Yahoo Adds Local Business Snapshots Next To Search Results

You’re gonna say to yourself, “That looks a lot like Google’s local search results.”

I’m talking about the latest interface change that Yahoo has announced: the display of local business information alongside search results.

The local business info includes basic business information, photos, hours of operation and some data specific to the business type — i.e., restaurant listings may show “Menu” and “Reservations” links.

Yahoo’s announcement says the idea is to “make it easier to get the essential facts for any business in the U.S. right on the search results page.”

The business data — they look like “cards,” to borrow Google’s current terminology — doesn’t show until you click one of the business listings in the local results. Here are two images showing a Yahoo local search result page before and after clicking one of the business listings. (You can click for larger versions.)

Pre-Click

Post-Click

You can see how the business information replaces the search refinements, map and paid ads in the right rail.

And if you agree that this looks like Google’s search results, don’t forget that Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer used to be in charge of Google’s local products.

People, Videos, News: Twitter Adds New Search Filters

Earlier today Twitter announced that it was bringing a number of new search filters to the site. These include: people, photos, videos, news. There are also “people you follow” and “near you” filters that further refine results.

If one were to search for “Super Bowl,” results could then be filtered by those tweets that incorporated video — so you could see all the ads that had already been posted and tweeted. The utility of the new filters is fairly self evident.

The location filter is very interesting and holds considerable promise for users and for Twitter advertising. For example, I might do a search for “lunch deals” near me as a way to find relevant promotions. Then if this behavior became widespread it would be a meaningful channel for local restaurants and QSR to promote themselves.

Twitter may need to train users on use of these filters before marketers can realize their full value. It’s not entirely clear how many people search on Twitter today. However based on historical information, the volumes are probably significant. 

In 2010 Twitter co-founder Biz Stone said that the site had 800 million queries a day or 24 billion queries per month. To my knowledge those numbers have not been publicly updated.

Google Search OneBox Answers Are Getting More Detailed

There are several reports throughout the search community that Google’s OneBox answers or a form of the knowledge graph, are now more aggressive about answering even more complex questions with more detailed responses or answers. When we asked Google about this, a Google spokesperson told us, “we’re always experimenting with different types of answers, but we don’t have more details to share at this point.” Some questions Google attempts to answer now include: [why is the sky blue?] 
 [who ended world war 2?] 
 But some answers might be a bit off or unusual such as: [what are the largest mammals?]   

5 Tactics Super Bowl Advertisers Are Using To Boost Their Paid Search Campaigns

In the weeks leading up to game day, several Super Bowl advertisers have been employing paid search to help ensure their campaigns are found by the legions of users searching for “Super Bowl ads”. While the majority of Super Bowl advertisers still aren’t taking to SEM, those that are have been displaying some interesting tactics that are worth a look.

Here are five trends we’ve noticed from the Super Bowl advertiser ads currently running on Google and the Yahoo Bing Network.

1.YouTube is King

All but one advertiser in the examples below link  to YouTube in their ads on “super bowl” related queries, and even that lone advertiser links to YouTube when advertising on its own hashtag. As BusinessWeek noted, YouTube has become a Super Bowl goldmine for Google. Not only do advertisers drive huge volumes of traffic to the site, but they run ads on YouTube to attract even more viewers to their Super Bowl ads spots on the site.

2. Sitelinks Extend Real Estate For Top Advertiser

Many advertisers are using sitelinks (now part of the Google’s Ad Rank formula), yet Bud Light is also the only advertiser with ads routinely showing all four sitelinks. Bud Light is running multiple ads during the game and is using sitelinks to give users quick access to each ad on YouTube.Bud Light also appears to be the most active advertiser, so far, with paid search ads appearing steadily on Google and the Yahoo Bing Network.

3. Hashtags Come To PPC

Bud Light is incorporating its campaign hashtag #Upforwhatever in its PPC ads. And, Toyota, which had been running ads for its teaser (as shown from Google) below with a link to YouTube, has launched is now promoting the full ad in PPC (shown from Yahoo below). The new ads incorporate the campaign hashtag #Unbornify, which was not used on the teaser.

4. Extending Engagement With Sitelinks To Social Media

A handful of advertisers are also using sitelinks to drive users to their brands’ social media profiles.

In Toyota’s #Unbornify ad shown above the company has added sitelinks to its Facebook, Google Plus and Twitter profiles. While it’s unusual to see so many social networks included in one ad, this approach gives users the option to connect with the brand where they want to (and Toyota has instilled the hashtag in users’ minds no matter where they land).

In addition, all three of Toyota’s social media profiles linked to from the ads have been updated with the Super Bowl ad branding.

Nestle’s Butterfinger brand’s choice of links in its PPC ads also is interesting. It is using two sitelinks, one to the Facebook profile and the other to the teaser ad on YouTube. The main link, however, goes to the landing site for the new Butterfinger Cups product being promoted. Users can watch the teaser on the landing page.Note, the campaign hashtag is #CupTherapy, but is not being used by the brand in the ads or in any of its posts on Facebook.

5. Only Occasional Use of Brand Landing Pages

Most advertisers are driving users to watch their ads on YouTube, the viral measure of record. Yet, in addition to Butterfinger, AXE is another stand out example of advertisers using their own landing pages. In fact, AXE is gives users no other sitelink options in its “Make Love, Not War.” Super Bowl PPC ads.The AXE Peace landing page features a link to the powerful and sweet Super Bowl ad (shown below), but more prominently the landing page features a promotion for the #KissForPeace contest in which consumers are asked to post their kissing pics to Twitter with the hashtag for the chance to have their photo featured on a billboard in Times Square.

The current photo submissions are aggregated on the landing page, powered by digital agency Ideation.

It’s somewhat curious why the hashtag is not being used in the PPC ads as well. However, the brand is buying ads on both the Yahoo Bing Network and Google for “KissForPeace”. In these ads the main link is still the AXE Peace landing page, but they also include sitelinks to both Facebook and, yes, YouTube.

And looking at YouTube, the ad has struck a chord. The 60 second spot went up on January 14 and already has more than 3.1 million views. #KissForPeace has been tweeted nearly 1,500 times according to TweetReach.

http://youtu.be/63b4O_2HCYM

Other advertisers running paid search ads for “super bowl ad” queries include Audi, Volkswagen and Coca-Cola. Each of these advertisers simply link to their ads on YouTube. Volkswagen is at least teasing up its ad’s concept in its ad copy, “Explore what happens with a VW hits 100,000 miles”.

Let us know in the comments below if you spot other advertisers using paid search in interesting ways to promote their Super Bowl ad campaigns.

Google’s Matt Cutts: Don’t Try To Build Links Through Article Directories

Matt Cutts, Google’s head of search spam, posted a video answer encouraging webmasters not to use article directory web sites with the goal of building links.

The question posed was:

Links from relevant content in article directories — Seen as good or bad? eg. I link my beauty website from a cosmetic surgery article on say, Ezine? Would you do that?

Matt Cutts responded in short said that his personal recommendation is to not upload articles to article directories.

Matt also tweeted his answer to the question, saying “No.”

Google Takes Down Another Link Network, France’s Buzzea

Google’s head of search spam, Matt Cutts, announced onTwitter earlier this morning that Google has taken action on another “link network” named Buzzea.

His tweet read, “Today we’re taking action on a French link network that violates our quality guidelines (Buzzea).”

In addition, Matt added that they are working on a German based link network, “today France; Germany soon,” Mattadded.

This is the latest in a long number of link networks Google has been going after over the course of the past few years.

Buzzea is actually taking offense to have been called a “link network.” In a letter posted on the Buzzea site, Buzzea said in regards to being called a “link network” that they “oppose this assertion since we never stopped wanting to keep the ethical side of sponsored articles focusing on quality and natural links created.”

They did decide to call it quits and in their letter, they wrote:

This marks the end of an adventure for our team but also the end of our collaboration with thousands of publisher sites, agencies and advertisers who have given us their trust.

I suspect in the next week or so, we will see another tweet from Matt Cutts about the German link network they are going after.

For now, those who participated in Buzzea, should expect a notification in Google Webmaster Tools and a ranking reduction. It would make sense to remove those links immediately and stop participating in any link network or something that Google may perceive as a link network.

Study: 34% Of Google Search Results Have Rich Media, 9 Organic Links & 9 Search Ads

Conductor released a study that analyzed the ten blue links at Google showing 34% show rich media, nine organic listings and nine search ads.

34% Of Search Snippets Have Rich Media

The Conductor study showed that there was rich media on the search results page 34% of the time. The breakdown of rich media showed images appear on 28% of search results pages, news 9%, and shopping 1%. You have to keep in mind, rich media in search results is incredibly query-dependent. So, based on the sampling of Conductor’s study, 34% was the number they reached.

88% Of The Search Results Contain 9 Organic Results

88% of SERPs have 9 or more natural search links, with 73% having exactly ten organic results. This shows that while many say the ten blue links are gone, that is, indeed, not the case.

56% Of The Search Results Have 9 Search Ads

Finally, Conductor’s study says 56% of search pages now have 9 or more paid ads. I posted the breakdown of the study below. But, Conductor adds that despite there being so many paid search ads, “eye-tracking studies show that increasingly, searchers are tuning out ads and focusing on organic results.”