Search: What's the Big Deal?

Our class with Professor Rutz was a second go-around for me, and this time there were 3 key points that I took away:

• There is a value to both paid and unpaid search placement
• We are not the average internet users--while SOM students know "where to look" for organic search, the average internet user still seems to be fooled by paid search placement at the top of the screen
• It's crucial to test your model against a control group decision strategy to make sure that it's a useful tool, not just a pretty spreadsheet

However, a year after hearing the lecture for the first time, I've also got some opinions (and data) of my own.

Google's search functionality is losing ground. What's important now and for the future?

• Social search. Facebook has now overtaken Google in terms of page views, and in many cases is now the #1 referrer to any given website. That means we're now discovering branded content via our social graph more often than we're looking for anonymously linked content. This seems to be especially important for long tail content where consumers may not be seeking out the brand by name.
  
• Real time search. Twitter now serves 19 billion searches per month, more than both Yahoo and Bing (though still woefully short of Google's 88 billion). Where Google's algorithm focuses on linked content (giving particular weight to content that has been around a long time), Twitter turns this on its head and focuses on current content. This seems to be particularly important for brands who are focusing on thought leadership (policy issues, consultants, VC's, celebrities, journalists, etc)
  
• Push search. Foursquare "pushes" information to users about brands in their immediate area, rather than waiting for users to seek it out. Foursquare also rewards users for seeking out new information/brands. This puts control back in the hands of marketers, and seems to be very useful for consumer goods and local businesses.
  

I also vehemently disagree that SEO is something that should be left to the IT staff. The tools and techniques of Search Engine Optimization are at the fingertips of every marketer. Online copy should be written with SEO in mind. You can find more information on Copyblogger, and a bit more nuts and bolts from Avinash Kaushik.

How do you search for information?