Google's Real-Time Search Feature
OneUpWeb, an online research marketing firm recently performed an eye-tracking study regarding recent integration of Real-Time search results into the Google searches. With this addition,...
read more »The Unstoppable Growth of Social Media
Not to anyone’s surprise, Facebook , the most buzzed-about social network website has displaced Yahoo and became the second most visited website in the United States after Google....
read more »Online Video - Flash vs HTML5
The last few years have seen many changes on the Internet. Advanced online media, especially video, is proliferating websites and changing the way users experience the web. Most people believe this...
read more »Website Design and Online Marketing with Conversion Optimization In Mind.
At Logic Media, we strongly believe that having a great looking website that doesn’t generate any visitors or results is pointless. As the business owner, your goal should be to have a...
read more »Super Bowl Advertising
Now that we’ve had a chance to experience the most anticipated day in advertising industry, the day for the “clever” television commercial during the super bowl, it’s time to reflect....
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Logic Media · Recent Blog Articles
Google's Real-Time Search Feature
OneUpWeb, an online research marketing firm recently performed an eye-tracking study regarding recent integration of Real-Time search results into the Google searches. With this addition, Google’s goal is to update the real-time stream feed for searches based on live web traffic from tweets, news articles, Yahoo Answers and other sources. As of last three month you might have noticed a scrolling feature in the organic Google search results constantly updating with “relevant” information regarding your query.
Like the majority of the population, I’ve only recently learned of Real-Time search result concept. And considering my interest in the developments and changes in the search engine world and their marketing implication, I had to do some research and analysis.
After running a quick search on Google for Hurt Locker, it being the most recent “pop cultural event” due to the recent Oscar win, the Google search results did include a real-time stream. It included various publication reviews of the movie, opinions on the recent Oscar wins, and general public twitter feeds regarding the subject. How relevant or useful was the real-time results? Well, personally I didn’t find the real time results to be any more helpful than the regular organic results and somehow I assigned less credibility to the stream.
As for the result of the study, to no one’s surprise the vast majority of the survey group had never heard of real-time search results prior to the study and after learning about the concept only one quarter of the surveyed group cared about the real-time results. The real-time results could potentially be useful in some searches depending on general interests and information needs of the user; however, the organic search results do seem to be more relevant, and in most cases more credibility is assigned to the organic search results as opposed to the random public twitter feeds on the matter.
I do think that as social media continues to develop online, Google’s real-time results will consist of more relevant and useful information and carry more value for the end user. However, for not it’s still work in progress. It would be interesting to see how the real-time search feed continues to evolve and become a bigger part of the organic search results.
The Unstoppable Growth of Social Media
Not to anyone’s surprise, Facebook , the most buzzed-about social network website has displaced Yahoo and became the second most visited website in the United States after Google. Based on the latest traffic statistics from January 2010, Facebook’s unique number of visitors from Jan.09-Jan.10 hit 133,623,529, surpassing Yahoo’s numbers of 132,077,594 unique yearly visitors.
Of course, Facebook still has a long way to go in order to overpower Google for its number one spot in the nation with 147.8 million unique visitors a year, but when you compare the average amount of time visitors spend on the website, Facebook has a definite lead. The average United States user spend 11.6% of their time on Facebook, in comparison to 4.255% on Yahoo and 4.15% on Google.
When it comes to business and marketing, the implication for this shift is becoming more and more obvious--social media is already playing, and will continue to play a significant role in modern day marketing. Social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter have positioned themselves in a perfect position for extensive future revenue growth. Not only does Facebook draw vast amount of traffic, it also captures and involves visitor attention span for more time than any other website. Which, in the eyes of advertisers, makes Facebook a perfect duo of maximum number of eyeballs and maximum exposure time--in essence, marketing dollars well spent.
Today, Facebook stand in front of a great opportunity. Not only does the website provides high unique visitor traffic and high visitors involvement rates, it can also provide traffic and exposure information to its advertisers to establish the metrics to calculate the return on investment.
Current modern day marketing provides so many opportunities for advertisers to invest their marketing dollars in various forms. However, due to online shifts, only the marketing media that can provide measurable, quantitative results to their advertisers will be the ones capturing the advertising dollars and showing growth in the marketplace.
Online Video - Flash vs HTML5
The last few years have seen many changes on the Internet. Advanced online media, especially video, is proliferating websites and changing the way users experience the web. Most people believe this is a positive change, but not every website owner or designer is prepared for the impact.
In the past, Adobe’s Flash technology has been the most widespread way to distribute and embed video and other rich media into websites. Adoption has never been at 100%, but Flash was the de facto standard, and no other solution existed to reach the widest audience.
Fueled by the rapid adoption of the iPhone and iPod Touch which lack support for Flash, the new HTML5 specification is quickly gaining support and usage as the new, improved way to distribute video and other rich media on the Internet. Indeed, this new technology is the only way to target mobile devices such as the iPhone, iPod Touch, and the new iPad.
Support for HTML5 is not yet universal, but web browser manufacturers are catching up quickly. While it is important to embrace the future and deliver rich media in a modern, efficient way, website owners and designers should take care not to alienate users who are still on older technology. Clever use of browser testing can ensure that users who can experience video with the new technology get that experience, while guaranteeing those who aren't there yet can still enjoy the media the older way.
