtime Search (google.com/realtime) displays the latest conversations in a self-refreshing newsfeed as they happen across services like Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and Google Buzz.

When a user searches within Google Realtime, new results appear as they become available. Depending on the topic, these updates can be quite frequent – as the Wall Street Journal reports that people provide more than 70 million updates via Twitter on a single day. Above the results, users can see how the volume of conversations grow or shrink over time. To the right of the results, Google lists “top links” related to the user’s search query.

Google first began incorporating realtime updates back in December 2009, but up until this week those results had been limited to the “Updates” feature within the main search product. Now, these results have been given their own offshoot page.

SCVNGR Brings Location Game to Facebook Places

In the Geo-Social War, it’s important to have allies, and SCVNGR is making a smart play by teaming up with the Facebook, which recently launched their own location-based check-in system.

The new SCVNGR integration for Facebook Places will allow SCVNGR users to send their check-ins to Facebook and Facebook Places users to import their check-ins onto SCVNGR. The integration will also apply to SCVNGRs challenges, or treks, allowing users to share when they scan QR codes, take pictures or complete other challenges directly onto their Facebook wall, while tying them into the Facebook location. In addition to the incorporation on the Facebook platform, SCVNGR will also have access to Facebook Places APIs.

This new integration is sure to boost the number of people using SCVNGR, though SCVNGR is yet to release any data as to how many users they currently have.

It’s Official: Bing is Now Powering Yahoo Search Results

Yahoo and Microsoft have announced that Yahoo’s move from its own engine to Microsoft’s Bing engine is finally complete after a one-year transitional stage. This means that Bing is now the engine behind Yahoo’s organic search results (text, image and video) in the United States and Canada.

This news is significant to digital marketers as they may need to rethink their search engine optimization strategy in light of the transition. Stay tuned for our insights right here on the 360i blog.

More Shoppers are Using Social Media, Survey Says

A recent Compete survey of 3,119 internet users found that there has been a 17% increase in people who are shopping online through social media platforms since 2009.

Nine West provides a shopping experience via its Facebook Page.

A survey conducted between May and July of 2010 found that 31% of respondents reported visiting Facebook fan pages and retail Twitter feeds. But not only have respondents been visiting these pages, 83% reported that they shop online at least once a week. The survey’s findings predict a steady increase in online shopping over the next six months, mainly focusing on entertainment products including movies, music, video games and books.

Time Magazine’s 50 Best Websites

Last week, Time magazine released its annual list of the top 50 websites around. There are a lot of winners here, but here are a few of our favorites:

• Mint – Making financial responsibility cool (and easy) since 2006
• Grooveshark – Cloud-based music site that allows you to build and save custom playlists with minimally intrusive ads
• Tumblr – Super-simple blogging service that has attracted big names like Newsweek and even John Mayer himself (and not so big names, too, like whoever the clever soul is behind Hungover Owls)
• Foodspotting – Location-based social networking + food, what more could you want?

You can check out all 50 over at Time.com.

-Katie Wall, Account Coordinator at 360i, contributed to this report. 

The world may not need a Google-branded social network along the lines of what Google is reportedly building. My fellow columnist Cathy Taylor made that perfectly clear last week. Yet I can offer a barometer to show whether Google will launch a great product: the more boring Google makes it, the better it will be.

Google excels at boring. Look at the heart of its business model, search advertising. I’ve worked for companies with strengths in search engine marketing since 2004 and penned over 200 Search Insider columns for MediaPost, and I love search as few on this planet do. Still, Google’s take on search, with its character counts and algorithms, doesn’t provide great material for a Cannes award submission or a David Fincher movie.

Google has a similar track record with social media. Its most exciting contribution is a site that has contributed to the democratization of video production and distribution: YouTube. Most of what’s great about YouTube already existed before Google acquired it, while Google has done well with the “boring” aspects of making it scale and developing revenue streams.

Below are a number of other ways Google has approached social media, grouped by “exciting” and “boring” entries.

Exciting

Orkut: Google launched its own social network in January 2004 a mere 14 days before Facebook launched, according to the Wikipedia dates. Which would you have bet on succeeding, an independent project at Google or a hobby from some kid in a Harvard dorm room? Google, founded by a couple of grad students who managed to outmaneuver Yahoo and the other 1990s web stalwarts, should have had some algorithm to predict the winner here.

Dodgeball and Jaiku: The former company was ahead of its time, so much that its founder left and created a similar but improved service called Foursquare. The latter was a respected early rival to Twitter back when there were several competitors in the microblogging space. Google acquired them in 2005 and 2007, respectively. Dodgeball was shut down last year, while Quantcast notes Jaiku.com ranks 428,000^th of all U.S. websites. Google has had better luck with other acquisitions, such as Blogger (Quantcast rank: 14) and YouTube (rank: 4).

Lively: TechCrunch inaugurated its coverage of this Google baby saying, “Well, this sucks for Second Life.” Guess which virtual world is still here. Of anything Google has done with social media, this was the biggest stretch.

Wave: A video called “Google Wave Developer Preview” got over 9 million views, and Soulja Boy doesn’t even make a cameo appearance. Wave was supposed to change how people communicate and collaborate, yet I’ve barely met anyone who knows how to use it or why they should. Despite launching with the kind of fervor usually expressed by audiences watching Steve Jobs or Oprah, the follow-through has underwhelmed.

Buzz: I’ll give Google credit here, because thanks to Buzz, my sister gets updates from my blog. As much as I love her, it’s a sad day when Google launches a service like this with so much fanfare and my sister is the best example I can come up with for a power user.

Boring

Google Docs: Instead of the messianic fanfare around Wave, I can’t recall much of that around Docs, though exponentially more people use it. Google Docs started with a pretty dull premise: it would strip out 99% of the functionality of Microsoft Word but store the documents online “in the cloud,” and then allow users to collaborate. The power of collaboration for such a straightforward purpose makes Docs so powerful, while the open-ended nature of Wave leaves users wondering what to do with it.

Google Moderator: One of the more underappreciated of Google offerings, Moderator essentially lets anyone create their own version of Digg where others can contribute ideas and vote on submissions. In May, it became a feature on YouTube, where it will be far more impactful. It’s still fun to use on its own, such as when I solicited votes on questions to ask Google’s Dylan Casey at a conference session on the real-time web.

Android photo sharing: When I started using the newest iPhone, I was wondering if Apple would copy one of my favorite features from Google Android, where you can easily share any photo on Facebook, Twitter and elsewhere from the photo itself. Apple still doesn’t offer this. Having social sharing built into Android’s operating system in subtle ways like this gives a glimpse into how deeply Google can understand and apply the mechanics of social media. Fittingly, features like this tend to be rarely discussed, relegated to the “boring” bucket, while the discussion focuses on screen resolution, battery life, and megapixels.

The odds aren’t great for Google to build a new competitive social network. Yet look at what Google already has. It runs a successful web browser (Chrome) and mobile operating system that are used to access every social network. It offers collaboration and communication tools such as Docs, Gmail, Google Talk, and Google Voice. It acquired two social media properties that rank among the top 20 U.S. websites. It also increasingly incorporates social content and experiences into its search engine.

Maybe none of this is as exciting as Google launching a social network to rival Facebook, or Buzz as a Twitter killer, or Lively as a Second Life killer. That’s not where Google’s magic is. Perk up as soon as you get a hint of Google doing something unbearably boring — it may change how you consume media, share content, and communicate with others.

This article was originally published in MediaPost’s Social Media Insider.

‘Google Me’ Rumors Swirl as Details of Facebook Competitor Take Shape

A tweet from Digg’s Kevin Rose (since deleted), a confirmation from a former Facebook exec and a story on TechCrunch were all it took for rumors to fly that Google is working on its own social platform to go head-to-head with Facebook. This week several outlets began speculating about Google Me, which according to former Facebook CTO Adam D’Angelo (he’s now heads up Q&A service Quora) is a very real project to build a “first-class social network” modeled off of Facebook.

Though none of this has been confirmed by Google, the company did begin integrating Google Buzz updates within Google Social Search this week (via Search Engine Land). Social Search, launched in January, displays search results based on individuals you’re connected to per Google.  As Danny Sullivan notes, if all this represents a larger overhaul of Google Profiles and/or Google Buzz, we can expect that Google Me (if and when it exists) will also be integrated into Social Search.

Oreo to Give Facebook Page a Global Makeover

The New York Times reports that Oreo, a Kraft Foods brand, will unveil a new look to its Facebook page on July 5. The page will offer a hybrid of local and global content to acknowledge that though the brand resonates differently in different markets, there are also universal elements to Oreo that translate the same no matter where fans live (see 360i’s blog post on best practices for managing a global Facebook community).

As partners with Oreo on this project, we’re excited to share the new page with fans around the world. We can’t give away everything just yet – but one thing you can expect to see is a “world’s fan of the week” distinction for the most devoted Oreo lovers.

Be sure to Like Oreo on Facebook to be one of the first to see the global page on Monday.

Report: Paid Search is Still King for Retailers, though Social Captures Interest

The average retailer allocates more than 40 percent of their budget on paid search marketing – this according to a new Forrester study commissioned by Shop.org and the National Retail Federation. Though search spend overshadowed social marketing spend (with averages around 2-3 percent), retailers said they find value in engaging consumers via social media – and nearly 30 percent said social marketing has helped their business grow.

A large majority (80 percent) of retailers leveraging social say they are using the channel to experiment and learn what they can do in the social space. A solid 50 percent said they engage in social to listen and better understand their customers.

A Blueprint for Luxury Brands to Go Mobile

This week Mobile Marketer’s Editor in Chief, Mickey Alam Khan, urged luxury brands to consider launching mobile marketing initiatives as the mobile channel enables marketers to reach consumers at each step of the marketing funnel (awareness, persuasion and loyalty).

Since today’s consumer is “online, mobile and in control,” Khan argues that luxury brands can reap big rewards by incorporating mobile into their multichannel efforts ahead of the 2010 holiday season. Why mobile for luxury? Khan points out that the audience is on mobile devices (which are increasingly of the smartphone variety) and eager to browse/shop/buy and create relationships with brands via these devices.

Khan offers up some ways for luxury marketers to get started, including creating a mobile-friendly website, applying for an SMS short code (more on this in 360i’s Report on SMS) and launching a targeted mobile media plan. One strategy we might add would be to consider engaging customers and building loyalty via mobile social media (check out our latest POV on Mobile Social Marketing for more information).

Report: Flash & Rich Media Ads Make Up 40% of US Online Ad Impressions

ComScore released its Ad Metrix Creative Summary report this week, designed to provide current figures on the types of display ads being used by advertisers on publisher sites. The May report found that JPEG display ads lead the market with more than 42 percent of U.S. impressions – though flash and rich media ads came in close behind at 40 percent. Leader-board banner ads (728 x 90) were the most commonly viewed ad format.

Jeff Hackett, senior vice president at comScore, said the company has witnessed a “strong resurgence” in the display market over the past several months, with impressions rising 15 percent year-over-year. “One of the several drivers of strength in this market has been the innovation occurring with respect to ad units, as larger and more engaging creative ad formats are employed,” he said in a press release.

TechCrunch notes that increasing revenues for online advertising mean that marketers who optimize their display strategies will have the most success.

Report: U.S.-Algeria Game Might Have Set a New Internet Traffic Record

Mashable reports that Wednesday’s stunning World Cup game between the U.S. and Algeria – in which the Americans won in dramatic fashion, advancing to the second round by a heroic goal in the 91^st minute – just might have set a new record for Internet traffic.

Mashable came to this conclusion by monitoring Akamai’s Net Usage Index, which tracks visitors per minute on 100+ news sites in the Akamai network. Following Landon Donovan’s epic goal in the game’s final moments, Mashable says that traffic spiked to 11.2 million visitors per minute – a figure greater than the previous high which occurred after the 2008 presidential election.

These figures aren’t yet set in stone, but by early estimation it looks like matchup will go down in history as one of the most exciting sporting events – as well as one of the most highly-trafficked time periods – of recent times.

LinkedIn Adds Likes, Follows and Discussions to Group Pages

LinkedIn, a social network which has just over 70 million users (compared to Facebook’s more than 400 million), often gets forgotten in the social space, but the network which prides itself on being the place for professionals to network online is making strides toward becoming a more engaging platform.

Over the next few weeks, LinkedIn will begin to add features to its Group pages in an effort to encourage conversation and make the platform more engaging. In the past, LinkedIn Group users had the option to either “Start a Discussion” or “Submit News,” but now there is a single comment box to publish original content and “Like,” “Pass,” and “Comment” functions that allow users to contribute to existing conversations and comments. LinkedIn Group users also have the ability to “Follow” other people in the group and receive e-mail updates on their activity.

LinkedIn hopes this change will not only increase engagement, but also increase the quality of the engagement taking place. While an overnight change is highly unlikely, marketers could see an increase in dialogue about their brands on the platform, which could require greater community management and brand monitoring efforts.

Is Google Getting into the Music Game?

According to the Wall Street Journal, Google is readying a music download service (similar to iTunes) for release later this year. The service will be tied to the Google search engine and will be offered through an online subscription service.

The article, based on interviews with unnamed sources “close” to the project, goes on to say that phase one of the service will be rolling out a download store from which Google searchers can find and purchase music. A broader second phase, according to insiders, will involve launching a cloud-based service compatible with Android-equipped devices and allow mobile users to stream music directly from the web without storing the files on their devices.

Google search currently incorporates music results through iLike, Rhapsody and Pandora.

Apple, the presently unrivaled market leader when it comes to music download services, this year bought and subsequently shut down the online music service Lala.com – a move that led many to believe it was working on its own cloud-based music service.

Bing’s Big Week: New Entertainment Features and App Updates

Microsoft’s Bing, which recently celebrated its first birthday, rolled out several new features this week, starting with a brand new Entertainment section catering to the more than 75 percent of people who use search to help find this type of content online (stats per Bing).

The new offering steps up Bing’s ability to deliver content to searchers when it comes to movies, TV, music and gaming – and features include:

• Movies: Reviews, theater directions via Bing Maps and movie buzz via Twitter
• TV: Full-length episodes with in-guide information
• Music: One-stop location for finding lyrics; limited streaming music via Zume; photos, videos and tour information
• Gaming: Information on 35K+ games, including reviews, cheats and walkthroughs; 100 of the most popular games – each of which you can play within the Bing interface

You can check out this new experience at http://www.bing.com/entertainment.

Bing also announced some search and social updates to its iPhone app this week. The new features include enhanced search functionality (greater detail and instant answers), the integration of social search results from Twitter and Facebook and a camera view that can be used to scan products and barcodes for product pricing information. Each of these seem to align with Bing’s desire to offer a next era experience with greater capabilities when it comes to social and mobile search.

-360i Account Coordinator Katie Wall contributed to this report. You can follow her on Twitter @GoKTGo.

It’s been a year since Microsoft unveiled its new “Decision Engine,” Bing, amid a flurry of hype and speculation. Microsoft said the new engine was developed to help searchers navigate more easily through information online – an objective perhaps most vividly captured in the company’s slew of commercials poking fun at “search overload.”

Bing, which was fully rolled out on June 3, 2009, claimed to take a new approach to search through three simple goals (as articulated in the official release): deliver great results, deliver a more organized experience and facilitate fast, more confident decisions through search. Beyond that, Microsoft’s new engine sported a sleek design, with large, vibrant visuals extending across the homepage. Both inside and out, Bing was striving to be different.

As the year progressed, Microsoft made several large announcements that granted them significant attention among industry professionals and publications. These included the following milestones:

• July 2009: Microsoft and Yahoo team up for a much-anticipated search deal. Per the partnership, Microsoft acquires Yahoo’s search biz and licenses Bing’s search platform back to Yahoo. (Read 360i’s complete report for more information.)
• Sept. 2009: Bing and Ping launches to encourage people to share their searches.
• Oct. 2009: Bing debuts “Bing Twitter,” a service that aggregates Twitter chatter within the engine. This announcement was made shortly after All Things D reported that Microsoft had struck a deal with Twitter to allow real-time status updates to integrate within Bing search results.
• Dec. 2009: Bing debuts its free iPhone app.
• Feb. 2010: Bing inks another deal – this time with Facebook – that strengthens its real-time search capabilities (and drops Microsoft’s banner ads from the social networking site). The partnership included a more comprehensive Bing search experience on Facebook that would generate “rich answers” to help customers make smarter decisions.
• April 2010: Microsoft rolls out Bing Social Search, providing real-time social results to searchers within the engine.
• June 2010: Apple adds Bing as a search option on the new iPhone 4.0, though Google will remain the default search platform. Microsoft makes waves again at SMX Advanced, when it announces the addition of a new social site to the engine: Bing Social.

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Which brings us to now. Though Bing has remained in the headlines – and increased its brand awareness through a vigorous PR & marketing campaign (*some* people now say “Bing it”) – it still has not captured the market share that many in the industry thought it would. Nielsen’s latest search market share numbers put Bing at just under 13 percent – trailing Google at 65.1 percent and Yahoo! at 13.5.

After falling in early 2010, this was Bing’s all-time highest figure, though it remains to be a formidable threat to Google’s dominance of the search market. In fact, Bing’s gains have been at the expense of Yahoo – not Google – which does little to help Microsoft’s cause.

Figures from 360i sister company SearchIgnite on ad spend seemed to parallel the consumer trends reported by Nielsen. A July 2009 SearchIgnite whitepaper showed advertiser spend on Microsoft remaining flat from Q1 to Q2. Microsoft’s share remained flat through Q3, though by SearchIgnite’s Q4 2009 report Bing had captured 1% share of spend from Yahoo.

A Wall Street Journal article published last week takes a closer look at how Microsoft hopes to expand Bing in the months and years beyond this first anniversary. In that article 360i CEO Bryan Wiener noted that the core challenge facing Bing and Yahoo is to “ramp up” the volume needed to emerge as a viable competitor to Google.

We look forward to seeing how Microsoft approaches this challenge. Stay tuned for more insights and updates right here on the blog.

Jobs: Apple Has Inked More than $60MM in iAd Commitments for 2010

At Apple’s Worldwide Developers conference earlier this week, Steve Jobs announced that the company has signed mobile ad campaigns for several large brands, including AT&T, Best Buy and Chanel, among others. TechCrunch also reports that in just eight weeks, Apple has garnered more than $60 million in iAd commitments for 2010 – or half of all mobile advertising spend forecasted for the second half of the year (according to Apple).

Image via The First Post

The iAd platform will allow users to interact with ads from within an app – without disrupting their primary mode of engagement, whether that be playing a game or watching a video. The platform debuts in less than a month, on July 1.

Google Caffeine: Fully Brewed and ‘50 Percent Fresher’

About ten months after it was announced, Google’s new Caffeine indexing system is now 100 percent live per a post on the official Google Blog. Google says the new system provides “50 percent fresher results for web searches than [its] last index” and represents the largest collection of web content Google has ever offered.

TechCrunch highlights these key stats from Google’s post:

• Every second Caffeine processes hundreds of thousands of pages in parallel; if this were a pile of paper it would grow three miles taller every second
• Caffeine takes up nearly 100 million gigabytes of storage in one database and adds new information at a rate of hundreds of thousands of gigabytes per day
• You would need 625,000 of the largest iPods to store that much information; if these were stacked end-to-end they would go for more than 40 miles

Back in August we took a look at Caffeine and how the new system might impact SEO. If you’re looking to learn more, be sure to read 6 Things to Expect if Google Decaf Gets a Caffeine Boost.

Study: How Consumers Interact with Brands on Social Networks

A report from eMarketer published this week dives into how consumers are meeting marketers across social networks. The key finding: Consumers do want relationships.

For example, on Facebook, research found that a third of all users are fans of brands (that language has since changed to “Like”) within the network (Chadwick Martin Bailey, Feb. 2010). Another study by Edison Research found that more than half of all Twitter users (51%) follow a brand there.

“Those who still think that social network users are too busy engaging with friends to notice marketers must change their viewpoint,” said eMarketer senior analyst Debra Aho Williamson. “Brand interactions are real, valuable and growing.”

Additional takeaways from this report:

• The social networking audience in the US has reached critical mass. About 60% of all US Internet users, or 127 million people, will use a social network at least once a month in 2010.
• Coupons remain a leading driver of brand interactions in social networks. Learning about sales and new products is also a strong motivator for people to interact with companies in social media. (Read our thoughts on web couponing here.)
• Despite the rise in interactions, social networks are not seen as a primary research source when consumers are looking to buy. The report says only 3% of online buyers seek recommendations from friends first – compared to 57% who started their research by going to a search engine.

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Real-time Search Reigns in Marketers

Speakers at SMX Seattle this week discussed the growing importance of real-time search and how marketers can use Twitter to promote their brands among consumers increasingly turning to the real-time web to find information. PC World provided a comprehensive recap some of the main points, which included the following:

• Searching for brand mentions and responding to them can be effective, but this strategy “misses some greater opportunities,” said Search Engine Land’s Danny Sullivan. For example, marketers can use Twitter to respond to more generic queries – such as “anyone know pizza” as opposed to the specific brand. In this case, the company might reply to the customer with a special promotion and potentially win a new customer formerly unsure of which brand to choose.
• Sullivan also noted that Twitter search offers a unique opportunity for marketers because you can know exactly who’s doing the asking. This is in contrast to Google and other engines that receive queries from anonymous searchers.
• Bottom line: Marketers should pay attention to Twitter, says Sullivan. The platform reportedly fields about 18 billion searches a month (though some are automated or done by people monitoring tweets). “My advice remains that you should participate on Twitter and build a reputation, and that should pay off for you as relevancy starts to change down the line,” he said.

For more information on how you can leverage Twitter for your own brand, be sure to check out 360i’s Report on Twitter for Marketers. And, if you’re attending TWTRCON next week, stop by David Berkowitz’s session with Google’s Dylan Casey about “How Real-time is Changing Search.”

Report: Companies Investing More in Web Analytics

This week eConsultancy released its annual Online Measurement & Strategy report and provided the following key findings:

• Companies are investing more in people as well as technology in order to get ‘actionable’ information from their web data.
• Companies are more likely to understand the need for a coherent online measurement strategy. They are consequently deriving more value from online analytics.
• Online measurement and strategy encompasses much more than just traditional web analytics, including a range of business performance tools.
• The cost of acquiring a lead is still seen as the most important data requirement.

Marketing Pilgrim notes that the new eConsultancy research saw a 9 percent increase in the number of agencies using reputation/buzz/social media monitoring analytics since 2009, representing the greatest increase across all types of analytics.

Which headlines grabbed your attention this week? Let us know in the comments below, or send us a tweet.

Google Introduces Web-TV Mash-up ‘Google TV’

Google unveiled Google TV yesterday at its I/O developer conference in San Francisco. The new innovation, which Google describes as “TV meets web, web meets TV,” aims to create a seamless experience between media consumption across television and the Internet.

As Google notes, the average American spends five hours per day watching television – however, we are spending more and more time consuming media via phones and computers. If there’s one thing that traditional TV (generally) lacks, it’s the Internet. And if there’s one thing that the web lacks, it’s the viewing experience that TV has to offer.

Here’s how Google hopes to combine the best of both worlds within a “seamless experience:”

• Google TV will have Chrome built in, so viewers can access favorite sites and easily move between TV and the web.
• The product will expand the traditional functionality of television – opening up the experience to include a web browser through which users can play games, listen to music, view photos and more.
• And, of course, Google TV will integrate search – allowing viewers to navigate through various channels, sites, apps and more.

As we noted in an earlier post, television and the web seem to be on a collision course of sorts. People are discussing television in online arenas – and looking to online arenas to find TV content. We look forward to seeing how Google TV leverages technology to further this trend in the future.

Foursquare CEO: We’re Adding 15K Users a Day

Foursquare continues to build on the recent momentum it has gained by surpassing the one million user mark. This week CEO Dennis Crowley revealed that the red-hot location-based social network is now garnering new users to the tune of 15,000 per day. Over the past few months brands have followed consumers to the platform en masse, as Foursquare has inked deals with the likes of Bravo, MTV, The Wall Street Journal and, most recently, Starbucks.

On Tuesday, our own Sarah Hofstetter, SVP of Brand Strategy & Emerging Media, will join Coca-Cola’s Roberto Mastrocola at WOMMA’s School of WOM conference to present a case study on how Coke Zero used Foursquare to leverage mobile, local and social and enhance its word of mouth efforts. Check the blog next week to view and download their complete presentation.

SCVNGR Steps Up the Location-Based Game

Last week, location-based network SCVNGR launched its consumer-facing app and has reported record traffic figures every day following the launch. As CEO Seth Priebatsch put it to TechCrunch, SCVNGR has seen “a ridiculous spike.”

Unlike rivals Foursquare and Gowalla, SCVNGR got its start by focusing on large organizations like the US Army, retail businesses and various colleges and universities, providing tools that allow enterprise clients to build their own mobile games based on real world challenges.

Now, SCVNGR has built out its consumer platform that allows individuals and businesses to create their own challenges at no cost. As we noted in a blog post earlier this week, SCVNGR offers challenges at any and every location, whether or not a marketer or venue owner is actively involved – and its database already includes over 20 million locations.

The opportunities are ripe for marketers, who can build their own challenges tied to venues, from their own locations to anywhere they want to be associated with. To create more involved and interesting experiences, marketers can even create treks, which are themed experiences tied to one location or a series of them. You can download the SCVNGR app here.

Rotten Tomatoes Brings Reviews to iTunes

Search for a movie today within the iTunes Store and you will notice a new feature that adds another layer to the process of browsing and purchasing flicks. As Mashable reports, iTunes movie listings now include content from the popular review site Rotten Tomatoes – allowing users to peruse ratings before they rent or buy a movie.

The new feature appears below the fold, and includes the overall Rotten Tomatoes “Tomatometer” score, in addition to a selection of top critics’ reviews.

Which headlines grabbed your attention this week? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment or sending us a tweet.

If you’ve conducted a simple search within Google lately – which, let’s face it, you probably have – you may have noticed a new and different variety of result type.  This type of result, one that has been labeled as “One Box”, “Snippets” or “Short Answers,” is becoming more persistent within the engine.  And no matter what Google decides to officially name these types of quick results, you can expect to see more of them in the future.

Whether you want to calculate a simple math equation or solve measurement conversions, Google is streamlining your answers. For example, if you have air travel plans, you can search Google for your airline flight status.  If you are interested in music, you can query your favorite music artists or songs. You can also search for new movie showings or times, and dates of birth or death.  Given the volume of these one-off searches, Google is aiming to increase user satisfaction by speeding up its delivery of the basic information we seek.

Where does the data come from?

Google pulls much of this data from data partnerships or its extended handling of Google Squared technology.  Though some of the answers come from direct partnerships – such as flight info with FlightStatus.com or music information from Pandora – others will come from leveraging and cross-referencing trusted sources, as well as utilizing structured data analysis, to confidently return direct answers that supersede traditional web results.

For online brands or marketers, this is yet another reason why many of the most lucrative top positions are becoming harder to achieve in natural search. However, it’s hard to dispute that these answers won’t be extremely helpful for Google users looking for fast information. That said, marketers have very little or no control when it comes to influencing these short answers snippets — something that might encourage the use of AdWords features such as “position preference.” While securing these top paid positions is generally a function of being reviewed, approved relevant and having a high CTR, this preference explicitly tells AdWords to only to run your ad if it will end up in specific positions.

How Marketers Can Leverage Structured Data

The future of the Web is HTML5, and part of HTML5 is increasingly structured data. The use of structured data is nothing new at Google, as Google announced Rich Snippets in May 2009.  While different than the aforementioned examples, Google Rich Snippets work off structured data already embedded into a brand’s web pages, enabling Google to display of enhanced information within its search results.  Google does this by looking for microdata, microformats or RDFa within a website’s HTML.

Yahoo also embraces structured data for results through their own Search Monkey standards.  Both Yahoo and Google programs evaluate RDFa markup, the official structured data format of HTML5.  Finally, other Google partnerships including those with Bazaarvoice, allow marketers to expose user reviews, by integrating this data to accompany Google’s search results.  Of course, a brand must have confidence in their product or services to render this type of user-generated feedback.

Google Example:

Yahoo Example:

Below are examples of various information types that can be packaged into these portable data formats via HTML web pages:

• Reviews
• People
• Businesses and organizations
• Events
• Recipes

Conclusion

Since Universal Search was introduced just over three years ago, Google’s delivery of specialized results at the top, based on a user’s language or “intent,” has simply continued.  Google local & map results are the most visible evidence in the Universal algorithm, but this just continues the trend. If results for your search can be pulled from an explicit data source, Google wishes to do so.

With the advent of microdata, in the form of microformats and the official HTML5 RDFa, the task is becoming much more achievable by Google, even to the point of cross-referencing the metadata of multiple sites to produce the single best answer. Achieving that top position on your keywords has become a bit harder to achieve – and at the same time, there is even less incentive for users to go beyond page one of results, or even scroll down.

Search engines will continually aim to improve speed and quality of results, something inevitably reliant on leveraging better data sources in a more efficient manner.  Through structured data exchange, feeds or microdata in HTML, marketers might start to appraise an upside of coding their pages accordingly.

Even if you are marking up you pages, Google will not guarantee these enhanced results, but they do offer a testing tool to ensure your data can be extracted correctly.  Plus, Google provides a web form to let them know you are marking up your content for rich snippets and interested in the program. This will only improve the chances of your rich data become displayed in the search results!

It’s still unclear how much impact the implementation of “Rich Snippets” or RDFa might yield, brands should notice a growing trend of structured data formats, enabling their content to be more accessible and standardized for open channels.  Marking up HTML pages to provide this extended relevance and portability will no doubt grow in importance.  A price is a price and a rating is a rating. Pages should no longer be treated as a page of a marketing brochure, or even as an Ajax-application, but rather as an opportunity to tell Google and other engines precisely what you mean.