An image or a video: which is more powerful? An image that speaks a thousand words? Or a moving image that talks a thousand images? Google Search has its own interpretation that you can read through the way it positions its tabs (i.e. in the navigation bar). It’s a changing searchscape and if you don’t watch out, they can disappear under your very name!
Veni, video, vici
I remain intrigued how much Google is playing with its Google Search home page and the shuffling of its search options. Have you ever noticed how different the tabs in the navigation bar will show up in your search — even for the same request? I am no daily tracker, but it is easy to lose sight of just how much change is actually going on. All it takes is to peer over someone else’s shoulder to see how their results are different and you will be amused if not bemused by the variations. Not enough of us are doing that, I would wager. Google is in constant motion. We get settled in our comfort zone (aka our regular desktop or laptop) while things are changing without our notice.
+You – Search (text) – Images – Maps – Play – YouTube
Now you see it…
White Google Navigation
As the black navigation bar above shows [N.B. this bar is being or already has been phased out – see right for the new set up], Google’s ‘social network’ Google+ (i.e. “+You”) is in pole position. This reaffirms how important Google+ is for Google and, thus, should be for digital marketing professionals. I continue to be an advocate of Social Search and, therefore, how important it will be adjoin one’s social media strategy with the search marketing strategy. {Click to Tweet if you agree!} Normal “Search” (= web or text) is, meanwhile, still the predominant option. However, thereafter, the options change constantly, even for the same search term, according to the browser and whether or not you are logged in to Google. The options even can change from one minute to the other, including when you stay in the same browser.
Web – Shopping – Images – News…
When doing search requests for my name without quotation marks, on virtually all of the results, the options were presented with Shopping as the second option. Images were in third and Videos were in the drop down menu. Meanwhile, Google features my YouTube channel in position #4 in the organic search results and provides me with thumbnail images directly at position #7 on the home page. It almost seems chaotic. But, knowing Google, it’s all about data, beta and AB testing galore. You can obviously tell that Google is pushing the eCommerce channel.
Web – Books – Images – Videos
I took a look at a few other search results for a few of my digitally minded friends. I was more than impressed by just how different the options can be related to the search term. In the case of my good friend, Brian Solis, the category Books comes up second. Images and Videos follow. Aside from the far greater online presence (kudos!), Brian also has published books, so that would make sense (and books can, of course, be sold, thereby generating potential revenue for Google). Maps and Shopping were tops in the drop down menu.
For Conan, video is in prime position
Talk show host Conan O’Brien, who has been in the news most recently for taking over Jay Leno, has Videos coming up in second position behind Web, followed by News, Images and Shopping.
Netflix … videos?
I cannot but think of the irony (or the backhanded management?) of how videos are in the fourth position when I googled Netflix. In a fitting twist, shall we say, Netflix has a rather large ad placement.
Google Search on the move
Search is a black box, managed in top secret fashion by Google. For the most part, I laud the manner with which Google has been adapting. A few weeks ago, Matt Cutts wrote a provocative post about the death of Guest Blogging for Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Personally, I am content to see this announcement as I feel besieged at times by requests for guest blog posts. Meanwhile, overall, one has to argue that the role of SEO is also in constant mutation, if not in a state of paranoia. Because of this ever-changing search landscape (without forgetting the alternatives, such as Bing, Yahoo), one of the challenges for web marketers is staying up to date. The big takeaway for digital marketers would be to make sure that your agency of reference is keeping you appropriately up-to-date with Google’s changes. {Click to Tweet This!} Specifically, in a timely fashion and not in a way that biases their own work! {Tweet}
Stay in touch
As a digital marketer, without due attention, one can literally feel like a frog in water that is heating up. Among the key points, that I take away from this little study:
- Don’t get lazy! Make sure to keep an eye on your presence using different browsers on different devices. {Click here to tweet this out!}
- Make sure you have a good eco-system to feed you updates on Google’s moves (much less for Bing and Baidu…).
- Keep working slavishly on your organic or natural presence. {Tweet!}
- Keep in mind how strategically important +You (Google+) is for Google and, thus, for your web presence. {Tweet!}
So, for what reason do you think that Google Search will change the order next? Is it Image or Video? Or, actually, is this not a perfect demonstration that it truly depends on context? #contextrules
