Facebook and Bing Connect for a More Social Search

Yesterday Microsoft and Facebook announced that Microsoft is rolling out new features that will bring your Facebook 'experience' into Bing, their search engine. Could this mean that more people, particularly Facebook 'power users' may choose to use Bing over Google, currently the most popular search engine?

The new features include:

- "Facebook Profile Search" showing results from Facebook when you search on a name

- "Liked Results" Bing will include results based on things your Facebook Friends 'liked'

- You can change your Bing settings so that these features aren't shown in your results



and you can change your Facebook settings so that "You can prevent Bing from getting any info about you."

Google has been the most popular search engine by far for a number of years now, mainly because they do search so well. Some of their other products have taken off and become popular: Gmail, Chrome to an extent, and of course the Android mobile phone OS; but many of their other products have not done so well: Blogger is by far inferior to WordPress, Google Docs is far from displacing MS Office and Wave was a massive failure. Many people remain faithful regardless.

If the press coverage of the new Bing features carries on, and Facebook users start to go to Bing and find the integration very useful, this could mean a migration away from Google.

I think that if Facebook were to embed Bing search into it's interface it would make a greater impact, because it would then be right 'in the face' of the 500+ million Facebook users who would then get used to using Bing from an interface that they are very comfortable with.

Will Google be making another move to counteract this new development at Bing? Will they be bringing more personalised Twitter results into its search results? The recent development of Instant Search doesn't quite pack the punch of Bing's new features. Google has tried to include more personalised results by showing comments and starred results from your community of Google friends, but this community never really took off. I only have a couple of Google connections that show up in my search results, but I have hundreds of Facebook friends.

According to Danny Sullivan of Search Engine Land, "Potentially, Google should be able to get all the same information that Bing gets." (http://searchengineland.com/bing-now-with-extra-facebook-see-what-your-friends-like-52848). So maybe Google will work on breaking the barriers that Facebook has set up to this and start to include such information themselves.

This development may drive more site owners to include 'Like' buttons on their sites and for more Facebook users to click 'Like' buttons. That raises another question: Are the majority of these 'Likes' because someone does actually like the site/post or because they know the owner/author or have we just gone 'Like' happy clicking away at all the 'Like' buttons we see? Will this development bring quality to Bing searches or bring the quality down more?

I still think Google is a better search engine but I may be using Bing more, especially for results where I think that a Friend's opinion is important (ie "restaurants in Cork Ireland"), but maybe not for searches for pure information (ie "who was Henry VIII's last wife"). For searches like that latter it's unlikely there will be many sites that Friends have 'liked' anyway.

Google Places (aka Google Local Business, Google Maps) have brought a lot to search in that people can find businesses that are in a specific location and then see reviews from a wider audience. In Ireland, this is still in its infancy as there are still issues with results shown and a low number of businesses submitting to the service; but in the US it's a very popular search feature.

Is there room in my life for two search engines? One for personalised searches and one for everything else?

See more about this from Bing:

- The Bing blog post (New Signals In Search: The Bing Social Layer)

- Bing's Overview of the new features http://www.discoverbing.com/facebook/

More about this from the Social Media/Search Engine journalists:

- http://mashable.com/2010/10/13/facebook-bing-social-search/

- http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/10/bing-friends-facebook/

- http://www.allfacebook.com/live-from-the-bing-facebook-event-2010-10

- http://www.fastcompany.com/1694805/five-things-you-should-know-about-the-new-bing-facebook-features

What do you think? Do you use Bing already? Will you be using Bing more now? Are personalised searches important to you? Please post your comments below.

Google Instant - Findings of our Panel of SEO Experts

On the 9th of September Krishna De and I organised a panel of SEO experts for an online discussion on the newly launched Google Instant and it's impact on business owners.

Thanks to John Ring, David Quaid, Jill Whalen and Joost de Valk for joining us on such short notice and to Jessica Bowman, who couldn't make the session, but provided some of her insights in advance. We were very lucky to get a great panel like this on such short notice.

View replay of webinar here:

The main view seemed to be that whilst the new interface will have an impact for many users, it probably will not be necessary for SEOs to change their strategies much -- but mostly it's a bit too early to tell and business owners shouldn't panic, but as Jill Whalen commented, "watch the analytics" and see if there is an impact.

"Rankings will stay the same. Behavior may change."

- from Google Instant Launch

In case you haven't heard - and may not have yet experienced it for yourself, Google Instant, is Google's new interface where search results appear on the screen as you type your query in the search box. It combines Google's auto-complete feature with showing relevant results as you type.

My advice to SEOs and site owners is to go back to the basics of SEO:

Ensure that the title and description tags are carefully crafted to attract a click from the user quickly. This new interface may mean that users will focus more on the top of the page and that it will be even more important to be at the top of listings. When developing Google Instant, Google's research via eye-tracking showed that users already focused mainly in the area around the search box. Your organic listings will also be competing with AdWords listings that appear above the organic listings, which also seem a bit more prominent with Google Instant.

As many listings will be dominated with universal search results (i.e. map of Local Business listings, image results, etc.), it's important to make sure that you are getting content into these results as well. Optimise your images, videos and blog posts; and don't forget to submit your own Local Business listing.

Look again at your keyphrase research and ensure that the phrases coming up in Google's auto-complete are in your list of targeted phrases. More focus on auto-complete with instant results will mean that more people will be searching on 'long tail' (more specific) phrases so these will be an important part of the list. On our panel, David Quaid stated that he believed that users will be corralled into using certain search phrases, those that come up in the auto-complete, which will be most likely. There was also concern expressed by many on the internet that bigger brands, that will come up quickly as users start to type, will get an even larger share of clickthroughs.

If you haven't already optimised the speed of your pages loading, after Google's announcement earlier in the year that speed will impact on ranking, this would be a good time to check again. See Joost's post at http://yoast.com/site-speed-ranking-factor/.

On our panel, John Ring provided some great advice for AdWords advertisers, his area of expertise. His main point is that it's important for you to review your keyphrases and ad copy carefully now (in a similar manner to SEO advice above); and to watch analytics to see if this change impacts your results. There is concern that the number of impressions will shoot up and that users will be clicking on more generic phrases as they'll show up first (opposite to what is expected for for organic searches).

Have a listen to the replay and check out the great discussion on the topic. Get in touch if you'd like any further advice or assistance on making sure your site will get best results.

Here's a few helpful links:

- Google's Page on Google Instant
- Google Webmaster Blog post on Google Instant
- Matt Cutts' Thoughts on Google Instant
- Skitzzo's Google Instant Alphabet (for fun, showing what comes first for each letter of the alphabet)

Thanks to Krishna for moderating so well and handling the technical side of everything.

Google Instant - Webinar: What does it mean for Your Business?

I'm delighted to announce that later today I will be presenting a webinar with Krishna De of Biz Growth News entitled "Get the Inside Track on Google Instant and What it Means for Your Business"

The webinar will begin at 5pm BST (12pm ET) today 9th September 2010. You can register at http://www.bgn.bz/gweb.

Yesterday Google Launched it's next generation of search, Google Instant, where search results appear on the screen as you type your query in the search box. It combines Google's auto-complete feature with showing relevant results as you type. There was lot of talk about this new development on social media channels so we thought it would be a good idea to hold this session to discuss the facts and how Google Instant will impact on business owners.

In the session we will cover:

1. What Google Instant is and how it is being rolled out

2. What it means for site owners and digital marketing managers

3. What it means for users

4. What the implications are for businesses using Google Adwords

5. What actions we should take, if any, as a result of this new enhancement to Google Search.

and more...

We may also have a couple of special guests on hand.

Hope you can make it this evening.

New Website for West Cork Accommodation Provider: The Cottage Bar

Like the name says, The Cottage Bar & Restaurant is a bar and restaurant in Glengarriff, West Cork, which also offers bed & breakfast and self catering accommodation.

We stopped at The Cottage Bar for lunch on one of our first trips out to beautiful Glengarriff. I remember the friendly, homey atmosphere; so I was delighted when the Somers Family contacted me to do a website for them. They wanted to start out with a simple site that they could easily update themselves. The site is now live at cottagebar.ie and shows off all that the establishment has to offer from home style cooking and comfortable accommodation to a convenient location in one of West Cork's most scenic locations.

Many businesses in the tourism industry are having a really hard time now and those that relied heavily on passing trade and word of mouth referrals are finding that they need to step up their marketing efforts, especially online. Those that don't yet have a site are now getting one and those with basic sites are getting content management systems so they can update the sites themselves to change rates and add special offers as often as needed.

As the tourism & accommodation industries are so competitive on the internet it's important that these businesses make sure that their web developer is experienced in search engine optimisation or works with an SEO, like me, who specialises in tourism. A small website will have a hard time competing on a national basis for competitive search phrases as there are so many large directory sites that are strongly optimised; but a small site can compete for more local searches, especially if all SEO techniques are utilised; especially on-page optimisation with good relevant content and high quality incoming links. These days a good social media marketing campaign is a great way to get more exposure for your establishment.

Contact me if you would like to know more about online marketing for tourism related websites.

Looking for Things to do in West Cork? Check out the Lagoon Activity Centre Rosscarbery

The newly re-branded Lagoon Activity Centre has gone by many names in the past, like Ross Leisure and Ross Paddleboats, but for the most part people knew about it not by name but, as you drive along the N71 the main road through West Cork, seeing young people and families having a great time out on the beautiful lagoon. It'd be one of those places that you say you'll go to one day, but may never get around to doing it.

Now with a new website www.lagoonactivitycentre.ie, everyone will know the name of the establishment and that it's one of the best things to do in West Cork with all it has to offer: paddleboat, row boat and canoe rentals; as well as a coffee shop in one of the most scenic spots in West Cork. They cater for parties and groups, just give a call to arrange in advance.

It's a basic one page site, but with WordPress at its backend, the owners can add more pages and information as they see fit.

New Natural Skin Care Range from SallyMiller.ie

I've just finished adding the newest addition to The Sally Miller Collection of Natural Cosmetics: Natural Skin Care Ranges which include cleansers, toners and face creams available in either Citrus Blossom & Ginger, Winter Jasmine & Chamomile and Wild Rose & Sandalwood; each suited to a particular skin type. There is also a Refining Skin Polish and Moisture Rich Night Cream.

I can't wait to try them because all of Sally's products that I use are amazing and I know that she's been working hard over the past months carefully sourcing ingredients and developing this line!

The e-commerce website for The Sally Miller Collection, www.sallymiller.ie was set up in 2007. In the early days, the Collection mainly included aromatherapy bath and body products -- and my favourites, soy candles and lip balms which I find heal chapped lips in a couple of hours. All made by hand in Sally's workshop in Rosscarbery using quality natural products.

Sally had been selling aromatherapy products for a few years before this in conjunction with her aromatherapy and massage practice. She built a big following in West Cork, selling in local shops, salons and markets. Getting online helped her to reach a wider audience - including an increase in the number of quality shops that stock her products across Ireland. Two years ago Sally added a line of Shea Butter products which are very popular and are still on the website, as are many of the old favourites.

Sally's range of Gift Sets are a big seller on the site. She also makes up special items for corporate gifts and as favours for weddings and other special occasions. A couple of years ago we sent Sally's Winter Spice Candles to our clients for Christmas. I say 'WE sent', but I should say 'SALLY sent' as we provided the labels and she did all the hard work. We got a number of great comments on that gift and it made it so easy for us!

Click here to read more about Sally Miller.

Over the summer I will be working with Sally to set up some Social Media channels so that we can keep people informed on her products, how to use them and provide helpful information on aromatherapy, skin care, etc.

60 Ways to Increase Your Influence Online: "The Influencer Project"

I think it was Krishna De that posted on Facebook about The Influencer Project and that's where I heard about it. "60 Speakers in 60 Minutes" talking about how to increase your influence online in the "shortest marketing conference ever" which broadcast last night at 6pmET (so 11pm here, not too bad for me). And it was FREE, so to me this was perfect. I've been listening in on a variety of webinars on about a weekly basis, but I've found that I've hit about all of those relevant to me and I've gotten to the point where I just get frustrated because I've got points I want to add and while some webinars do provide you with a way to ask questions, mostly they don't feature two way conversations. Now the Influencer Project was not going to be a way to provide input, at least not directly on the webinar, but it is an interesting new concept with 60 of mostly top social media professionals, so definitely worth a listen.

I did find I did have a way to make my points by posting on twitter using #influencer, though the points were not in depth as it was hard enough concentrating on the 60 minute spots (especially as I was also doing some other work at the time) and I did make some possible good connections with others following #influencer and got a few more followers on Twitter.

Luckily there will be an mp3 and PDF transcript to go back and review, but for now I thought I'd relate my points made during the original webcast (as with the Twitter feed, it's in reverse chronological order:

What do you already have that other people don't -- get someone else's POV to look at it for you #influencer

Again, not just about products - entertain, inform, inspire #influencer

@timeontaskva Will need to go back to that minute! Find gifted upandcommers, become an advocate & create an advocate for life #influencer

Oh, a nice deep moment - listen for the silence #influencer
- need to go back and see who that was, because it was a refreshing moment!

business model before pursuing fame for fame's sake #influencer<- downfall of many people

Share ideas liberally #influencer <- also a big theme tonight

Listen! #influencer

I like the way Hank is thinking #influencer

- that was @hankwasiak - will definitely start following him!

Get active in other people's communities - spread where your voice can be heard #influencer

repeat your tweets @guykawasaki #influencer <- still not sure on the frequency of doing this

- Then @guykawasaki replied to that and we had a short conversation on the concept that ended with him saying "no guts no traffic"! So looks like guts is one of the things I need to work on!

become the master, the owner of one specific niche online then do webinars to teach others how to do this #influencer

A lot of people talking about going offline #influencer we probably do get too comfortable behind the keyboard

Make the people around you more successful than yourself #influencer

make something worth talking about (unique, inspiring, awesome) #influencer <- that's the hard part!

Share good content *check* #influencer

Learn to talk more about other people #influencer

Try to be early in the news cycle #influencer <- excellent point

Defy convention where it's appropriate #influencer

Get good at filtering and aggregating content #influencer <- Amen!

Don't be afraid to have a point of you & share freely throughout the web (w/social bling) #influencer

Get co-billed with people with the same audience, difference services/products #influencer

If people can identify with your story they feel a part of what you are doing #influencer <- I get that!

Look for multiple circles, multiple spheres of influence #influencer

Test Drive 3 digital trends per month (or week?) #influencer
- it was per month

So I made points on about 20 of the 60 items. There was some repetition between the points, as you'd expect. There were some points that I didn't think worth commenting on as it was the same old jargon that you hear over and over, as you'd also expect, but there was very little of that. Mostly it was plain talking about the basic concepts that most of us overlook on a day to day basis because we are too busy getting on with things - or for some, too caught up in just trying to make themselves look good as opposed to relating, sharing, interacting with others.

The one point that I think struck home with me the most -- and I now notice that I didn't comment on at all -- was about consistency, as it builds trust amongst your community. A couple of the speakers talked about having a consistent voice, but for me the challenge is in consistency of my activity in my own social media activities to ensure that I have a strong body of content that is interesting and timely. Because, unlike the majority of these speakers and other online marketing consultants that I consider to be top of the field, I also do web development and implementation of search engine optimization and social media techniques for clients, which is very time consuming, my own marketing takes a back seat (like finally moving this blog into my site with WordPress)! Guess it's time I listen to my own advice and get down to some good old fashioned time management techniques!

So sign up for the mp3 and PDF transcript at http://influencerproject.com and check this out for yourself and let me know your ideas on the 60 points.

If you want to connect with me, click here to see where I am across social media channels or basically follow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/ann_donnelly

Go ahead and kick my butt if you see me falling outside any of these good concepts (especially on consistency and time management)!