Bing has arrived in South Africa with local search

It has taken Microsoft many long years to finally realise that the reason no-one liked MSN Search and Live Search was because there was no immediate way to filter out results from other countries. It used to be the case of "Good luck finding a SA Company". Well Microsoft have finally stepped up to the plate with Bing which is a search engine that does indeed compete with Google in the fact that it has the "only for South Africa" option. The majority of website users in South Africa are looking for local products and local sites which is what has put Google ahead of the game for many years as it has been the only major search engine to offer this option.

Microsoft has invested over $100-million in advertising for their “Decision Engine “ search engine. As they try to get more than 8% of the US search market, my guess is that they will now see more of their market share coming from their international users because of this local search feature.

So what is so different about Bing?

From a first-off impression I was not very impressed. When I first logged onto Bing I was sure that I was staring at a Google clone.

• The layout was the same except for Bing having a pretty interactive picture in the background.
• The links all seamed to mark the same options as Google
• The search results (SERPS) were identical to Google with the standard blue links and green URL reference
• The preferences and options are identical
• The cached page option is identical
• Windows Live is the same as iGoogle and Bing Maps is very similar to Google Maps
• Microsoft Advertising which is Microsofts PPC looks exactly like Google Adwords and are in the same place on the page

At first I thought that this was a mistake by Microsoft, but the more I thought about it the more I thought that they really did not have a choice. There was no way to take on a legend like Google so the old saying goes “If you can't beat them – Join them”. Microsoft took the Google shell that users are used to and tweaked it by adding slightly more functionality. Some very neat additional features you will notice are as follows:

• The very cool extra content pop-out which is located by hovering to the right of the individual results. The great thing about this is that it also gives you a few of the target pages' internal links.
• The related search bar to the left of the results is quick and easy to access
• Their image search is much better presented to the user
• They have integrated Bing into MSN Search so that it searches Bing by default.
• They have the very cool "Popular Now" link which shows the top searches (only on the Bing.com and not the Bing.co.za)

How will Bing effect SEO companies

Bottom line is that SEO companies will now have to cater for Bing just as much as they did for Google. These companies need to start to use the tools that Bing offers like Bing's Webmaster Tools and Bing Maps. Microsoft is starting to cater for South Africa so will need to make sure we stay ahead of the game by trying out their product. The search results in the pages are different, if your site was #1 on Google it may be #8 on Bing. The two search engines may look very similar but behind the scenes they use different algorithms for their search so the SEO company needs to adjust to that.

Will Bing gain search market share in South Africa?

My answer is "Yes". Many South Africans use MSN Messanger and other Microsoft programs that may make Bing their default. There is a chance that if South Africans can get the same sort of local results that they would usually get from Google then they may indeed embrace the concept.

Google Enhancements Place More Emphasis on Content

The latest improvements to Google’s algorithm place greater emphasis on quality content. Ori Allon, who was responsible for developing the breakthrough Orion algorithm blogs about the integration of new technology which results in a great enhancement of users search experience.

Relevant content has always attracted excellent search engine ranking. Content which is interesting, relevant and frequently updated ensures that web-pages are indexed and served in search engine results pages. Content is therefore every websites foremost SEO concern. Last week, the search engine leader Google announced two improvements to their search engine results pages, both of which place even more emphasis on relevant content.

The two improvements which have caused so much excitement in the Internet marketing industry include an expanded list of useful related searches and the addition of longer search result descriptions. Now, this may not sound like much to the average marketer or business owner but to Internet marketer's across the globe these seemingly minute details have great implications.

The announcement came from the desks of Google's Ori Allon, Technical Lead: Search Quality team and Ken Wilder: Snippets Team Engineer. Ori Allon, as a research student in Australia developed the Orion Search Engine which was considered "revolutionary" for its ability to deliver search results not only for a specific keyword but also for phrases related to the key search term. Google purchased the rights to the Algorithm from Ori Allon in 2006 before hiring him to work at their California headquarters.

In a 2005 Interview Allon was quoted as saying "By displaying results to other associated key words directly related to your search topic, you gain additional pertinent information that you might not have originally conceived, thus offering an expert search without having an expert's knowledge." At the time even Bill Gates agreed that Orion would have far reaching implications for search saying "We need to take the search way beyond how people think of it today. We believe that OrionTM will do that."

Related search results appear at the bottom of the search engine results page. According to Allon and Wilder, the technology deployed last week allows the search engine to "better understand concepts and associations related to your search". This is the height of intuitive web technology. It means that search results are now even more relevant to input queries serving up not only what you need to know but what you did not even know to ask for. The second search engine enhancement applies to longer search queries. The results returned for longer queries are now more detailed and include a longer description. Together, the two improvements are an indication of Google's strong focus on quality results.

With this move Google have once again placed themselves way ahead of the competition. I predict it will be a long time before other search engines catch up. In the mean time Google will continue to gain market share. Once again looking at this from an Internet marketer's point of view, my advice to companies whose businesses depend on the sales generated through Internet marketing is to invest in content and reap the long-term SEO benefits that it delivers.

Personalised Search takes on new meaning with the launch of Google SearchWiki

Cyberspace has, in the past few days, been abuzz of news about the launch of Google’s SearchWiki feature (official announcement) . There is much speculation at this stage about what this move will mean for Internet Marketing in general and Search Engine Optimisation in particular.

In the last year or so, changes in search engine results have reflected a greater propensity for multimedia content. Whilst a focus on content has been the order of the day there has been talk about moving towards a more personalised search experience. Personalised search whereby the search engine uses your web history to “understand” your preferences and deliver personalised results, has been a signed–in feature on Google since early in 2007.

Google’s SearchWiki is also a signed-in feature (meaning that only users with a Google account have access to it). SearchWiki allows users to personalise their search results by moving a result to the top of the page. Users can also delete pages from the results and comment on pages within the results. Their comments can be viewed by all signed-in users and they can view comments made by other users. Take note: this feature is currently only available on Google English (US) version.

The Upside of SearchWiki

The biggest advantage of SearchWiki is greater personalisation. The ability to ensure that the page you favour appears first in your results allows you to access the information you require with greater ease and reliability. Likewise, the ability to delete those pages which add no value to your search results is also wonderful whilst the ability to comment on pages and view the comments of other users gives the search action a social dimension. Allowing users to share their value judgements with one another makes search a much more interactive experience.

The Downside of SearchWiki

Some users may find that these added features make the search results appear more cluttered although my personal opinion is that they blend in quite well.

In most cases organic search results ensure that the most desirable results appear first. It is possible that if SearchWiki is overused it will limit the user’s inclination to learn new things. If a user prefers a single source and only visits that page repeatedly in their online search for a particular term they will hamper their chances of receiving new and important data.

The no.1 complaint from users of SearchWiki is that it cannot be turned off. The only way to turn it off is to sign-out from Google and for many that is not an option.

The comment section of SearchWiki is open to advertising as well as spam, but I'm sure Matt Cutts and his team have thought about this and will find a way to combat negative comments and inappropriate meterial.

The Googleside of SearchWiki

SearchWiki will provide Google with valuable information about their user’s likes and dislikes. If they chose to utilise this information it could aid them in delivering even better search results. The question is, will data gleaned from SearchWiki affect Google Bot’s algorithm? It stands to reason that if the data could improve search results they may come to factor it in at some stage.

Regardless of Google’s next move the launch of SearchWiki, means that the editorial role of ordinary Internet users has and is growing. This shift intensifies the focus on content, and makes it that much more important for Internet Marketers to provide users with a feature rich and satisfying online experience.