Countless bloggers, techies, and industry experts offer wild forecasts and insightful theories, but the fact remains that the future of search is still unclear. What is apparent though is that this industry is constantly changing. The frontrunner right now may become a thing of the past in an instant. Google is the acknowledged leader in search but even small search engines such as Ask.com are building a rapid stream of loyal users. Emerging trends are appearing everywhere. The individual impact of these new phenomenons may still be unknown but it is always a good idea to have a head start. Below are some of the serious trends that can challenge the status quo in search engine optimisation:
Universal Search by Google
Back in 2007, Google launched a concept known as “Universal Search”. Basically, it compiles the top results in a single page regardless of whether the websites contain content, maps, images, or videos. It never did take off the way the search giant thought it would. However, the concept remains alive. Insiders are speculating whether it didn’t become popular then because users haven’t warmed up to it yet. Maybe they are ready to accept this concept now.
Personalised Search
Whenever you use the Google to search for data, the search engine stores the details to build up a profile of your habits. Armed with the information, Google can provide results based on its relevance to you. Obviously, there are major concerns about this. It is likely that even you, while reading this, became concerned about this particular practice.
For many, personalised search is a major violation of their privacy. Even the EU became alarmed about how these types of information are stored. It conducted a probe into the practices of Google and other search engines. The results of this investigation will have a big impact on future of personalised search.
Speech Search Engine Optimisation
Speech recognition probably has the brightest future in search engine optimisation. With speech recognition, people just need to say their query out loud using a microphone. This has a promising future since the number of mobile users is increasing as well. Let’s admit it; even with the cool keypads that have been developed for mobile gadgets, you still don’t like to use it. Small keypads are a pain to use and time-consuming to boot. Speech recognition eliminates that hassle. Given this, there is no doubt that speech search engine optimisation will be an important priority for most web owners in the near future.
Written by Victor on Monday the 18th of January, 2010. Currently No Comments »
Read related subjects to this article from Rotapix on Online Marketing.
