Update on Real-Time Search: I Want it Now! Day 2 SES London 2011

A panel session led by Jon Myers, Head of Account Management Yahoo! for UK & Ireland, asked key industry speakers, Dave Coplin, Paddy Moogan and Aaron Kahlow, their thoughts on real-time search and their top tips and insights.

Dave Coplin, Director of Search, Microsoft Bing

Today we are looking at search in society; what search means to us and what real-time search can bring to benefit society.

Presently there is a perception that search is a source for generating quick, easy money. As we look to the future of search we should be reaching beyond that short-term view and looking more towards what the consumer wants/needs. Search is the window into the internet; a philosophical change is needed.

Search as we know it is still very much in its infancy, (only 16 years old). In that time we have not moved the marker much beyond the blue links. Currently only 1 in 4 of all web searches is successful. That's a business model which is built on getting the answer right only 25% of the time! In real terms that means 3 out of 4 searches need refining, with some queries taking an average of 13 minutes to hone, which can STILL lead to a place where we don't want to go. So yes! There is room for big improvements, development and innovation.

Real-time decisions are tied directly to the evolution of the web. Looking past the blue links and the book & chapter metaphor of Tim Berners-Lee. Search needs to move beyond that and become much more fluid. Web users today want to understand how information in their geographic area will affect them and their relationships; they don't want to filter through numerous domains to get to the info they really need.

Understanding User Intent

Traditional thinking is that there have always been three types of user intent when looking at search engines:

· Navigation intent: "I want to know about Ben 10, so please take me to Ben 10 website."

· Information: "I want to know what happened in a particular episode of Ben 10 in season 2"; here a link to a website with generic Ben 10 information just wouldn't do because it wasn't getting to the crux of my query.

· Transactional/commercial intent: "I want to buy a Ben 10 t-shirt or even a bed spread?"

Human minds don't work in such a compartmented way. When defining intent our minds converge all these different intents into one super 'uber' intent. This is the magic that lies in the future of search.

Harnessing Human Signals: Challenges for Search Engines

For search to get smarter the search engines need to know more about you; "Tell me about yourself and I can improve your service!". This will inevitably create all kinds of privacy and boundary issues, as what privacy and intent means to one person will be very different to another. Facebook is a great example of this as they've had to develop a very complex set of privacy settings to please many different parties.

Privacy and the setting of boundaries within search will become the biggest battle ground for the next 10 years. Search engines will need to keep users informed and be transparent with what they are doing with such data if they are to evolve, because without user trust and data the evolution can't happen.

Paddy Moogan, SEO Consultant, from Distilled.co.uk: Top 5 Real-time SEO Tips

1. Google's first attempts at real-time social feeds, the relevancy and user intent was not always the best. For example a person looking for football scores would get great real-time results, but if you were looking for biographical information on an individual, the engine would return results for said individuals Twitter feed: i.e. "Beans on toast for lunch!"; not so great.

2. Google are getting better at real-time. Google Suggests Service (social real-time search) quickly realises what's a trending topic or query and quickly tailors results to that immediate need.

3. Being an influencer and trusted source of information is becoming more important. Search engines are becoming more selective about what they publish in their real-time feeds. One way to build credibility is to get other reputable sites to syndicate your content through strategic partnerships. Include social links in blog post and encourage sharing.

4. To get your tweets to the top of real-time social results; include an image as it's more likely to draw the eye. Good services to use are Twitpic or yfrog, or alternatively use the direct filename to feature. It can take between 4 - 10 minutes for images to appear in Google. Pre-tweet the image first, then link to it again. How to get the user to interact with your site after clicking through to image? Use a 301 redirect. Google will index, then put 301 redirect on the image file or info graphic and then tweet your message.

5. Want to rank in Google News? Include a date in your title or URL. This is because Google news is date driven. If you don't get listed straight-off continue to persevere.

Aaron Kahlow, CEO - OnlineMarketingConnect.com - Top 5 Tips on Real-time Search

1. There are no set rules in the game, real-time search is very fluid and unknown.

2. Most important to look and study the data you have rather than diving head first into the social unknown. Best practice is to analyse and understand the real-time signals before acting on them.

3. 49% of users use Twitter and other social channels to validate their searches. Let the search engines catch up with the user, rather than the other way around.

4. Syndicate your content: encourage re-tweets and feedback, build back-links. Always include the social media buttons in all blogs and website pages.

5. Now is a great time to build community while the social rules are still being defined, ask your users and customers about their wants and needs and tailor your service to them.

Also, take a peek at Mel Carson's interview recorded just after Dave's session.

For more coverage from SES London follow @adCenter and keep an eye on the adCenter Blog.

Cheers

Kate

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