Google Instant - An Instant Problem?

Our twitter feed exploded last week with phrases such as ‘SEO is dead’ and ‘what’s going to happen to PPC?!’ when Google decided to launch ‘Google Instant’, their quicker and, as the name suggests, instant search results update. If you haven’t had the chance to try it out yet (it will soon be live for all the UK), basically any search results appear immediately as you begin to type. For example, type in ‘Big’ and before you can finish typing, search results and ads relevant to the keyword ‘big’ will appear instantly.

Now continue to type ‘blue’ and again, results appear instantly before you even finish writing the whole word, giving results for ‘Big Brother’ the TV series (now thankfully over), to ‘big blue filter’ ads when typing ‘big blue’.

Now im after a big blue sofa (who isnt?) so how has this affected my search? Have the new instant results helped my search? If I am trying to find a blue sofa, is an ad for blue filters really improving Google’s relevance?

To the user, this is only a small problem, as they can complete their full phrase search and find what they are looking for if the results beforehand don’t do the job. But for an advertiser, it could cause complications. Whilst searching for my big blue sofa with the words ‘big blue’, I stopped to look at the results and paused for about 4 seconds before continuing to type. In this 4 seconds, the ‘big blue filter’ ppc ad was shown, and according to Google, after a minimum of 3 seconds, an impression is recorded on the ad. I fail to see any results that would be of use to me and my search, therefore I continue typing the remainder of my search query. For the advertiser, this change will have a direct impact on impressions and CTR, but on the flip side, ‘predictive queries’ will inevitably expand reach and exposure to a larger audience than before.

On the evidence, it is vital that advertisers accept and adapt their strategies in line with Google Instant developments. A change in customer behaviour is inevitable for users searching online - knowingly searching with shorter keyword phrases because they have learnt that this is all they need to do from now on. In short, PPC is likely to be fine, it’s just a question of adapting after the initialperiod of ‘organised chaos’ which is inevitable whilst advertisers adapt and settle into the idea - changing the way we treat impression count and expanding keyword lists to focus on combinations of generic and long tail keywords to beat competiton.

As for SEO, all Instant has done has moved the goalposts. SEO strategies must now shift in-line with the implications of Instant:

- Use a greater combination of search phrases - generic, long tail and alternative keywords so you show up no matter what the variations a searcher may use

- Descriptions need to be all the more clear as users have less time than ever before to select their destination website

- When compiling SEO keywords and phrases, take into account Google’s suggestions to the user, as these will become more important and convenient to the user.

The main implication to SEO in my opinion is the need for more research, more detailed keyword analysis, and ultimately even more effort - Instant only ‘kills’ SEO if you’re not prepared to work for it.

In other news, Facebook have launched their Facebook Places in the UK today, allowing users to ‘check in’ with their exact locations, indentifying where you are in the world to your friends whether they want to know or not……I just hope some ‘friends’ don’t use this information to time a well executed robbery at your home, knowing exactly where you are…..and if they do, I just hope they don’t take my brand new big blue sofa.

The Wilderness Downtown

Showcasing the increasingly creative uses that are being applied to HTML5, Arcade Fire have teamed up with artist Chris Milk to develop an interactive video set to the band's track We Used to Wait.

Called The Wilderness Downtown, it is an online project using the Google tools Maps and Street View to incorporate images of the users hometown into the video.

Viewers begin the experience by providing their childhood address. The video experience then unfolds in multiple windows, taking viewers on a tour of their hometown to the tune of the Arcade Fire track. Users can also write a note to their younger selves in a tree branch-inspired font that is incorporated into the video.

http://www.thewildernessdowntown.com/

3 Departures, 2 Arrivals

Voyages-SNCF - the French rail network have a customer proposition based around going further than imagined. To bring this to life they staged a variety of different performances at Paris Gare De L'Est



This is another great example of how engaging activity can drive PR, viral content, visititors to youtube etc which far outweigh the cost of the original idea.

Facebook Places

Facebook yesterday finally launched its long awaited first steps into the location sharing market with the introduction of its Places feature. It is currently only available in the US, but the UK is expected to be brought online soon. Is this the death knell for the existing players, such as Foursquare and Gowalla? Time will tell. Those companies were present at the launch and are putting a positive spin on the news, gambling that Facebook will help bring location sharing into the mainstream.

New Cadbury Campaign - Spots vs Stripes

Loving the new Cadbury Fish / Spots versus Stripes ad on so many levels





First the ad is beautifully shot, nothing to do with chocolate, but entertaining and funny none-the-less. Then the full gamut of social media attached to it makes it so much more of a campaign. The You Tube link even has spots and stripes as background wallpaper.

The website invites you to join in an interactive set of games, choosing whether you want to be on the Spots team or Stripes team.
http://www.spotsvstripes.com/homepage.aspx

They even have a separate facebook page for each (genius) as well as twitter and email updates. Finally, (and more debatably) they even have posters advertising the online game. Whether advertising to advertise advertising is appropriate is debatable, but this really is an integrated on and offline strategy that cuts through. The only critique is whether they'll sell any chocolate on the back of this. There certainly is no obvious link.

ABC Circulation Data Review – January-July 2010

Home Interest

The latest ABC release shows a stellar performance from magazines in the Home Interest sector, with all titles seeing an increase in circulation compared with this time last year.

The overall market, which seems to be the least affected by the recession, has seen a positive 4.3% year on year upturn.

NatMag's Good Housekeeping remains the most popular title in the category with a substantial lead on its nearest competitor, IPC's Ideal Home.

However, Hubert Burda Media UK, which has seen mixed results in other sectors, can boast the highest percentage increase this year. Your Home was up by almost 14% to more than 130,000 copies.

It was also an exceptionally good period for Elle Decoration, 25 Beautiful Homes, Country Homes & Interiors and Country Living.

TV Listings

It was a poor period for TV Listings magazines, with only two titles managing an increase in circulation.

TV Choice remains the most popular listings magazine among television viewers, with IPC's What's On TV as its closest competitor. However, both titles saw their circulations decline this year.

IPC Media's TV & Satellite Week and H Bauer's Total TV Guide were the only titles to boost their circulations this year.

However, these increases weren't enough to prevent an overall market decline of 4.3% year on year. Although, the closure of H Bauer's TV Quick may provide a small boost to other TV Listing titles in the next release.

Women’s Weekly

It was a mixed period for the Women's Weekly magazine sector. Like most other sectors, some titles did exceptionally well while others struggled to maintain their circulations in a post-recession market.

However, having said that, the overall market is up 3.8% on this time last year, which is hopefully an indication of a continued rise.

Take A Break has a clear lead on its rival titles at the top of the Women's Weekly sector, with an impressive total of more than 855,000 copies, despite seeing some of its readers drop off over the year.

The biggest story has to be Northern & Shell's performance. Owner Richard Desmond, who has diverted his attention to Channel 5 in recent weeks, will be pleased with New! and Star's results. The titles have seen a remarkable improvement on last year's figures, with year on year increases around the 40% mark.

In contrast, the media tycoon might not be so overjoyed with OK!'s performance. The weekly title, which is perhaps one of the most well-known celebrity magazines, suffered a significant drop this period.

Hubert Burda Media UK also had a mixed six months. The publisher's Full House magazine has enjoyed a substantial boost to its circulation compared with this time last year, however, the former News International title Love It! continues to see a significant drop.

Women’s Monthly

Condé Nast's Glamour still tops the Women's Monthly sector with a total circulation of more than 526,000 copies, despite seeing no change over the year.

The handbag-sized magazine's circulation remains similar to this time last year, however, its two closest competitors have lost readers, which will have helped it maintain its leading position.

Despite being the second and third most popular titles in this sector, ASOS.com and NatMag's Cosmopolitan have had a poor quarter, both suffering year on year declines. However, they aren't the only ones. A total of 13 titles in our Women's Monthly analysis saw their circulation figures drop this year.

Cosmo, Pyschologies, Candis and Spirit & Destiny posted the highest year on year percentage declines.

However, its not all doom and gloom in the Women's Monthly sector - a number of titles enjoyed a boost this period, including IPC Media's woman&home, Essentials and InStyle. NatMag's Prima, Harpers Bazaar and Zest also performed well, as did Hachette Filipacchi's Red.

Of the 25 titles in our Women's Monthly analysis, the total circulation is down 1.3% on last year.

Men’s Lifestyle

Shortlist remains in poll position after a small year on year increase, while fellow freebie Sport has held on to second place, despite posting an identical figure to this time last year.

NatMag's Esquire was one of the few paid-for titles to put in a good performance, up by more than 10% on last year. Bristol Magazine's BBC Focus also had a relatively good period.

However, many of the leading titles put in weak performances, which is reflected in the overall market result - down 3.7% on last year.

FHM, Nuts, Zoo and Loaded all posted significant declines between 18 and 27%. Men's Health also saw a small drop but has managed to retain its position as the most popular paid-for Men's Lifestyle magazine.

Google makes changes to its trademark policy

Last week Google made the – not so surprising – announcement that they will be relaxing their UK trademark guidelines on September 14^th, allowing advertisers to use 3^rd party trademarks within ad copy even if they do not own the trademark. The full text of the announcement is available here: http://tiny.cc/3dfbm.

This move brings the UK in line with the current policy adopted in the USA.

Google have been quick to clarify that this change will only affect 3^rd parties: resellers, sellers of component parts, etc. This addition to the announcement should ensure a degree of protection against competitors; but will it?

Although Google’s clarification is clear, this policy shift inevitably opens the door for confusion, complications and ultimately price increases. We feel that changes will be small in the initial period following September 14^th and in fact the biggest change is likely to come about following the outcome of the Interflora Vs M & S trademark infringement battle, which is due to reach the European Court of Justice in 2011. (http://www.brandrepublic.com/News/867889/Interflora-takes-legal-action-against-M-S-Google-AdWord-bidding/)

We will be contacting all of our search clients individually with recommendations going forward, but if you would like to discuss how this may affect your business please drop us an email.