The Big Wave Blog

On Google’s 10-year anniversary, here’s a retrospective look at the Thanksgiving logo over the years starting with 1998.  Resident Google artist Dennis Hwang has been working his magic on the normally bland logo on holidays and special occasions since 2000.  A one-time intern, Dennis was first asked to come up with something for Bastille Day on that year, and has been drawing “Google Doodles” ever since in his signature witty & whimsical style.

2008
2007
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1998

It’s been over a year since I started mentioning the up-and-coming “Personalized Search” in almost every one of my search engine seminars and sessions. And over a year of having attendees stare at me in disbelief when I tell them that Google will someday not only show them a different result for every search they do, but also let them edit their preferences.

Well, the time is finally here to see all the talk about personalized search finally taking shape in reality!

This is a long and important post, so finish that email, close the IM window, say goodbye to the people you are chatting with on Twitter and Facebook, close that holiday shopping website… get your cup of tea/coffee ready and let’s roll!

Presenting… The Personalized SERP (search engine results page)

What is personalized search?

Well, it’s definitely not the ugly cousin of “Universal Search.”  Those of you with any kind of Google Account (gmail, analytics, etc),  will shortly be able to do all of these things on your SERP:

• Move a listing up
• Move a listing down
• Leave a public comment on any listing
• Track other public comments and votes

So, now you can finally drag down everyone you hate?

Not really, but you can let your prejudices affect your search results for any page. So all the haters rejoice! Your fantasy of dragging down your competition and annihilating them from your Google search results page is now a reality. Now the buzzkill…you can ONLY manipulate your own results and not the main Google index.

What else can I change?

Think of it as changing your point of view. You cannot impact the whole world based on your prejudices…thank god for that! Basically, Google has given you your own private little search space where you can manipulate and move things around to suit your preferences.  Example: If you are a hotel in Las Vegas, you can log in to your Google account,  delete every competitor, and promote your website to the #1 Position for the keyword “Las Vegas Hotels.”  Now every time you log in to your Google Account and search on the keyword “Las Vegas Hotel,” you see your hotel website come up first, while your competition is nowhere to be found.

Reality Check: log out of your account and you will see the “real” search engine results (what others see), with you back in your old position.

[Still confused? Email me!]

If nothing was wrong with the “real” Google Index, then why do this?

The answer is simple: Google is the master of strategy. They are always thinking 5-6 years ahead of everyone. This is a brilliant move, as it helps them gather even more priceless data on your personal prejudices and preferences. They already know what you look for day and night, at work and at home… now they can find out what websites you prefer and who you dislike, and use all of this collective information to clean up your search engine results page and give you exactly what you’re looking for. Truly, mission accomplished!

Got Spam?

Why not! Can you imagine the comments that are going to be left? A cottage industry will spawn rapidly. I can see the spam offers already… “Let us use our 15,000 Google Accounts to boost your personalized results, get you better comments, and leave bad comments on your competition!” This is going to get brutal, but the clear winner in this war is Google. Why, you ask? Imagine how many people will now open a new Google account so that they can see what position and comments they have and to go after their competition. More personal data goldmines will open for Google than ever before. It’s Christmas time at Google for sure!

What about privacy?

Are you kidding! You signed that away the day you decided to get online! With the Google Search Wiki project, Google is getting one step closer to the goal that CEO Eric Schmidt once mentioned in an interview: “We want to answer what color shirt you should wear today.”

What about SEO? Is it over?

Not yet! The search engine optimization industry needs to wake up and smell the strong cup of espresso Google just poured. If the program works the way Google has planned, it changes everything. Special note to my Black Hat friends…things are going to get tough, but I know you guys already have started gathering counter-intelligence!

Dear Website Owner…

If your business and website are a sham and you don’t have any true value to offer via your website, Doom is here! Not only is Google  going to use this collective data to readjust your rankings, now there is another way for people to find out if you have been treating your clients badly. Your investment in search engine marketing as a means of tricking consumers is about to backfire. For those who provide value and a truly great product… rejoice! You are about to be pushed up the search results page by your happy customers! Once Google has gathered data on the usefulness of your website and your excellent comments, there is only one way to go on the search engine results page… UP!

It’s crucial to remember that no matter how drasticly the SERPs change in the coming year, good websites that have solid content and usability will always win in the long run. So make sure you are on top of your game, or be prepared to drown in the sea of commonality.

If you are still with me…. Thanks for reading all my predictions and speculations. You are a true fan! I hope I was able to convey how quickly things are changing these days.

Please remember to invest in your website! “Your Google rankings may come and go, but your website will stay forever. (Or at least until you forget to pay your hosting bill.)” - VS

Just announced yesterday, Google and LIFE have partnered to bring more than 10 million of the magazine’s archival photos to Google’s image search.  Many of these photos have never been seen before, and about 20 percent have been uploaded so far, with the rest to become available over time.  Influential 20th Century photographers such as Alfred Eisenstaedt, best known for his famous “VJ-Day kiss” picture, are featured, as are images by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Nina Leen, Ansel Adams, Bill Ray, Dorothea Lange, John Dominis, and a host of other contributors.

You can search through these millions of photos by going directly to Google’s portal, which can be found by following this link.

Video is becoming an increasingly vital and important component of internet marketing, and I thought I would take a look at three hotel brands that are currently using this medium as part of their campaigns.   With Universal Search and blended search results (videos, photos, news items) appearing towards the top of the organic rankings, a video with the proper meta data in place stands to get excellent positioning, so the search engine benefits are clear.   Effective video marketing can go a long way in increasing brand awareness, and can also provide a lot of valuable information to your client base, which in turn can take some of the pressure off of call center and customer service staff.

The following are examples of three hotel brands that are currently using YouTube channels for promotion.   The first is the InterContinental:  InterContinental Hotels YouTube Channel.    Their channel has been around since January of 2008, and so far, they have a collection of 298 videos, which is quite impressive.   The narrators of the videos that I watched were Chef Concierges from their different locations, which adds a personal feel.   The background music can sometimes be a little distracting, but the videos are short and easy to watch, and they use the approach of a mini-travelogue highlighting the city rather than the hotel itself.   Here’s one of my favorites, filmed in Costa Rica:  InterContinental’s Costa Rica Video.

A second hotel with its’ own YouTube channel is the May Fair in London:  May Fair Hotel YouTube Channel.   There are only 14 videos in total (they’ve been on since August of this year), and they’re obviously going for more of an MTV/VH1 feel, with clubby/ambient music and beautiful people throughout.   Aside from showcasing some of the suites at the hotel, the May Fair posts interviews with celebrities who have stayed with them, and also an interview with their chief personal trainer.   If you don’t mind seeing people who are probably having a lot more fun than you’re having, the videos are very watchable.   Here is one that I liked, which features their “Bamboo Suite”:

This third channel is by the Westin, called WestinTV:  Westin Hotel YouTube Channel.   On since September, there are only three videos, all which have a television commercial feel to them.   I’m posting this channel because, with the videos the have so far, WestinTV may be an example of what NOT to do.   One of the most important qualities of a good promotional video from a Web 2.0 and social marketing standpoint is to not make your viewers feel like they are watching a TV commercial or promotional video.

Finally, one area where all three channels can show improvement is in the amount of subscribers that they have.   The InterContinental had the most, and at this writing, that was only 14 subscribers.   A quick and easy way to boost the number of subscribers would be to have hotel employees, many of which will already have YouTube usernames, sign up.   It will be interesting to see how these channels change and improve over time.