Bigmouthmedia Search Engine News: /multilingual-seo/

Microsoft challenges Google to "Bing It On"

Fri, 07 Sep 2012 05:48:00 GMT

Microsoft is squaring up to Google with its new campaign entitled "Bing it On", a comparison challenge that allows users to pitch the two heavyweight search engines against each other in a side-by-side stand off.

The 'Bing it On Challenge' prompts users to enter neutral search terms, producing unbranded results pages from both Google and Bing. The user can then compare and choose which search engine produced the most favourable results, or call it a draw.

The overall winner is decided after a best-of-five face-off.

Microsoft, taking umbrage against many people's automatic habit of "googling", is hoping the direct comparison test might show Internet users that "Lets Bing it" might have a better ring to it after all.

Senior director of Bing, Stefan Weitz, told CNET news the goal of the campaign was "to get users to take a look again at Bing.

"We want them to see Google's magic secret search sauce isn't really so magic."

Microsoft claim that users prefer Bing search results 2 to 1 over Google's, after commissioning a recent study involving 1000 people. Bing bosses hope that the campaign will encourage people to re-think their search defaults.

The tech giant, currently holding 28 per cent of the U.S search share, is launching the Bing it On Challenge in a flurry of publicity, promoting the campaign on nationwide American television stations as well as across the internet in the form of online ads and the twitter hashtag 'bingiton'.

Competitions will also be held, with prizes such as an Xbox 360, a Microsoft Surface and a Windows Phone up potentially for grabs for twitter users who share a designated Bing It On tweet.

The challenge is risky for Bing, who will no doubt report a short term surge in its user numbers, but if Google is victorious in the transparent side-by-side challenge, then Microsoft may have just put its search head on a very public chopping block.

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Gmail to be included in search results

Thu, 09 Aug 2012 08:00:00 GMT

Google has announced it is to allow users to include Gmail messages in search results to help optimise findings.

The trial, which is limited to one million people, means email matches will appear on the right hand side of the results page on Google's search results.

Each search will be individual and only relate to the linked email account. Google has claimed it has developed a completely secure method for achieving these results, meaning there is no risk of a user's messages being accessed by outside sources.

Amit Singhal, Google's search chief, told The Telegraph that the move was a "baby step towards pre-emptive search...adding Gmail into search goes another step towards search becoming more useful and providing a person with all of the relevant information they need in one place."

Privacy watchdogs have criticised the move, with Google claiming that it is the only way to enhance the reliability of its search engine.

Amit Singhai expanded on the Google blog, saying, "Sometimes the best answer to your question isn't available on the public web- it may be contained somewhere else, such as in your email.

"We think you shouldn't have to be your own mini-search engine to find the most useful information- it should just work. A search is a search, and we want our results to be truly universal. So we're developing a way to find this information for you that's useful and unobtrusive."

The company also announced it will be extending its Google Knowledge Graph into the UK as well as including voice activated search on its IOS app for mobile devices.

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Bing harnesses Encyclopaedia Britannica for search

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 09:25:00 GMT

Hot on the heels of Google's Knowledge Graph announcement, search rival Bing has revealed its own quest for information, announcing it will partner with Encyclopaedia Britannica to offer users extra information when they search.

While similar in concept, Bing's knowledge effort manifests itself in slightly different ways - Knowledge Graph gives users a box of useful information to the right of the search results, while tidbits from Encyclopaedia Britannica will be included directly underneath search results in a 'summary box'.

"A core focus for us here at Bing has been about delivering relevant information in a more organised way to help you find what you need more quickly and get stuff done," Principal Development Lead, Franco Salvetti, wrote on the Bing blog.

"Starting today, we're excited to announce a partnership with Encyclopaedia Britannica to include Britannica Online answers directly in the Bing results page."

The deal comes at a good time for the encyclopaedia - after 244 years of print editions, Encyclopaedia Britannica announced earlier this year it would move into the digital age to become an online and computer-only reference. Forging closer ties with Bing will encourage web users to see EB as a trusted source on the net.

The partnership is also an opportunity for Bing to keep up with rival Google - both Knowledge Graph and Bing's EB tie-in give users fast access to a quick overview of particular search queries.

"The answer provides a quick overview of the subject, a thumbnail image, and useful facts and figures making it easier than ever to get trusted content in search. We also pull direct links to other trusted sources," Salvetti said of the enhanced search results.

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Google+ Local makes its debut

Thu, 31 May 2012 07:37:00 GMT

Say goodbye to Google Places and say hello to Google+ Local.

The mighty king of search has unveiled its latest offering, an online review feature for local businesses that's fully integrated into Google's own social network. What a surprise.

"We're rolling out Google+ Local, a simple way to discover and share local information featuring Zagat scores and recommendations from people you trust in Google+," Google's director of product management, Avni Shah, wrote in a blog post.

"It's integrated into Search, Maps and mobile and available as a new tab in Google+ - creating one simple experience across Google."

Now, when users query the search engine for a local restaurant or business they'll be met with the typical Google results, along with a secondary window that contains Google+ Local information - namely a map, rating, and links to other review sites.

Taking the place of Google's 5-star rating system are Zagat reviews - the search giant purchased Zagat last September for $125 million, and the once subscription-only information included on the site has now also been integrated into Google+ Local pages for registered users.

"Since Zagat joined the Google family last fall, our teams have been working together to improve the way you find great local information. Zagat has offered high-quality reviews, based on user-written submissions and surveys, of tens of thousands of places for more than three decades. All of Zagat's accurate scores and summaries are now highlighted on local Google+ pages," Shah wrote.

Advanced integration also means that users can have access to the same information on the Google+ Local page via Maps and Search - notably, Google+ Local results will also appear for Android users while searching in Maps on the go, with the promise that iOS users would soon be able to do the same.

Not everyone is convinced, however. According to the Guardian, advocacy groups - including Consumer Watchdog - have criticised the rollout, arguing Google's latest offering thwarts competition.

Shah denied the claims. "Our goal is still to help people find the best resources on the web. We do point to other sites and to other places on the web," she told the Guardian.

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Google brings Knowledge Graph to Search

Thu, 17 May 2012 02:49:00 GMT

Google has set out to make search act 'more human' and taken its next step toward total search domination with the Knowledge Graph.

Previously, Google's algorithm matched keywords with user queries to produce results - the addition of Knowledge Graph will help the search engine better understand 'context'.

"The Knowledge Graph enables you to search for things, people or places that Google knows about - landmarks, celebrities, cities, sports teams, buildings, geographical features, movies, celestial objects, works of art and more - and instantly get information that's relevant to your query," Google SVP of Engineering Amit Singhal wrote on the company blog.

"This is a critical first step towards building the next generation of search, which taps into the collective intelligence of the web and understands the world a bit more like people do."

The Knowledge Graph compiles information from public sources - including Freebase, Wikipedia and the CIA World Factbook - and contains information on more than 500 million objects and uses some 3.5 billion facts.

Search results will be arranged into categories in which the search term has been associated, giving users the ability to zero in on results most relevant to them.

Further, Google will now also provide users with a summary of relevant information on key searches - for example important people - and will also provide what it believes are relevant related searches.

"We've always believed that the perfect search engine should understand exactly what you mean and give you back exactly what you want," Singhal said.

"And we can now sometimes help answer your next question before you've asked it, because the facts we show are informed by what other people have searched for."

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Google profits jump

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 01:24:00 GMT

Google has reported a jump in profits and sales for the first quarter, proving the sun still shines on Mountain View.

The search giant reported net income in the first quarter shot up 60 per cent from the same period last year - rising to $2.89bn (£1.8bn). Quarterly revenues exceeded $10bn (£6.2).

"Google had another great quarter with revenues up 24 per cent year on year," Google CEO Larry Page said.

"We also saw tremendous momentum from the big bets we've made in products like Android, Chrome and YouTube. We are still at the very early stages of what technology can do to improve people's lives and we have enormous opportunities ahead. It is a very exciting time to be at Google.

"We are still at the very early stages of what technology can do to improve people's lives and we have enormous opportunities ahead."

Google, in its 2012 Founders' Letter, also announced it will create a new class of non-voting capital stock, which will be distributed to all existing shareholders by means of a stock dividend. The owner of each existing share will also receive one new share of non-voting stock.

The move, according to the company's founders, will preserve Google's corporate structure and allow the company to remain focused in the long term.

"We have decided that maintaining this founder-led approach is in the best interests of Google, our shareholders and our users," Larry Page and Sergey Brin said.

"Having the flexibility to use stock without diluting our structure will help ensure we are set up for success for decades to come."

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Speculation Grows Over Improved Facebook Search Tool

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 08:25:00 GMT

Rumours of a new, improved Facebook search engine have gained momentum in recent weeks, with blurry photographic evidence and unnamed sources all suggesting the social media giant plans to move into the competitive search market.

Speculation began after CEO Mark Zuckerburg uploaded a seemingly unassuming photo of a poster reading 'Stay Focused and Keep Shipping' to his Facebook wall.

However, a closer look at an adjacent laptop reveals what appears to be an elongated search bar at the top of a standard Facebook page. Could this be a prototype for a new Facebook search engine?

According to anonymous sources who spoke to BusinessWeek, it is indeed.

The unnamed sources told the publication that Facebook has hired around two dozen engineers to create an improved search engine for the site. They also revealed that former Google engineer Lars Rasmussen is leading the project.

Analysts and web pundits see the alleged project as a natural progression for Facebook, which offers a comparatively rudimentary search tool despite dominating the social media market.

As Google continues to develop its social component, Google+, an improved Facebook search engine would be yet another example of how the search and social spheres are merging.

Steven Musil, news editor at CNET, discussed the potential impact an improved Facebook search tool, saying:

"Certainly, Facebook is no threat to Google's 67 per cent search dominance; Microsoft, Yahoo, AOL, Ask, and even Amazon field more search queries than Facebook.

"But improving its search results could help keep members on the site longer, making it more attractive to investors and allowing it to it sell more keyword ads just as Google does."

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Google plans search revamp

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 02:12:00 GMT

Google is shaking things up in search, as the company announces plans to give its web-search formula its most dramatic makeover to date.

According to the Wall Street Journal, in the coming months users will begin to see a lot more than web links when they query the popular search engine. Soon, users will also be presented with "more facts and direct answers" at the top of each results page.

For example, when a user searches "What are the 5 biggest cities in Britain?", rather than being directed to a website, Google instead might simply provide the answer.

The changes to the search engine are set to be among the biggest in Mountain View's history, and according to the WSJ, could significantly affect current page-ranking results. The changes won't see Google replace its keyword-search system, but rather will aim to provide "semantic search" technology to better understand what users are searching for.

According to Google exec Amit Singhal, a search database containing millions of "entities" - made possible with semantic search technology - will help associate and connect these entities with one another - for example, terms like "Google" might be matched with "Larry Page".

The new search, says Mr Singhal, will look "how humans understand the world."

He continued saying that for many searches today "we cross our fingers and hope there's a Web page out there with the answer."

Though plans for "semantic search" are already in the works - Google has been quietly collecting "entities" data for two years - there is no official word on when users might expect the changes to occur.

The process, according to Mr Singhal, is years in the making, and will usher in what he calls "the next generation of search."

The new system is also expected to help Google "better recognize the value of information" on websites, says the Wall Street Journal, and will examine a website looking for information about entities referenced on the page, rather than simply look for keywords.

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"Little bird" says CNN to buy Mashable

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 01:01:00 GMT

Rumour has it CNN is planning to buy the social media blog Mashable.

Reuters blogger Felix Salmon, reporting from the South by Southwest conference in Austin, Texas, said a "little bird" told him CNN was set to announce "an acquisition of Mashable for upwards of $200 million" (£128 million), and that the official word could come as early as Tuesday.

The New York Times confirmed today that CNN - a subsidiary of Time Warner - and Mashable were in advanced acquisition talks, but reported CNN officials denied an announcement would be made on Tuesday.

Mashable was founded in July 2005 by Pete Cashmore in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The site quickly made its name for its social media and technology news, and more recently expanded its coverage to include business and entertainment.

According to its website, Mashable currently has "20 million monthly unique visitors and 4 million social media followers."

Mashable is known for having hired aggressively and for its early partnering with several mainstream news sites, including CNN and ABC News. CNN already syndicates some of Mashable's stories on its website, CNN.com - which is currently one of the most popular news websites in the U.S.

Should the acquisition of the seven year old company go through, it will be considered quite the coup for Cashmore and his associates. It would reportedly be the largest acquisition by CNN.com to date.

And, never underestimating the ubiquitousness of Facebook, The New York Times also reported there was a social media hint that the potential acquisition was imminent - early Monday morning, Adam Ostrow, the executive director of Mashable, "liked" Salmon's story for Reuters on Facebook.

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New feature saves Google searches across devices

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 09:48:00 GMT

Forget the pen and paper, Google wants you to never have to write down an address or phone number again.

Google announced this week that users will now have their search history saved across multiple devices, thanks to the handy new "Recent" tab.

"How often are you doing a Google search from your computer to find information about a place before going there? Now, next time you go to Google.com on your Android phone or iPhone, information about that place will be conveniently available under the new "Recent" icon," Junichi Uekawa, Google software engineer, wrote on the Google Mobile Blog.

Explaining how the feature works, Uekawa further wrote: "Start by searching for a place on your PC or other devices, then login to Google.com's mobile homepage and check the Recent icon. Information about previously searched places will be available under the Recent icon for about a day."

Additionally, to use the new feature, users must have "Web History" - the record of websites visited while searching within Google - enabled, as well as being logged into the same Google account on both the device used for the original search and the mobile device on which they would like to access their search results.

Experts believe the new search feature is likely a result of Google's new merged privacy settings which went into effect on 1 March. The new policy gives users the explicit right to "combine personal information" across products and services.

However, for those worried about the Big Brother-esque factor of personalised search results, both Web History and the new browser search history feature can be turned off.

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Legal questions surround Google's privacy policy

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 09:37:00 GMT

Questions have been raised regarding changes to Google's privacy policy which came into effect as of 1 March. The European Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding has drawn attention to legal queries with regards to data protection following a letter sent to Google from French data protection authority CNIL.

According to TechWeek Europe, Reding told BBC Radio Four that she believes Google's changes may "violate European data laws by failing to consult consumers making the changes, among other complaints."

The Google changes, which the search seraph claims will improve relevancy and quality of service to users of sites such as YouTube or Google Maps, led CNIL to issue a letter asking the company to halt the changes until further questions about its compliance with EU data protection regulations had been resolved.

"It is unfortunate that Google has gone ahead with the new policy before addressing the French data protection authority's concerns," Reding told eWEEK in a statement.

"All companies that offer services to European consumers must provide their customers with clear information about their privacy policy. In Europe, consumers must be able to make informed decisions about using Internet-based services."

The Register branded Google's privacy policy as incoherent and confusing, highlighting a number of inconsistences which could mislead users.

Stating: "The privacy policy uses a wide range of similar terms in different circumstances which I think are contradictory. For example, it uses the following terms: 'information', 'personal information', 'personal data', 'data', 'non-personally identifiable information', 'personally identifiable information', 'sensitive personal information', and 'other information that identifies you'. Are these terms talking about the same thing? Put simply, the reader doesn't know for certain."

In response to the letter from CNIL, Google Global Privacy Counsel Peter Fleischer replied that Google is "confident that our new simple, clear and transparent privacy policy respects all European data protection laws and principles."

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