Search Engine Optimization

The worlds of SEO and social media were rocked the other day when Bing announced they will incorporate Facebook data into their search results for the most personal social-search integration to hit the web. What does this mean for the user? If you search for something on Bing and are logged into your Facebook account, you will see which pages, products and websites your friends Like and recommend high in the results, regardless of where that page ranks in the general SERP.

Back in October 2010, Bing one-upped Google be forming a partnership with Facebook, establishing the importance of social factors on search results. The amount of information shared between Facebook and Bing was limited, but the foundation was set. Then in February of this year, Bing announced they were incorporating Facebook Like data into their search results. The newest integration is the most personalized to date.

According the Bing blog,
…Bing is bringing the collective IQ of the Web together with the opinions of the people you trust most, to bring the “Friend Effect” to search…you can receive personalized search results based on the opinions of your friends by simply signing into Facebook. New features make it easier to see what your Facebook friends “like” across the Web, incorporate the collective know-how of the Web into your search results, and begin adding a more conversational aspect to your searches. Decisions can now be made with more than facts, now the opinions of your trusted friends and the collective wisdom of the Web.

Check out this video from Bing about the Facebook information integration

Here are a few things Bing and Facebook have done to create a personalized search like none before:

1. Instantly see which stories, content and sites your Facebook friends have “liked.”
2. Bing will surface results, which may typically have been on page three or four, higher in its results based on stuff your friends have liked.
3. Bing shows well-liked content, including trending topics, articles and Facebook fan pages, from sites across the web.
4.By combining Facebook’s communication tools with Bing, search can become conversational and turn decision-making on Bing from a passive experience to an active dialogue.
5.Bing not only shows you what your friends like and share online, but also what major brands and companies are saying.

Some are saying that this integration has changed the face of SEO forever. Others are saying it’s still not enough to take on Google.

How do you think the Facebook-Bing integration will affect SEO?

Google’s new innovation was just matched this week by a developer at Microsoft who was rumored to have written the application in just over a day.

Even more amazing is perhaps the short run that Google had with being the only kid on the block with the instant search toy.

It appears that Microsoft has built its own instant search using Bing APIs and some low-key timing settings. This accounts for a slight lag but it is predicting results as soon as you start typing keywords. It then works by analyzing 100 milliseconds between each key stroke, and as soon as you pause, bing references the api to get the suggestions.

I personally tried the application, and for all intents and purposes, it feels like the Google instant search. I didn’t really notice much of a relevance difference nor quicker results; pretty much it is the same application in my experience.

You can try the new application for yourself, currently at www.binginstant.com.

However, progress is rarely without cost, and it appears that in the wake of the Yahoo and Microsoft partnership, Search Advertisers could be the ones paying for all this innovation.

The effect of this new partnership is perhaps a possible rate hike of about of 64% for unbranded keywords and 78% for branded keywords. Keep in mind that while this seems outrageous, you can minus 50% if you had formerly advertised on both Yahoo and Bing; now they are one and the same from an advertiser standpoint, so you are only able to place ads with Microsoft now. The high cost is mostly a result of supply and demand, no matter how you shake it; cut the supply in half, the price must go up.

In fact, even after this pricing rollercoaster all shakes out, Bing’s paid-search advertising could stay up to 23% higher than before the partnership. This is because CPC is expected to increase at the same time as the shift from using both Yahoo and Bing, goes to just using Microsoft alone.

So while advertisers will pay a premium, the end users will collect benefits. Microsoft recently stated that it is going to essentially “pay for you to play” with regard to Bing.

They are rolling out a points / reward program that will encourage you to stay on Bing, try out its applications, and use its searching.

To start, you can receive 250 credits just for signing up and then you get more credits by jumping through a few Microsoft hoops or even just doing some Bing searches; all on their terms.

How will this work and what terms are required to get to the good stuff?

Well, if you set your browser search to default to Bing, or if you try some of the new Bing features, then for every five of these new Bing searches you get a credit which tops out at eight credits per day.

But you cant just start earning points, there are a few rules and step that need to be followed.

First, to get started, you must install the new “Bing Bar” on your computer. This is how they are going to keep track of the new points system.

Keep in mind however, this can only be accomplished by both having and running your Windows Live ID.

If you do not have this, it is fairly easy to get and its free. Given that this is all Microsoft’s idea, it makes sense and is really not too much to ask.

So after you secure your Window’s live ID, you may not necessarily be done.

One obvious requirement is that you must be using a Windows-based computer; Google’s Chrome, Firefox, or Apple’s Safari wont get you through the door this time.

They may have started as open source, but there is one truism when they give things away at Microsoft;
nothing is ever free.

Algorithms are in the news this week and as far as that goes, this year.

In a surprising change, Yahoo and Bing are partnering up to take on Google.
Bing, to those who remember, used to be called “Live Search” and as part of the new deal is now going to power Yahoo searches.

Yahoo and Microsoft have been conspiring to take more of the market that Google has seemingly dominated  in recent memory.

This new partner ship between the two search engines, is projected to capture 31 percent of the market share, while Google maintains an approximate 85 percent share.

Despite this change in services, Yahoo insists that search functionality will not change.

For example, webmasters will still be able to use the “Build your Own Search Service”, Yahoo! Query Language, and Site Explorer.

In a less popular change, developers will now have to pay for utilizing the tools which used to be for free.

This deal only covers the search results portion of Yahoo services; other services will not be affected by the change except one; The only real casualty will be Yahoo SearchMonkey.

The Search Monkey service will shut down on October 1st and any associated third party custom result applications, infobar applications, and data services will also be affected.

What does this mean to the end user? You have a little over a month to say goodbye to the monkey.
The final breakdown of the Yahoo-Microsoft agreement will go as follows: back-end crawling, listing, and ranking technologies that generate search results will be handled by Microsoft. Presentation of the results, save a  “Powered by Bing” message at the bottom of the results page, will be handled by Yahoo.

Visually, it should improve searching.

Not to sit back and watch this happen, Google recently acquired Like.com, a visual search engine website for a rumored $100 million.

The idea it appears is to enhance Google’s initiatives towards visual searching.

Like.com’s searching technology, when added to the Google line up, has the real possibility of transforming online shopping to resemble more social media than e commerce.

Theorized changes include; ability to upload personalized photos with the intent to allow a search engine to virtually try on clothing and pre-fit and pre-try on color and style combinations for the best possible outcome.

This is not new technology per-SE, as Like.com made its debut in 2004 as Riya.

Its attraction is the algorithms that were developed to search for things like bags, clothes, shoes, and jewelry.

Essentially it can understand what “red shoes” and “black skirts” look like, and the algorithm cross-matches items to uncover the right combination for the desired look.

As the Yahoo modification is slated to take as long as until 2012 to complete, Google is looking to implement its changes in a more timely manner, so we may see an easier online shopping Christmas season.

One thing these changes have in common, is that visual elements in our searching have become more desirable than text based functionality, and this will prove more and more challenging to enforce going forward.

To me, this highlights the need for professional enforcement and monitoring and just reinforces what many of us already know;  the only constant on the Internet is change.