Bigmouthmedia search engine news: travel

UK travel customers 'increasingly using search engines'

Thu, 10 Jan 2008 12:00:00 GMT

The internet is rapidly becoming the number one resource for consumers looking to travel, according to new research.

Figures produced by comScore and Google UK reveal that 20 million people in the UK used search engines to find travel information during the first quarter of 2007.

"Online research and more specifically search has become a critical first step for consumers considering purchases," stated Bob Ivins, executive vice president of European markets for comScore.

It was also found that British people are using search engines in more sophisticated ways to research and purchase travel, with customers taking nearly a month on average to go from their first search to performing a financial transaction.

According to the researchers, travel companies face a mounting challenge to retain online buyers as the "proliferation of competition" encourages consumers to shop around for good deals.

Buyers were found to favour generic product or destination search terms over branded ones when beginning their hunt for information, with 54 per cent entering such terms at the start of the process.

Additionally, many travel customers (over a third) were found to use a generic search term as their last before making a purchase.

Concerning the research, Mr Ivins stated: "By studying the entire online purchase path from first search to actual transaction, we are able to quantify the importance of that first search and subsequent searches and help marketers impact purchase decisions."

Figures released last year by comScore revealed that holiday and travel websites enjoyed considerable success in the UK over the summer, with lastminute.com being visited by 5.2 million users in July alone.

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A quarter of all searches end in a purchase

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 12:00:00 GMT

The Internet Advertising Bureau held its annual Engage conference in London this month, an event that brings together some of the world's most important figures in search engine marketing. One of the key figures at this year's Engage was Google UK MD, Matt Brittin, who delivered an insightful speech on "Keeping up with the Consumer."

In his presentation to the IAB, Matthew Brittin revealed that Google is now predicting the rise of 'cloud computing'. This means an end to storing information on individual local devices and the beginning of simply storing data online, so it can be accessed from anywhere in the world.

As well as this prediction, Brittin, Google's most senior employee in the United Kingdom, offered the audience some interesting facts. According to Brittin, 25% of all searches end in a purchase.

In addition, he revealed that 54% of searchers will use Google to identify other resources which can be used to find more products and services. A DoubleClick survey undertaken in the United States also found that 57% of women would use a search engine to find more detailed information before making an offline purchase.

Talking about the travel sector, Brittin noted that an average user would make 12 searches, visit 22 sites and take 29 days before they ultimately made their booking.

In the retail sector, it was noted that 55% of people would conclude that if they could not find a retailer's product on their website, it would probably not be available in the retailer's store either.

Essentially, Brittin stressed the importance of understanding how all of us engage with media, claiming that "we are only at the beginning of understanding the potential of the online world".

Other speakers at Engage 2007 included Randy Falco, AOL's Chairman and CEO, and Owen Van Natta, COO of Facebook.

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Flickr launches new map facility

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 12:00:00 GMT

Photo sharing website Flickr has today launched a new mapping service that allows users to search for pictures on the basis of their location and access related information.

The Yahoo!-owned website currently hosts billions of photos and receives around 40 million visits every month, and this latest feature offers a new way for users - particularly travellers - to look for relevant images, Reuters reports.

Flickr Places uses an existing map facility to identify photos based on the location in which they were taken, with over 100,000 searchable hotspots being made available and new features such as "hot tags" and photo streams now on display on the map's main page.

Accessible in eight languages in total - English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Portuguese, Korean and traditional Chinese - Flickr Places also includes special pages for certain destinations, containing information such as local weather data and maps.

"It's a new way to browse what is happening in the world," Kakul Srivastava, senior director of product management at Flickr, told Reuters.

The website saw its two billionth image - a photo of a gum tree in Australia - uploaded last week.

CNET News.com recently reported that Microsoft is set to build its own photo-sharing website after posting an advert for the role of project manager for "a next-generation photo and video-sharing service that will compete with Flickr, SmugMug and other photo web solutions".

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SearchBoth.com adds more search engines

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 12:00:00 GMT

SearchBoth.com has announced the launch of a number of new services available on its website.

Developed by entrepreneur Bobby Kalili and operated by InternetLabz.com, SearchBoth.com was originally intended to provide users with a means of looking things up on both Yahoo! and Google simultaneously.

Now, however, it has extended its service to include a further nine search engines, including Ask.com, MSN, DogPile, MetaCrawler, Alta Vista, LookSmart and WebSearch.

It has also added a feature which will allow users to search any two travel sites side by side, starting off with the top 12 such sites, including Hotels.com, Expedia, CheapTickets, SideStep, Kayak, Travelocity and HotWire.

SearchBoth.com works by placing two chosen websites next to each other on a split screen, thus making comparisons between the two sites efficient and simple.

The service currently offers a toolbar plugin for the FireFox web browser and is set to extend the same facility to Internet Explorer by the end of this month.

It is also planning to add video sharing site YouTube and its new competitor Hulu, once it has gained sufficient popularity.

Additionally, SearchBoth.com has unveiled the introduction of AT&T's YellowPages.com and Verizon's SuperPages.com on to its site.

Meanwhile, parent company InternetLabz.com has just announced it is to introduce a FreeYellowPages service, which will allow users to search for phone numbers and addresses quickly over AOL and MSN instant messenger.

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Google fails to dismiss American Airlines lawsuit

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 12:00:00 GMT

Attempts by Google to dismiss a lawsuit brought by American Airlines have been rejected by a federal court judge, Computerworld reports.

The US-based airline filed the lawsuit in August in an attempt to prevent competitors using its trademark to trigger their own advertising on Google.

Commenting on the decision, American Airlines spokesman Tim Wagner said: "We are pleased by the judge's order denying Google's motion to dismiss our claims.

"American would not have brought its lawsuit against Google if we did not believe in the merits of our claims and the court's order ... ensures that we will have an opportunity to develop and pursue those claims."

Meanwhile, Google expressed disappointment at the verdicts, saying it believed the American Airlines trademark suit "lacks merit".

A spokesman stated: "Google's trademark policy strikes a proper balance between trademark owners' interests and consumer choice and has been validated by prior court decision."

Earlier this year, the search engine successfully defended its practice of permitting advertisers to bid for keywords for trademarked items when American Blind & Wallpaper Factory dropped its four-year legal case.

The settlement, in which Google did not pay any money, was one of a series of lawsuits in which the company overcame objections to its trademark policy.

At the time, Eric Goldman, an assistant law professor at Santa Clara University, issued a warning to firms saying that the capitulation of American Blinds may serve as a reminder that it can be irrational to bring lawsuits over keywords.

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Exec leaves Yahoo! for SideStep

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 12:00:00 GMT

Search engine Yahoo! has parted with its vice president of business operations Matthew Heist.

The news comes in the wake of the resignation last week of commercial director at Yahoo! Blake Chandlee, reported by Mediaweek.co.uk.

Mr Heist has gone on to assume the role of senior vice president of global search at the online travel search company SideStep.

While at Yahoo!, he had been responsible for driving strategy and operations for the search engine's vertical search and commerce properties, including Yahoo! Shopping, Travel, Autos, Real Estate and the Local Group.

Rob Solomon, president and chief executive officer at SideStep, commented: "Matt brings a wealth of industry knowledge to the SideStep executive roster.

"He is a trusted, proven leader in the internet business world and will be instrumental in furthering SideStep's reach in the US and across the globe. We are thrilled to welcome him to our team."

This is an exciting time to work for the company, as it continues its growth by focusing on its innovations and strengths, he added.

In his new position, Mr Heist will be in charge of SideStep's core search and international search businesses.

Founded in 1999, SideStep searches websites to find customers the best travel deals.

Over five million customers now use the site each month and the company has formed alliances with a number of travel marketers, including easyJet, Hilton International and British Airways.

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Google faces legal challenge from American Airlines

Mon, 20 Aug 2007 12:00:00 GMT

Search engine giant Google has seen itself come up against another major lawsuit today as American Airlines accuse the company of selling search words that involved the airline's name.

Google is accused of selling search terms, such as the company's title and website address, to other firms for advertising purposes. This is a violation of trademark laws, according to American Airlines.

Google, however, has indicated that its trademark policy "strikes a proper balance" between consumer choice and trademark owners' interests.

Commenting on the lawsuit, American Airlines spokesman Billy Sanez said: "When done right, search is a great tool, but we have a problem with this part of their business."

Another company statement read: "In working through this business dispute, American [Airlines] is hopeful that it will continue professional, friendly and fruitful relationships with Google, while finding an appropriate resolution to the trademark issues."

In response, Google stated that it was confident of its position as it "has been validated by decisions in previous trademark cases".

The lawsuit brought by auto insurer Geico is one of the aforementioned cases to which Google could be referring. However, the search engine still faces a trial later this year in a case brought by American Blind and Wallpaper Factory.

During the 2004 Geico case, the judge said that using trademarks as keywords in order to prompt advertising was not trademark infringement, according to Michael Page, a partner at Google representatives Keker & Van Nest.

Earlier this year, the US state of Utah passed a law that made it illegal for search engines to display the advertisements of rival companies alongside search results for an electronically trademarked company name.

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MSN to offer free airfare predictions

Wed, 01 Aug 2007 12:00:00 GMT

MSN and Farecast, the airfare prediction website, are to combine to provide users of the search engine with free airfare prediction and planning tools on the MSN Travel Channel.

The addition of the new technology is intended to enable MSN users to gain access to better information in order to make more informed decisions concerning travel planning.

This is the first distribution deal struck by Farecast and the move will see its technology made available to a much wider audience.

President of the company Hugh Crean commented: "We are thrilled to partner with MSN," adding that the agreement "is further validation of the value of Farecast's predictive technology to help people make smarter buying decisions and be more empowered when shopping for travel".

Farecast will add to the existing travel content partners already working with the search engine, including Frommer's, Expedia and Travel+ Leisure.

The deal will allow MSN Travel users to explore issues such as where they should consider travelling to, what is suitable for their budgets and how to find the best airfare deals.

Jeff Dossett, executive producer and general manager at MSN, said: "Farecast is changing the way consumers shop for airfares by helping them answer the difficult question 'should I buy now or wait?' when shopping for an airfare."

Farecast offers airfare predictions from over 75 cities in the US to a range of domestic destinations.

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JetBlue travellers to get in-flight Google Maps

Fri, 08 Jun 2007 12:00:00 GMT

Low-cost US airline JetBlue Airways has joined forces with search engine giant Google to try and enhance the flying experience for its passengers.

The new collaboration will allow flyers to view the routes of their flights using Google's popular Google Maps interface.

Passengers will be able to monitor their progress on their seatback screens and the service will be available on channel 13 of JetBlue's satellite television system.

Brett Muney, manager of product development for JetBlue, said: "We're constantly looking for ways to enhance our customers' in-flight experience.

"With the addition of Google's advanced mapping technology, our customers can enjoy a seat with a view - tracking their flight's altitude, speed and location on the way to their destination.

"We look forward to future product developments with Google as we continue to innovate our in-flight entertainment options and other products."

In addition, flyers' family members and friends will be able to visit the JetBlue website and track the flights themselves online using Google's technology - including estimated arrival and departure times.

"Google is pleased to provide our innovative mapping technology to JetBlue's customers," said John Hanke, director of Google Maps and Earth. "We're excited to see Google Maps in use at 35,000 feet."

Meanwhile, Google Adsense is set to be integrated into Google Maps, meaning the traditional push pins that highlight services such as hotels will soon allow firms to place their own icons or logos on the maps.

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Famous landmark images on Yahoo! search listings

Fri, 11 May 2007 12:00:00 GMT

Famous Landmarks are now getting star treatment from Yahoo!. The mighty search engine has recently added thumbnails of many domestic and international landmarks to search pages in the prime position of their search results page, above organic listings. Yahoo! sources the images from Flickr.com, the online digital photo and media file sharing web site which was acquired by Yahoo! back in 2005.

A feature called 'Filckr Interestingness' rates pictures by 'interestingness' through their user comments and click-throughs. It is this feature that determines whether popular images are integrated with the main Yahoo! SERPS. Interestingness changes over time, as more and more great pictures and stories are uploaded to Flickr.com. Clicking on the thumbnails in Yahoo! takes you into Flickr where you can explore further and set up your own photo sharing account.

User-generated content sites, image sharing and social network sites are growing at an incredible rate. Social sites, such as YouTube, MySpace and Bebo, are now providing companies with great brand publicity, leading to site traffic and potentially converting into sales. Users can effectively create revenue for companies and brands through 'online noise'. This new change to the Yahoo! search engine further emphasises the emerging trend that users are now in the driving seat, indirectly dictating which photos are shown in SERPS by simply viewing and commenting on them via Flickr.

Whether you're planning a trip to see the Colosseum or the Pyramids, or you want to refresh memories of trips to the Sydney Opera House, the Eiffel Tower or London's Tower Bridge, you can now find all you need quickly and conveniently with Yahoo! search.

Similarly, if you have pride in your own local landmark or monument, you may now see it being showcased on Yahoo! Try it, along with the Empire State Building, Chichen Itza, and Machu Picchu for example. The image below shows results for Rome's Colosseum.

Yahoo! has also hinted that they plan to continue their expansion of the world pictures search experience and that user behaviour and input will play a part in this development.

So, you never know - if you've got a first-rate photo on Flickr of a world landmark from one of your holidays, you might just see it appear in the Yahoo! search listings one day, for all the world to see!

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