Out Googled: What Is Your Google Strategy

Out Googled is a period series covering the strategies of companies and even entire industries to counter the enterance of Google (GOOG) in to their domain.

At its core Google is search and advertising, however the company has many tentacles and its looming presence can be felt in many areas such as;
- online applications
- mobile & telephony
- ecommerce & content
- social networking
- gaming & virtual worlds
- hosting services
- measurement & analysis
- publishing & broadcast
- space technology

Google is rapidly moving into new markets and reshaping existing industries. As long as there is a web component to a product, given its sheer reach and power, Google is possibly better positioned to serve the needs of the 6 billion plus addressable market for web based products independent of platform.

So what is your Google strategy? Send us your story.

Google Adsense For Mobile

Google announced the availability of AdSense for Mobile, its service for placing contextual ads with mobile web content.

AdSense for Mobile is identical to AdSense for Web sites, which places ads on participating publishers' sites that correspond to the publishers' content.

"We've just launched AdSense for Mobile, which can help you expand your online content to new platforms," said Alex Kenin, AdSense product marketing manager, in a blog post." If you have a Web site optimized for mobile browsers, or are interested in creating one, you can start monetizing your mobile site by accessing a growing number of our mobile advertisers."

Mobile advertising is expected to generate about $3 billion by the end of the year and $19 billion by the end of 2011, according to ABI Research. There are about 6.6 billion people in the world and about half that many mobile phone subscriptions, according to The Mobile World, a U.K. mobile phone consultancy.

Publishers of Web sites designed for viewing on mobile phones now have the option to make some money through Google's (GOOG) AdSense program just like publishers of non-mobile Web sites.

AdSense for Mobile will be available in 13 countries: England, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Ireland, Russia, Netherlands, Australia, India, China, and Japan.

The WebGuild September Event on Mobile Advertising.

Yahoo's Casualties in Search War

Semel maybe out but so are 10 of Yahoo's 26 executives (see then and now). A 40% turnover in executive management in one year is pretty high. I guess the battle against Google is taking its toll. Semel, who didn't know what email was before he arrived at Yahoo has left behind a trail of destruction. The vacancies are being filled by Susan Deckers' friends according to sources. Susan, who takes over as President of Yahoo, is famous for saying that "Yahoo's goal is not to be number one in search". Besides losing all this "talent" in a short time, the company is losing millions in severance compensation. Several employees said that Farzeed Nazem, CTO, spent more time filing papers with the SEC over stock options purchases and sales during his 11 year hibernation. The WSJ says it reinforces doubts about Panama when the guy overseeing the global rollout leaves smack in the middle of it. A senior Yahooligan (Yahoo employee) described Panama as larger than the Titanic and that it will help Yahoo capture more search advertising dollars.

Here is the list of executives jumping ship:
Terry Semel, CEO
Susan Decker, CFO
Lars Rabbe, CIO
Dan Rosensweig, COO
Farzeed Nazem, CTO
Chris Castro, CCO
Lloyd Braun, President, Yahoo! Media
John Marcom, VP International, Yahoo!
Phu Hoang, VP Engineering
Daniel Finnigan, VP Classifieds

At the annual shareholder meeting Jerry Yang had nothing to say about Yahoo's business but human rights. Yesterday, he released a statement saying "Terry has given Yahoo! six of its best years".

Yahoo, hosting the Titanic party at its campus in Sunnyvale, CA.

"Search Is History", says Yahoo!

As the company realizes that it can no longer compete with Google, it is saying the future of web search is history. Yahoo says the model for getting information via the browser is outdated. In the future relevant information will be delivered directly to readers. "The future of the web is about personalization. Where search was dominant, now the web is about 'me.' It's about weaving the web together in a way that is smart and personalized for the user," said Tapan Bhat, VP, Yahoo!'s Personalised Home Page.

Interestingly, iGoogle is about personalization and Google has been making alot of noise of about it. Suddenly, it has become the core focus at Yahoo. Yahoo has been losing market share to Google in search and has been recasting itself as a company not focused on search. In fact Susan Decker, CFO, Yahoo has said previously that "Our goal is not to be number one is search". "They've realised they can't compete with Google on search." said Deborah Schultz, a Silicon Valley-based marketing consultant.

Search continues to gain wider adoption as an enabler for online commerce and soon may become the platform for commerce. Billions of dollar are being channeled into search as major marketers and brand advertisers see the efficiency of the medium. The river of money is finding its way mostly to Google. In fact the company does more in reveune in a single quarter than Yahoo does in a year. The entire Searchnomics conference is focused on the importance of search to web sites and online businesses.


On Tuesday June 12, 2007, Yahoo holds it annual shareholder meeting. Yahoo's Terry Semel was the highest paid CEO in 2006, with total compensation of $71.7 million, according to the AP. That is two times more than the $27 million in total compensation for the New York Yankees' Alex Rodriguez, baseball's highest-paid player, and higher than the typical pay A-list stars like Brad Pitt who earn $20 million a movie, plus 20 percent of the gross box office take.

There is even talk that Microsoft may buy the company. That would give Semel a graceful exit. However, the word is that the company is not attractive enough to any single major buyer to advance their product line, not at that price. Jeff Clavier, a venture capitalist at SoftTech, said: "The problem with Yahoo! is that they're trying to be all things to all people but they don't do any one thing particularly well."

All this is making investors, partners and customers very nervous. Several advertisers and partners are moving to Google; Friendster, a social networking site, moved to Google from Yahoo to better monetize its user base with Google's larger ad platform and deeper inventory. If this trend continues, Yahoo maybe history before search is.

Google's New Search Page on IE

I rarely use Microsoft IE, so today when I searched using IE the Google search results page on IE was different to the search results page on Firefox. I guess Google is doing a browser detect and displaying different looks on the different browsers. I would like to hear everyone comments on this.

Google search results on IE



Google search results on Firefox

Google Voice Search

Voice will be a key piece of mobile search and thus Google has launched an initiative to enable users them to find information about local businesses, driving directions, sports scores, stock quotes, weather, news, movie show times, and more via their phone.

Google Voice Search currently in beta allows users to call a number and specify a search query and get the results on a web page read back to them (that match the specified query). To try the service dial 650.623.6706.

Voice will play an important roll in the rapidly growing local search market. I believe Google will integrate Voice and Maps into its Local Search offering. Thus it will be another way for user for search and locate information.

Voice has been used extensively as an automated directory assistance feature by companies such as Fedex, Cingular/AT&T, American Airlines, American Express and other large companies to handle customer requests. The difference here being, voice is used as a way for users/searchers to get actionable information at their finger tips.

Recently, Microsoft bought TellMe for the very same reason. Microsoft believes that the battle to win the hearts and minds of searchers is going to be mobile and local search, and that Tellme has what it needs to win. However, Tellme's service is call center automation solution. It simply uses voice to as the executable to handle customer traffic in a call center. This is different from utiliting voice as the executable to search web pages. Sure, TellMe can be retooled to read web pages but that is not worth paying $800M plus. So in fact Microsoft is in the call center automation business and not mobile search. I know because I had a start up in the internet voice search way back when it was not sexy.

Live Search Mobile Upgraded

At the 3GSM World Congress 2007, Barcelona, new features for Live Search on Windows Mobile were announced. The new features include "a unique, category-based search, which virtually eliminates the need to type text into the phone; an option to "map all results" so several listings appear on the same map; aerial imagery; and local traffic status in selected U.S. cities.

Live Search for Windows Mobile also provides additional new capabilities including satellite imagery, GPS integration and the ability to send search results to a friend." They are available in USA and UK, and to customers using Windows Mobile powered devices, Nokia Series 40 and Series 60 devices, the Motorola RAZR/SLVR family, and assorted LG and Samsung devices. The Live Search feature provides:

Category-based local searching: Based on their location, users can browse categories such as restaurants, hotels and accommodations, and shopping. Searches return local results with address and telephone details and provide easy options to save to contacts, map directions to or from, search nearby, map all locations, or call.

Maps and directions: Global positioning capabilities built into Live Search for mobile enable users to search and explore routes from their current location.

Traffic: Real-time traffic data is available for more than 25 U.S. cities, including Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C.

Best Search Websites 2007

Submit and rate your favorite search websites
Click here.

If you can't find the site you are looking for or if it is not on the list please submit it.

Rating Criteria
Accessibility:
Weak - contents are accessed by scrolling through site's pages
Acceptable - contents are made more accessible via a simple search engine or other finding aid
Strong - site incorporates its own search engine with sophisticated search capabilities

Content:
Weak - site consists primarily of links to other sites, some of which are broken or not useful
Acceptable - some unique material; links to other sites are annotated, up to date, and useful
Strong - contains material unique to this site; goes into sufficient depth for research purposes; is accurate and up to date

Authority:
Weak - site's creator is not identified or lacks the credentials or training to present material of value to serious researchers
Acceptable - site's creator is clearly identified and can reasonably claim the authority to present research quality material
Strong - individual or organization maintaining site is recognized as an authority in this subject area

Navigation:
Weak - site is not organized into manageable segments or is confusing to navigate
Acceptable - site is well organized and navigation is clear and consistent
Strong - material is presented in manageable units; access to contents is logical and intuitive

Design:
Weak - site is bland or else so loaded with graphics and features that it is torture to wait for the connection
Acceptable - graphics contribute to the material being presented and enhance the aesthetics of the site
Strong - site loads quickly when initial connection is made; graphics are well-integrated into the design

Accessibility:
Weak - contents are accessed by scrolling through site's pages
Acceptable - contents are made more accessible via a simple search engine or other finding aid
Strong - site incorporates its own search engine with sophisticated search capabilities

One Click Mobile Search

4Info announced the launch of one click mobile search. Users simply send a query via SMS to 4Info and the results are sent directly to the phone. From sports scores to maps, users can now get the information they want right away.

According to 4Info advertisers and online marketers can deliver ads when a mobile search is conducted by a user. The company will use the data to deliver behaviorally targeted ads based on demographic information.

However, I believe Google is way ahead in terms of reach and possibly even technology. Google has a unified network to better understand the user on many platforms. I certainly would like my mobile preferences to be managable from a central account from where I can get email, customize alerts and set up hotlist. Also, Google is locking up the mobile real estate. Last week Google teamed up with Samsung to have the "One Click" hard coded into the handsets of Samsung phones. And today Google announced a partnership with China Mobile the world's largest mobile service provider, to offer mobile search to its users. Not far behind is China's Baidu.com which teamed up with Nokia to offer mobile search services. Baidu.com will have their icon appear on the Nokia handset.