Google brings out Verbatim search !

Google has added a tool that explicitly searches for exactly and only your search term. This verbatim search removes personalized, corrected, suggested, related, and non-inclusive results.

After conducting any standard search, users can navigate to the left menu on the SERP and choose "More search options" > "Verbatim." This will direct the user to a new search results page that eliminates several types of results.

According to Google, “With the verbatim tool on, we’ll use the literal words you entered without making normal improvements such as

• Making automatic spelling corrections
• Personalizing your search by using information such as sites you’ve visited before
• Including synonyms of your search terms (matching “car” when you search [automotive])
• Finding results that match similar terms to those in your query (finding results related to “floral delivery” when you search [flower shops])
• Searching for words with the same stem like “running” when you’ve typed [run]
• Making some of your terms optional, like “circa” in [the scarecrow circa 1963]”.

This means that pages that would normally be included simply won't appear. Some pages set for omission in this case would be those that: use alternate forms or tenses; use synonyms; auto-correct spelling; or are personalized based on the history and social connections of the user.

Verbatim search will replace the "+" functionality in search queries. While putting a phrase in quotes (e.g., "this is my query") will still pull a search for sites that use the exact phrase and spelling, the verbatim search – as noted above – strips down the results to a far greater degree.

Verbatim seems a convenient option for users to find the specific and precise results that they are expecting from their queries. Google has said, that they will roll Verbatim feature globally pretty soon.

Google introduced: Google Supplier Directory Beta!

Google has launched a new service, the “Google Supplier Directory Beta” earlier this month to connect companies with Chinese manufacturers. The service, a part of the AdWords program, lists several Chinese-based firms, their product details, export markets, annual revenue (in RMB), and more.

The Directory only features ten companies right now, so no search function is provided (or needed). The site’s main page lists the company name, a brief description, plus its revenue, markets served, number of employees, location and whether or not the company has been audited. Google says it verified the information via third party provider Sinotrust, but it may not remain up-to-date as company conditions change.

On an individual company’s page, there is more detail provided, including the company contact information and location on a map. There’s also a red “Contact Supplier” button which allows users to reach out directly to the supplier through Google.

According to a Google spokesperson:

As part of our efforts to improve our advertising offerings, we’re currently testing the Google Supplier Directory, which provides information about manufacturers that sell electrical transformers and related components.  This is a limited test with a very small number of manufacturers.  We have nothing further to announce at this time.

Google introduced some new changes in Google Analytics !

Google announced  some more changes in Google Analytics. The new changes include mobile ad performance metrics along with all AdWords reports having new visual toggle showing ads.

As Google is quoted, “Starting this week, some of you will see enhanced Analytics reports with mobile ad performance metrics. All AdWords reports in the new interface will be gaining a new visual toggle as shown below for “All”, “High-end Mobile” and “Tablet” ads.”

The new Google Analytics interface has these features, and will come in handy by letting webmasters sort out the increasing numbers of mobile and tablet users. These reports will be a huge help for businesses in understanding the requirements of mobile customers better.

Google plans to make further changes like email scheduling and PDF export functionality, as it announced recently. You will be able to see these changes in the new interface within a couple of weeks. Standard and custom reports will all have the email scheduling option:

Google said. “The old Google Analytics interface as well as all existing scheduled emails will be sunset starting in January 2012.“We believe that the new Google Analytics interface provides significant advantages over the old version, including access to Real Time Analytics, Multi-Channel Funnels, Social Plug-in Analytics, & Flow Visualization. And hope you'll find enough value in these new features that you'll switch to the new version well before then.”

Google Product Ads can now show up to 5 different products at a time!

In order to prepare your business for the holiday shopping season, Google announced an improvement to its Product Ads. This is the ability to show up to five different products at a time. Giving users the ability to see more shopping choices increases your chances of conversion while pushing your brand out in front of more people. The ability to show five products at a time is available in all countries with Product Listing Ads.

This improvement will help shoppers to see your exact products before they come to your site. Google said this will help your business get more clicks, higher conversions, and a much higher ROI for your search ads.

Product ads are twice as likely to get clicked over text ads in the same location. Since launching Product Listing Ads in AdWords, Google has seen a 600 percent increase in traffic to retailers in compared to last year. This is a significant amount of traffic for online retailers.

Coming Soon to Google+ : Updates For Pages, Mobile, AdWords and More !

Google+ is reportedly slated to undergo major renovations in 2012, most of which were revealed by Google Head of SEM/Platform Channel Partnerships, Tae Kim, during his keynote at CrushIQ on Google+ Pages for Businesses.

According to Kim, Google+ will look very different in six months after it becomes better integrated with the entire suite of Google products. Additionally, several of the achievements early Google+ adopters have been able to accomplish through the platform - including meeting new people and connecting users with those they might already know - have been claimed as intentional use of the network by Google.

Here’s what you'll be able to expect from Google+ in the near future.

• Multiple administrators, an in-demand feature for Google+ Page users, will be enabled in the first quarter of 2012.
• Better Circle management tools are being integrated.
• In order to become a verified brand on Google+, the G+ badge must be placed somewhere on your website, and you must have a wealth of followers.
• Google is more focused on presenting its Google+ product as is rather than waiting to be perfect for release.
• AdWords will definitely be coming to Google+, though monetization is not a priority, and will somehow include Ripples.
• There is a heavy focus on mobile for Google+, with the goal being 100% functionality.
• Google+ is prioritizing its Android app over iOS due to limited resources, but will update its iOS application as soon as it is able.
• You will be able to search with the "+" button through Google to find either Pages or people.
• There are now over 250 companies with Google+ Brand Pages, a number that  that continues to grow

Kim also confirmed that AdWords ads will eventually be shown on Google+, but that Google is in no hurry to do so. Monetization, he said, is not a priority right now. He added that AdWords on Google+ will make use of the Ripples feature.

Google+ Brand Pages Start Showing Up In SERPs!

Google+ Pages for business and their related data are now showing up in Google's organic search listing, as All About Content reported. Now, signed in users can see the “Add to Circles” option in the search listings, while the non signed in users, get to see the posts and the Google+ page in the search results.

The only hitch in this is that only the brands that have been approved for Direct Connect are showing up in search results. So, if your Page is not “Verified,” it will not show in SERPs as of now.

 

The Value Of Top Ranking & Social Content In Google Maps!

Media­tive has done an online research over the years, using eye track­ing tech­nol­ogy, remote sur­veys, click map­ping and face-to-face inter­views to exam­ine how peo­ple inter­act with web pages.

The value of scoring the top spot in Google local results was brought to light by this new eye tracking and click tracking study from Mediative. The study also revealed that social content can be instrumental in boosting the rankings further down the page. Also, the “Google's Golden Triangle” exists in the way searchers use and scan Google’s local results. The Golden triangle formula is not applicable in the case when lower ranked sites have more content than the higher ranked ones!

This study, tells us some important things regarding local search-

1. Even lowers listings with social content can get more clicks than top results sans social signals.
2. If your results are not on top, and being lowers, do not have any social content, then they may be ignored by the users.
3. Reviews are an important factor affecting local search.
4. Text snippets of the reviews are effective in gaining users' attention.

For further details of the study, you can download it here.

Think inside with Google !

Google has graduated Think Insights from beta. This tool now compiles real-time data from Google search and other platforms, combining those facts with additional studies, infographics, and more.

Users can find the site at ThinkwithGoogle.com, and then explore tools that focus on different sectors of the virtual world. Google described the site as an "information and resource hub for marketers" in the Official Google Blog post announcing Think Insights' graduation. The post also indicated that Google will continue to use the site as a data-centric storehouse for "consumer trends, marketing insights, and industry research."

The business owners are now allowed to add interior imagery to their Google Place page !

Google has launched a new program for the businesses on Google Places. The business owners are now allowed to add interior imagery to their Google Place page. In other words, this new Business Photos program will let Google users inside the shops and businesses and will give them a 360 degree view of the establishment. It will be like a virtual tour that the users will take of the business.

As Google has been quoted, “Building on the Google Art Project, which took Street View technology inside 17 acclaimed museums, this project is another creative implementation of Street View technology, to help businesses as they build their online presence. We hope to enable businesses to highlight the qualities that make their locations stand out through professional, high-quality imagery.”

The new program is an opt-in service, where Google will take their 360-degree photography inside businesses who have applied for the program. The commercial establishments need to be listed in Google Places and then the search engine giant will send over verified photographers.

The program is seeing the light of the day in London, and will extend to other cities within the U.S., Japan, Australia and New Zealand. An important thing to note here is that the Street View indoors program will exclude known and big-brand chains, hospitals and law firms, keeping the much required privacy in mind.

Connect Your Google+ Page To Your AdWords Campaigns !

As you may know, Google lets you tie the +1’s of your Google+ Page to your site, your search results, and your AdWords ads. Google announced a new AdWords feature called Social Extensions, which is how you include your AdWords campaigns.

“Currently (and for campaigns that don’t have Social Extensions enabled) your AdWords ads only show +1’s from people who have +1’d that ad’s landing page,” explains Dan Friedman of Google’s Inside AdWords Crew. “This limits the likelihood that someone who sees your ad will have a friend or contact who’s recommended it. By enabling Social Extensions on your ad campaigns you’re able to leverage all the +1’s your brand has received, whether it be on a search result, on your Google+ Page, your website or on your ads, making it more likely that someone who sees your ad will have a friend or contact who has recommended it.”

To learn how to Connect Your Google+ Page To Your AdWords Campaigns please visit http://adwords.blogspot.com/2011/11/connect-your-google-page-to-your.html