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How Google Suggest will affect search
 Earlier this week we reported on Google Suggest, the latest search feature from the leading search engine. How will it affect what people search for and what sites they find?
Google Suggest provides a user with suggestions while they type into the search box. This sort of functionality has been available on other search engines for some time and has been available to some extent on Google as well. From this week however, it will be switched on as the default on all Google searches and will affect both the way people search and what keywords they use. This will have big implications for Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM) campaigns.
Suggesting keywords will probably result in fewer search terms being used. This will likely adversely affect longer terms (long tail keywords) and shorter, 1-2 word terms, focusing instead on a smaller number of "suggested" terms. This will mean the number of competitive terms, where large amounts of traffic can be sourced, will drop.
This decrease in the number of high volume keywords may affect both brand terms and non-brand terms. As previously mentioned, long tail terms (4 or more words) will likely produce less traffic than before - and for some sites, this could make piggybacking on other company's brand terms a more attractive proposition.
Naturally, this focus on certain keywords will have an effect on Pay Per Click (PPC) campaigns. As PPC campaign managers start to bid on suggested keywords, volumes will increase and push the cost of these keywords up. However, Google didn't get where it is today by trying to keep prices down. By having customers competing on a smaller number of keywords, the prices for those keywords will inevitably increase. This will most likely affect advertisers with smaller budgets or profit margins.
The number of spelling errors will drop; and whilst this is great for users, it will affect traffic for sites who aim to capitalise on misspelled words through SEO and PPC campaigns. Additionally, as Google will make suggestions based on terms that best satisfy an algorithm, it won't be long before someone tries to manipulate the terms that appear on Google Suggest to their own advantage.
As with normal search results, Google will likely tweak the algorithm over time. Small changes could, after all, yield drastic results in terms of site traffic. For instance, changing the algorithm to place more weight on brand term suggestions or localised term suggestions could have a major impact on a site's traffic. So, if your main keyword was "Green Cheese" and Google started to suggest "Green Cheese in London" and "Green Cheese in Scotland" - two terms that you aren't optimised for - this could take a big chunk out of the number of visitors to your site.
The extent to which Suggest will affect how people use Google is still open to debate. One theory is that it will be used predominantly by less-experienced or older searchers, whilst the Google generation is less likely to change their current searching habits. One thing is certain, however: the companies who will benefit from these changes are the ones who are most aware and take proactive steps to adapt. Search doesn't stand still for long and it pays to stay ahead of changes.
Digg This! | Save to del.icio.us | Reddit | Submit to Netscape | Google Bookmark This | Furl This | Add to Yahoo MyWeb 2 | Contact bigmouthmedia Google Suggest finally goes live
Over the next week, Google will finally add Google Suggest - an auto-complete feature for searches - to its homepage. First available from Google Labs almost four years ago, Google Suggest has expanded across the search giant's empire to Maps, the Firefox search box and YouTube - and, after much anticipation, will now be available for Google.com.
The auto-complete feature, similar to ones available from Yahoo! and other search engines, allows users to see the most commonly-searched phrases and number of search results for each phrase as it's typed into the search box. Once the service is fully rolled out, it will be enabled for all users by default, but until then it is available at the Google Suggest preview page.
Google Suggest, according to its creators, has three major advantages for users. First, it helps formulate queries: when typing "hotels in London" into the search engine, Google Suggest will show a number of related search terms, including "hotels in London UK" and "hotels in London Ontario", instantly refining the search terms to help users achieve the most relevant results.
It will also reduce spelling errors, since suggestions are spell-checked utilising the same technology employed by the "Did you mean?" feature, which offers alternative spellings for unusual or misspelt search queries. Google Suggest corrects these misspellings and typos live, meaning users won't have to go back to make amendments to searches.
The service also aims to reduce keystrokes. Instead of having to type "bigmouthmedia" as a search term, by the time "bigmo" has been entered, the complete term will be given as a suggestion.
When asked why it took four years for the feature to make it to its homepage, a Google spokesperson was quoted as saying: "Quality is very important to us, and since so many people visit the Google.com homepage, we wanted to make sure to evaluate and refine our algorithms to provide a good experience using Google Suggest."
While detractors will point out that some competitors' existing features - such as Yahoo!'s Search Assist - are more sophisticated and that Google Suggest could interfere with some users' existing auto-complete browser features, it will no doubt be a welcome addition to millions of Google users as the service is rolled out over the next week.
Digg This! | Save to del.icio.us | Reddit | Submit to Netscape | Google Bookmark This | Furl This | Add to Yahoo MyWeb 2 | Contact bigmouthmedia Google and Verizon in talks over a mobile search partnership
 American telecommunications company Verizon Communications and search engine giant Google are currently in discussions over a mobile search partnership. The deal would see Google become the default search engine on all Verizon devices, giving Google access to a potential user base of 68 million.
As well as utilising Google's search engine as a default search page, rumours are also abound of the possibility that Verizon will place the Google search bar on the home screen of all its phones. It may also add Google to its web portal and FiOS TV service.
Research from Neilsen mobile reveals that out of the 36 million Verizon Wireless consumers, around 13.1 million search the web. The research also shows that around 3.8 million use the network to access a search engine such as Google or Yahoo - however, only 2.3 million use the Verizon branded search engine which is currently the main search tool on the company's phones.
Both Verizon and Google would benefit financially from the deal by sharing revenue from advertising that is tied to searches. The Wall Street Journal speculates that "Google wants closer integration with carriers like Verizon so it can enhance the relevance of the ads it shows - for example, by making them sensitive to a user's location".
The companies are currently negotiating how much information Google can retain about Verizon's customers and their searches, with rumours suggesting that the deal could be closed in the next few weeks.
However, relations haven't been as friendly between the two companies in recent months - Google previously filed a petition asking Verizon to pledge that it would commit to the open access rules set by the FCC after the company acquired a brand of spectrum at a 700MHz auction. Could this partnership mark the end of old rivalries and the start of a beautiful relationship? We'll just have to wait and see.
Digg This! | Save to del.icio.us | Reddit | Submit to Netscape | Google Bookmark This | Furl This | Add to Yahoo MyWeb 2 | Contact bigmouthmedia Yahoo! and Samsung to bring the internet to your TV
 It's a question that plagues us all: how can I watch Neighbours and surf the internet at the same time without dropping my attention? Many of us are now used to taking in a variety of different media simultaneously, with the internet, mobile phones, the internet on mobile phones and so on - but are our televisions really primed to be the next portal for online digitisation?
Samsung Electronics could have the answer. Teaming up with popular internet company Yahoo!, Samsung is exploring ways to integrate the internet into its television sets, due for release at the end of this year.
It's not quite the exotic, simultaneous viewing/surfing dream we all want yet - the partners have decided to start us off slow by simply offering the option for viewers to include a rolling news feed on-screen while their programme runs. News items include bulletins from Yahoo!'s news, finance, shares and weather pages.
The move comes at a prime time for a new industry, as consumers become increasingly used to interactivity with media - from Big Brother eviction-style phone-ins to adding comments to blogs - so the chance to interact with television could be just what some people are looking for. Samsung believes that the key to success is to start slow rather than swamping users - many people see television as a passive activity and a sudden change could be unappealing.
However, Samsung's future vision is geared towards complete immersion and the company plans to make the television its main expansion product over the next five years. Samsung believes that television could become the heart of home entertainment, equipped with software that allows television sets to connect wirelessly to other devices automatically.
This isn't the only course Samsung is taking into the world of television interactivity. The electronics firm is also a part of the Yahoo! and Intel venture to bring internet widgets to televisions, which will see a small collection of widgets included seamlessly alongside TV programmes. As with the news feed idea, the plan is to include interactivity without being intrusive - something at which both endeavours appear quite likely to be successful.
Whether interactive television will take off is anybody's guess - but it's clear that consumers are becoming accustomed to connectivity through a variety of mediums. In many ways, it really only seems like so long before television becomes the next link in the interactive chain - and internet giant Yahoo! is making sure it's at the helm of it.
Digg This! | Save to del.icio.us | Reddit | Submit to Netscape | Google Bookmark This | Furl This | Add to Yahoo MyWeb 2 | Contact bigmouthmedia UK PR companies missing out on digital opportunity
Britain's biggest PR consultancies are failing to come to terms with the opportunities and challenges posed by the new media.
According to a survey of Britain's 100 leading press and public relations agencies, 79% of the industry's major players have yet to develop a set of online and social media services. Perhaps not surprisingly, over half of the agencies that do offer online PR are based in London, as the chart below displays.
Meanwhile - despite the steadily increasing importance of blogging as a media tool - 89% are still failing to publish their own blogs. Again, over half of the agencies that do maintain a blog are located in London.
Only 21% of the agencies surveyed included Internet PR as part of their service offering. Of those, however, only 14% of the operations that claimed to have new media covered published their own blogs.
Taken as a whole, only 11% of UK PR Consultancies use blogs to communicate with clients, colleagues and the wider marketplace.
London outfits appear to have taken a clear lead in embracing the expanding field. A clear 28% of the capital firms surveyed offer Internet PR, with 14% publishing their own blogs.
Companies from elsewhere in the UK fared much worse in the research, with 14% offering Internet PR and 8% publishing their own blogs.
"Despite finding that an increasing number of UK PR professionals are on the ball when it comes to online PR this survey confirms our experience that a high proportion are still more focussed on traditional media. However, given that this is most probably a reflection of client budget and resource allocations, perhaps what we should be asking ourselves is what this says about UK business' attitude towards online communications," said Adam Parker, Chief Executive of online news distribution company webitpr.
He added: "On a positive note, we feel that with steadily growing interest in the online world from both agencies and in house departments, the tide is beginning to turn. But if it is to properly address the challenges and opportunities that new media offers, the industry must invest in relevant services and training at all levels. Those failing to do so run the long-term risk of losing out in the inevitable battle for the online communications market."
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