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Today's consumer searches for local shopping via global search engines
like Google. Here's a look at global search engines’ ever-increasing
popularity and their ever-widening scope.
Search Engine for Every Need?
Over the past few years, major Search Engines like Google have
seen increasing usage. This increasing popularity is obviously responsible
for new entrants, notwithstanding the dominating market share of
Google.
AOL, Yahoo, MSN, eBay, IAC, Amazon (A9) are only a few of the popular
search engines who have invaded the space of search engine leader
Google! (There are many more.) And each engine has introduced new
concepts and features, unheard of before! Also, by constantly enhancing
their search logic & software, search speed has been improving in
leaps & bounds.
Almost as if sensing their increasing popularity, these global search
engines have been constantly evolving with line extensions, new
business models & new concepts. This has given rise to new features
like local PC desktop search and address search (based on city maps).
Some Recent Developments in Search
Engines
Google’s
AdWord Revenue Model
Google
has introduced a
unique revenue model which displays text ads along-side search
results – based on keyword(s) present in the results. This
model helps online media owners to pull consumers to their site(s),
exposing them to paid banner ads or select web-pages.
Google’s initiative takes complete advantage of its dominant
presence.
Google has already signed deals with other engines like Yahoo!,
Amazon, Ask, etc.
Amazon’s A9 Search Engine
You can search inside books at Amazon.com and keep track of
your search history. (Be warned that your searching pattern
will tell Amazon a lot about what you are likely to buy!) Incidentally,
Amazon’s A9 is built on Google search engine (and displays Google’s
paid AdWords).
City Maps & Address Search
Can search engines get any cooler? Before you say “no” look
at what Amazon’s A9 Yellow Pages search does! It detects
where you are, by the IP address of your computer, then outputs
local results of your Yellow Page query.
More: the search results also shows a map with the current result
(where your mouse pointer is) displayed on the map.
And after they complete their ongoing exercise of photographing
all the streets of major American cities, you will actually
be able to see the various store-fronts and even be able to
simulate a rough walk through the street!
Yahoo! And Google have also come up with similar services (with
somewhat different features). |
Threat
to Media
Everybody
knows that retail business is booming - malls, shopping complexes,
department stores are “hot”! And now, as per a recent (February
2005) study, use of global search engines for local retail shopping
is on the rise in the U.S.A. And significantly so. Retail shopping
ads was always considered as a stronghold of local newspapers, yellow
pages & niche web-sites. The February 2005 (conducted with a reasonably
large sample size across the U.S.A.) suggests that global search
engines seem to be casting a shadow on the importance of local newspapers
and niche web sites on their stronghold!
The same February 2005 study suggests that Internet usage for local
merchants & shopping has registered a significant jump from 60%
to 70%. During the same period, refering to newspapers for local
shopping has gone down marginally by 3%.
Another
U.S. based study reports decline in usage of Yellow Pages (still
the most sought medium amongst shoppers). The decline is reportedly
13% (from 75% to 62%) between 2003 & 2005.
Future Trend
With the world going online, it seems clear that consumers prefer
search engines to yellow pages, newspapers, portals and even niche
web sites.
And with the imminent convergence of mobile & fixed-line telephony,
broadband Internet and digital television convergence, this trend
will only increase.
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