My my, Google have been busy haven’t they?
On Tuesday, at their Searchology 2009 summit, the search engine giant announced three new enhancements for their web engine, effectively responding to several rumors and analyses going on in the press. The new products are to be called Google Search Options, Google Squared and Rich Snippets.
The first of these, Search Options, allows surfers to dissect the data returned by a standard search query, adjusting the results by various chosen metrics. The user can opt for recent content, content with images, a news timeline or even the “Wonder Wheel”, where the results are displayed as rays spreading out from a central search criterion.Each arm of the wheel can be clicked, to pursue that area of the search.
One of the metrics available is the last update for each page. This one in particular is of interest, since it seems to respond to all the rumors of a Twitter deal. Those rumors had centered on the idea that Google had no real-time search capability, as Twitter does, but by adding a time filter to a standard search, Google moves a bit closer.
Secondly, there’s Google Squared. This is a more complex proposal: a standard search which returns a list of comparisons between the pages found, rather than just their addresses. The results are presented as a spreadsheet, with various key pieces of information (or images) displayed for a line-by-line comparison.
Google Squared is a reasonably effective step in the direction of the Wolfram|Alpha model, whose purpose is not just to return matches and addresses, but to look at what the user actually wants to know and compute the answers. Admittedly, Google’s model does not do so much of the computation work, but again it’s a step in the direction of a competitor’s engine.
Finally, there’s Rich Snippets. This comprises a deal between Google and a group of online publishers, including CNET, to include extra, ‘rich’ content in the search results. For example, searching for a particular gadget would bring back not only the hit for the CNET page reviewing it, but also the star rating assigned to the gadget by the reviewer.
Some analysts see this enhancement of Google’s core business as a way of gently spreading their influence and technology into new areas. Others see it as a response to threats (real or perceived) from other search companies, such as Wolfram Research and Twitter. Yet others see it as a way for Google to respond to comparisons with those same competitors by saying “We do that, too.”
Whatever the reasons, Google is in no immediate danger of serious competition in the search market. And the enhancements can only serve to solidify their position.
These changes and enhancements could bring a new dimension to Search Engine Optimisation. Interesting times ahead…..
