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August 1, 2008
SEW Experts: Has Mobile Local Search Finally Arrived?Can the iPhone and Google's Android fix the limitations that have plagued mobile advertising and mobile search? In today's vertical search column, "Has Mobile Local Search Finally Arrived?," local search expert Michael Boland notes that it could take a couple years to really get moving, but after a long period of being rusted shut, it appears that the wheels are finally starting to creak forward on local mobile search.
Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
SEW Experts: Universal Thoughts on Local SearchLocal search is showing up in your Web browser, at your desk, on your phone, and on your GPS devices -- and these are just the easy examples. In today's SEM agency issues column, "Universal Thoughts on Local Search," William Flaiz explains that the number of devices and locations for local search will continue to grow as more things become connected to the Internet.
Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
July 19, 2008
JumpTap Adds New York Office in Growing Mobile Search MarketThe mobile search world paints a slightly different picture of the distribution of search providers. Yes, we have the big guns as the dominant forces in the mobile search marketplace. But many of the carriers view the big search companies as rivals, and have opted to partner with lesser known companies such as JumpTap, Medio, InfoSpace, and FAST.
These companies provide carriers with their own white labeled search engine, which offer generous revenue sharing models to the mobile carriers. Mobile carriers are looking beyond their flat rate monthly data plans to bolster revenue, and JumpTap is offering their carrier partners just that. JumpTap collects behavioral data provided by the carrier to serve ads that are most relevant to searchers. These highly targeted ads are likely to generate high click-throughs. A win-win solution for the carrier, JumpTap, the advertiser, and the searcher.
This model has allowed JumpTap to secure relationships with partners include Boost Mobile, Alltel Wireless, Rogers Wireless, Fido , Virgin Mobile USA, Bell Canada , Telefonica, and TeliaSonera. On the content syndication side - JumpTap has partnered with both NBC - Universal, and FOX. The reach is approximately 140 million mobile subscribers.
What makes the JumpTap search experience different than it's competitors? JumpTap is unique in that it only indexes sites that are optimized for the mobile web. The company boasts the largest pure mobile search index. Mobile searchers will not be delivered sites developed in Flash, for example, which cannot be viewed on the great majority of handsets.
We asked what makes the mobile search experience different than traditional web search. "Mobile search is completely different. You are not likely to do research for a term paper via your mobile device. Queries are more likely to be fall into categories such as entertainment, games, restaurants, shopping. Mobile search intent is completely different", said Eric Brown, Manager of Ad Operations at JumpTap.
Another JumpTap enthusiast told us - "Mobile is so important, because for many individuals, particularly in emerging countries, it's their only gatway to the web. It's the only medium for them to harness the power of a search".
A guest of the event, Adam Broitman - a blogger on the subject of emerging media shared with us his thoughts. "JumpTap’s realization that the mobile phone is slowly becoming the remote control for our entire life could not be more timely. The mobile web needs companies like JumpTap in order to help further the mobile web, and I could not have been happier to have been in attendance at the celebration of their arrival in New York City."
Posted by Frank Watson at 11:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
June 26, 2008
Apartment Guide Launches Mobile GPS Search ApplicationApartment Guide has launched a mobile search application allowing users to find apartments via GPS. They've partnered with Mobile Accord to provide the location-based listings, available through participating carriers.
“Apartment Guide makes finding apartments easier through mobile GPS,” said Arlene Mayfield, president of Apartment Guide. “Powered by Qualcomm’s BREW® Platform, the application also enables mobile phone subscribers to search for apartments anywhere in the United States, access prices, photos and property features and contact the leasing office directly.”
“According to ABI Research, North American subscriptions to ‘personal locator services’ using GPS-enabled mobile phones will grow to more than 20 million by 2011,” said James Eberhard, chairman, Mobile Accord. “By enabling consumers to find apartments through GPS on their cell phones, Apartment Guide addresses a growing technological demand and meets the needs of renters ‘on the go.’”
Related Reading: Google Opens Location-Aware Application to 3rd Party Developers
Posted by Nathania Johnson at 9:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
June 16, 2008
Google Dominates Mobile Search Market Share in Q1 2008Continuing its dominance in search, Google saw 61% of mobile searches in the first quarter of 2008, according to data released by Nielsen Mobile. Yahoo came in second at 18%, while MSN lagged behind at third with 5%.
65% of Google searchers were male while 63% of Yahoo searchers were male.
When it comes to what mobile searchers are looking for, Google and Yahoo users are alike:
Google searches: Information 33% Local listings 29% Websites/navigation 27% Yahoo searches: Information 33% Local listings 24% Websites/navigation 26%
But finding satisfactory results is still a bit of a challenge when it comes to mobile search. Only 44% of Google searchers and 40% of Yahoo searchers rated their experience in the 8-10 range on a scale of 10.
Last week, Google announced that it updated its mobile search offering to make it faster for searchers on the go.
Posted by Nathania Johnson at 9:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
May 21, 2008
SEW Experts: The Challenge of Mobile Web AnalyticsOne of the biggest challenges resulting from the growth in mobile Web use is measurement. Conventional Web analytics applications don't do a good job of tracking mobile Web site usage, making it difficult to tune and enhance your mobile Web site's performance. In today's Web Analytics and ROI column, "The Challenge of Mobile Web Analytics," Eric Enge offers some alternatives to tracking mobile Web site usage.
Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
April 18, 2008
Visual, Mobile Search Engine Coming to iPhones in JapanEvolution Robotics is preparing to introduce a new mobile search engine, dubbed ER Search, that incorporates visual search. Expected to be available for iPhones in Japan as early as June, the technology makes cameras an integral part of the mobile search process. Here’s how it works:
1. Users take a picture of a DVD cover, book cover or CD cover. 2. They email it to Evolution Robotics server. 3. Evolution Robotics sends an email to the iPhone with information about the product. 4. Users have the option to buy the product. For example, a link to the iTunes iPhone store will bring up a list of tunes associated with the product.
Words can’t really do this justice, so take some time and watch this video demo of ER Search:
via Mobile Whack
Related Reading: Japan: Mobile Version of Yahoo Shopping Now Available and Searching With Your Cameraphone As Wifi expands, local and mobile search continue to emerge Visual Search Engine Searchme Launches Private Beta
Posted by Nathania Johnson at 11:10 AM | Permalink
April 1, 2008
ChaCha Refocuses Business Model on Mobile Text SearchAlmost two years ago, ChaCha launched a service that enabled users to conduct a live chat with a "search guide" to aid in search engine queries. That service flopped, but they believe that their mobile text service can still be a hit. Now, ChaCha is refocusing its business to center around its mobile business.
Users can conduct a search query using text or voice. A few minutes later, a text arrives with the answer. I decided to give it a try myself this morning. I texted to ask what ingredients are in a Java Chip Frappuccino. (I didn't state that the coffee drink comes from Starucks.) Six minutes later, I got my text with the answer, though it did leave out the optional whipped cream and chocolate syrup.
At first, it might seem like a long time. But keep in mind that during those six minutes, I was able to get work done, instead of conducting the search, checking out the results, and finding the answer myself.
ChaCha is making a play for what search users are increasingly demonstrating they want, which is answers, not search results.
Posted by Nathania Johnson at 10:21 AM | Permalink
October 23, 2007
New CBS/Medio Mobile Search Deal: The Start of a Revolution?CBS Mobile is teaming up with Medio Systems to add mobile search capabilities and search advertising opportunities to CBS Mobile sites. Is this "the shot heard round the world" of mobile search? In today's SearchDay, "Will the Revolution in Mobile Search be Televised?," Greg Jarboe argues that this signals the opening salvo in a revolutionary war to deliver easy-to-access mobile content to a growing mobile Internet audience. It's also the launch of an ad-supported search solution that is optimized for the mobile experience.
Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 4:22 PM | Permalink
October 12, 2007
For Teens, Mobile Search Doesn’t Register YetWe have all observed teens in their native habitats -- one hand glued to junk food while the other is attached to a mobile phone. Mobile phones have become their lifelines, by helping them to stay connected, providing a source of entertainment and enabling them to multitask.
One activity they aren’t using their phones for much is searching. Some do want to find their way, with 16% currently using GPS and 14% coveting this feature. Yet, despite all the great benefits associated with geo-location, teens don't view local search, directories or shopping aids as being a high priority for them.
According to OTX Research, nearly three-quarters of teens sent text messages or used wallpapers, while more than half took digital photos, played games, sent photos, downloaded ringtones, or IM’d each other. When asked what features they most wanted, nearly half said texting -- with everything else paling in comparison.
On the upside, teens do surf content that requires search tools. Currently, around 30% view websites and 22% download videos on their phones. As with other devices, they seek music videos, user-generated clips, TV shows and movies. (These kids don’t care about news, with only 12% reporting they view news clips.)
Given the intensity of teen phone use, it’s easy to conclude that there should be more effort placed on search functionality and its ease-of-use. With limited screen size, there are surely better ways to highlight video or site results. As scrolling through multiple results is untenable, the relevance of top results increases significantly too. Let's get to it.
Posted by Deborah Richman at 1:59 PM | Permalink
SEW Experts: Voice Search: Mobile Tactic Here. Now. 2DAY.Mobile has long been called marketers' next emerging opportunity. So, from a local search standpoint, how do you prepare for the opportunity? In today's Vertical Challenge column, "Voice Search: Mobile Tactic Here. Now. 2DAY.," local search expert Gregg Stewart explains that a very old offering is hot once again: directory assistance (DA), and its new subcategory of voice search.
Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink
September 26, 2007
SEW Experts: Mobile Search Fortune SeekersThe year of mobile search seems to be forever a few months away. In today's By the Numbers column, "Mobile Search Fortune Seekers," Eric Enge shows that even if mobile search doesn't hit the ad revenue jackpot this year, marketers need to know how to secure a seat at the table.
Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink
September 10, 2007
Gary Price on Mobile SearchA while back I sat down with Gary Price and talked about mobile search. One of the interesting discussions was about the decision to not include a search box on the initial screen of Ask's Mobile Search
What Ask found in their user testing is that users would immediately go to the search box and start trying to use it. While this sounds like it offers what the user wants, the fact is that accomplishing simple things like finding our the weather in San Francisco can take 70 keystrokes if you are on a mobile device without a QWERTY keyboard (for example entering the letter C requires you to hit the 2 button 3 times).
This does not sound like the pinnacle of usability does it? So Ask focused it's efforts on providing a streamlined interface that provides link based navigation to the functions of greatest interest to mobile users. This type of approach allows the user to get the information they are looking for much faster. It's an interesting lesson in making sure you understand the user's environment.
Posted by Eric Enge at 9:00 AM | Permalink
September 6, 2007
Superpages Gets Local Mobile AppIdearc's Superpages.com has launched a mobile version of its local search product, Superpages Mobile for BlackBerry. The application is designed to help mobile users, especially business travelers, find local information easily with a BlackBerry mobile device. For example, users can search for local businesses, map directions, get local movie showtimes, find a person or check the local weather.
Idearc is the latest of many search companies to offer a downloadable application for mobile users. While mobile users who will go to the trouble of downloading an application are a minority, they are an influential one, which search providers look to in order to spread the word about their services.
Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 10:36 AM | Permalink
September 5, 2007
Yellow Pages Provider Testing Voice-Enabled Local SearchPrint and online Yellow Pages provider R.H. Donnelley is testing a new voice-enabled local search solution, dubbed "1-800-CallDex." The service, currently available in the Denver, Phoenix, Spokane and Tucson markets, provides free directory assistance (free DA) and local category search for consumers seeking businesses. The service provides addresses, phone numbers, business descriptions, hours of operation, payment methods and other information.
Free DA is a growing area, with limited consumer adoption and even more limited advertiser pick-up. The field is wide open to grab market share, with Jingle’s 800-free411, AT&T’s 1-800-yellowpages and Goog411 among the competitors.
R.H. Donnelley teamed up with Toronto-based Call Genie to power the service with its Enhanced Voice Directory (EVD) product. The latest release of the product allows consumers in 1-800-CallDex markets to refine their searches by referencing landmarks, neighborhoods and intersections. The system continuously updates itself to reflect how local residents refer to specific landmarks or locations.
R.H. Donnelley has made several moves to bring its offline dominance online. In July, the company announced its intent to acquire Business.com. This follows its 2005 acquisition of Dex Media, and the September 2006 acquisition of SEO/SEM firm LocalLaunch.
Just last week, the company announced an expanded relationship with Yahoo Local, distributing its online yellow pages data on Yahoo's network and streamlining the Yahoo Local ad-buying process for its print yellow pages advertisers.
Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 10:59 AM | Permalink
August 2, 2007
The Gphone and Mobile Local SearchThe Wall Street Journal reports today that we could be getting closer to the realization of the long-rumored Google phone. This could happen in one (or both) of two ways for Google: partner or build.
Partnering has been Google's angle into mobile search and services thus far, but it has only allowed it to push through watered down versions of its products such as Gmail for mobile and Maps for mobile. Having its own device would allow it to position itself more predominantly on the home screen, and build applications that are more compelling than carriers have been willing or able to do themselves.
Even if it has its own device however, partnering would require the perennial challenge of working with carriers who are famously unwilling to cede control over every facet of their network and every device that runs on it. Talks so far have only resulted in Verizon scoffing at the search revenue share that Google is asking for in prospective mobile search advertising. Gphone and iPhone: Catalysts for Change?
This defeatist position on the part of U.S. carriers has been the number one detriment to mobile local search innovation and application development. But the web browsing capabilities of the iPhone could finally be the avenue by which search application developers can sidestep the carrier control over the home screens of devices that run on their networks.
A phone from Google could do the same, if the company pushes its weight around enough, to appeal to carriers with an enticement of brand appeal and revenue boosting possibilities for data consumption, amidst hyper competition and falling revenues in the mobile voice arena. This is similar to how Apple got in bed with AT&T.
The iPhone will soon become compelling enough that other carriers will have to adopt (post-AT&T 2 year contract), despite worries over enabling a device that has wi-fi capability, an elegant browsing experience and other things that could allow consumers to sidestep consumption of carrier voice packets (wi-fi enabled VoIP is one concern here).
The same thing will happen with a prospective Google phone; carriers will come around out of necessity to compete. Give it time.
Go it Alone?
Google’s other possible direction is to go out and buy it’s own wireless spectrum - something it has indicated it would like to do at an upcoming government auction for a swath of open spectrum. This would take years to build and cost billions (I heard Google has some money though); and could land Google in a position, like the carriers, where it is forced to protect a massive investment.
On the bright side, this would essentially make Google its own carrier, with a direct channel to offer consumers all of the things that it has wanted to for years. In the meantime, partnering with carriers is still possible. Carriers will try, unsuccessfully, to block Google's overall forays into the mobile environment, but it will eventually enable it by partnering with the company out of short term competitive necessity.
Either way, we can finally expect to see meaningful innovation in the mobile local search arena. The Gphone itself is rumored to be free to consumers and completely ad supported, which could invoke a welcome sea change in the mobile telecom world.
Combine this with the iPhone’s effect on stimulating mobile local search innovation and application development; and pervasive mobile local search and location based services could be here before we know it.
Posted by Mike Boland at 10:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 30, 2007
Metacrawler Obovo.com Goes MobileObovo.com, a metacrawler search portal, which searches and returns results from MSN Live Search™, Gigablast™, LookSmart™, and Alexa™ is now available through mobile devices. The just released mobile version of Obovo.com provides users Web search capabilities, image search capabilities and local business search capabilities from their mobile phone or PDA. Obovo’s mobile Web search automatically provides users misspelling suggestions, along with indented sublistings. After searching for an image on their mobile device, Obovo users have the ability to choose whether to go to the website hosting the image or directly to the image itself. Obovo’s mobile image search also makes it possible for users to download images directly to their phone or PDA.
Posted by Amanda Watlington at 10:32 AM | Permalink
July 2, 2007
Even More Local Search PatentsWhen we wrote last week about Local.com's new local search patent, we pointed out that there were far too many patents being issued in that space. That's only gotten worse this week, with another local search patent awarded to Local.com, this time for ad-supported 411 calls.
Once again, this patent seems to be in direct conflict with an existing patent, one from Jingle Networks.
There's either going to have to be some litigation, or consolidation of businesses or patents between the various players. In the meantime, it's the users and advertisers who will suffer, since the confusion in the marketplace and looming lawsuits will only serve to scare off advertisers and slow the growth of local search.
Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:15 PM | Permalink
May 23, 2007
Local.com on a Roll IIFollowing its string of recent announcements (previous posts on Local.com here and here), Local.com today unveiled a new mobile search product.
Known as Local Mobile, the ad supported mobile site lets users search by entering keywords and locations using mobile device keypads. This includes access to Local.com’s business profile pages, mapping, driving directions, click to call, and the ability to send listings to other mobile users (using SMS).
Mobile distribution of listings will be built into the company’s ad offerings to local businesses, which currently include online featured listings and landing page development.
This falls in line with Local.com's slow reinvention of itself that should help it to gain more users and advertisers in the highly competitive and quickly developing local search space. Some of the company's recent developments have involved site enhancements and redesigns while most are new ad products.
Today's press release can be found here
Posted by Mike Boland at 5:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 30, 2007
Yellowpages.com Launches Text-based Mobile Local SearchSimilar to the Starbuck's SMS search tool that we wrote about a few weeks ago, Yellowpages.com today announced text-based local search tool for mobile devices. Any cell phone user can now send a business name or category in a text message to YP411 (97411) to receive the three top listings for that term.
Brands that have tried to launch SMS search tools have received limited traction because of the relatively low adoption of mobile search so far. Starbucks might be able to get away with it because of the power of it's brand (and the addictiveness of its product).
Instead, success with SMS search products will only come from trusted brands that aggregate local search results. Current offerings in this space include GoogleSMS, Yahoo! Local, Superpages On the Go, and now Yellowpages.com (among a few others).
Though this supply outweighs current demand, this is a smart move for Yellowpages.com to get its feet wet with mobile search using by its most user friendly and prevalent form (SMS). This will also tie together nicely with other mobile services Yellowpages.com has rolled out recently, including a send-to-mobile feature that lets business listings be texted to any cellphone number a user specifies. The company also recently developed a version of its Web site that is optimized for mobile screens and WAP browsers.
It also has an enhanced DA product in certain markets, 1-800-YellowPages, which could be the foundation for a wireless voice search product. Together with the SMS product, this could come together as a nice multi-modal mobile search product. By casting all of these lines, AT&T is getting users accustomed to various forms of mobile search while meanwhile buying itself an education in the mobile marketplace.
It is also a nice point of differentiation as an IYP looking to get into the mobile space. All of the aforementioned products represent ways AT&T is trying to find its way around in mobile search by coming at it from many angles. A singular (as opposed to Cingular) product could emerge eventually that is planted on the home screen of AT&T wireless devices. This could be brought to you by Yellowpages.com or perhaps by Yahoo! which has online content partnerships with AT&T.
The development and strategy behind this could be one reason why AT&T wireless (formerly Cingular) like other wireless carriers, has been such a hard nut to crack in terms of allowing innovative third party mobile local search applications onto their devices and networks (this is the one place where they have non- net nutrality).
Still, it's important at this stage to have a SMS based mobile local search product for for non AT&T wireless users (anyone with a text enabled phone). We'll see how it does, and what AT&T really has up it's giant sleeves for mobile search.
Posted by Mike Boland at 6:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 19, 2007
Medio Launches PPC Mobile Search Ad NetworkMobile search provider Medio Systems has launched a new pay-per-click (PPC) text advertising platform. Its MobileNow ad network will deliver text ads in search results for its carrier partners as well as to off-deck mobile sites in its network.
As we noted earlier today, the company has also teamed with Ingenio to offer pay-per-call ads on the Medio network.
MobileNow ads will be sold through a self-service, auction-based PPC platform, sold in a unified marketplace across all participating carriers and sites. By doing that, Medio hopes to eliminate the "walled garden" issues many advertisers experience when trying to reach a large mobile audience.
Medio currently handles white-label search for several mobile providers, including T-Mobile, TELUS Mobility and Amp'd Mobile. Amp'd will be the first provider to publicly announce its participation in the MobileNow ad network, though Medio says others are testing the platform now and will announce their participation in coming months.
Ads will be sold both through a self-service platform from Medio and through white-label deals with carriers. Medio is also in talks with several search engine marketing agencies to encourage them to test the platform for their clients. Medio also announced today that it is bolstering its sales efforts with the hire of Gary Bembridge, former national sales director at MSN, as head of U.S. ad sales.
Medio's first offering is catering to direct-response goals, said Omar Tawakol, chief advertising officer for Medio Systems. Though it's decidedly less sexy than the mobile video ads that other companies are touting, it's much more realistic and in-tune with the needs of today's marketplace, he said.
"With online ads, direct response ads came first, and proved that they could get ROI. They follow a different adoption curve," Tawakol said. "Google didn't go to Madison Avenue first, because for them to commit to something, the success has to be big, and others have to have taken the chance on it first. It takes them a long time to adopt something new."
As with Web search, Tawakol hopes to prove the concept of Medio's mobile search ads through direct response advertisers, who are more likely to try new things, and have the budget available to test out new ad products without going through a lengthy approval process.
Medio hopes that MobileNow ads will appeal to four main groups of direct-response advertisers. The first group includes classic direct-response advertisers with "respond now" objectives, such as buying flowers with a phone call. Second are mobile content providers, who are looking to drive downloads of mobile content such as ringtones, games and wallpaper. A third group of advertisers includes mobile publishers looking to drive traffic to their WAP sites.
The fourth group of advertisers being targeted are local businesses looking to drive conversion via a phone call. To enable this, Medio has teamed with Ingenio to offer pay-per-call ads on the Medio network.
Tawakol expects some brand advertising to take place on the Medio network, such as film advertisers looking to reach searchers that are trying to find a film star's wallpaper. He also said that Medio is working with large CPG companies to test some ad formats, but declined to name those companies.
Targeting of MobileNow ads will be influenced by search behavior, click-through history, user demographics, geography and behavioral trending analysis. Tawakol, who's past role as SVP of marketing at Revenue Science makes him no stranger to the concept, says what can be accomplished in this context is not true behavioral targeting, since there is no consistency in cookie-handling across mobile carriers.
But these early techniques can approach the same result, since search queries can provide a wealth of targeting data, and as more clusters of users and trends are identified, the predictive capabilities of the platform will further improve. The platform is built with the RelevanceServer contextual ad technology which was acquired when Medio bought WebRelevance last year.
Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 4:30 PM | Permalink
March 13, 2007
Google and Microsoft Rumors: Implications for Mobile Local SearchRumors continue to swirl this week about a potential Microsoft acquisition of Tellme. This was first reported by TechCrunch back in February. Now the Wall Street Journal (sub req) is reporting the companies are in talks and the sale price could be in the $800 million range. CNET has a similar story (if you don't have a WSJ sub).
Tellme is a strong (and profitable) company in the rapidly growing wireless voice search area, which could provide a great deal of value for Microsoft (past SEW writing on Tellme is here). Tellme would bring the ability to integrate voice search into the Windows Mobile software platform, giving MSFT an edge in Mobile Local Search over its search and portal competitors.
This direction was implied in a WSJ quote from Steve Ballmer a few months ago, which Om Malik unearthed yesterday:
"The leading edge battleground between us and Google in local search really will come on the phone," Ballmer said. Voice search has a great deal of potential as examined in The Kelsey Group report Wireless Voice Search: The Multi-Modal Revolution. It is a relatively user friendly form of mobile local search that could push overall adoption forward, given Windows Mobile's installed base
Elsewhere in the rumor mill, The San Jose Mercury News has more speculation on a possible Google phone. Just as Microsoft would gain ground in mobile local search with a Tellme acquisition, a Google phone could similarly plant Google search capability directly onto the phone. A lot is still unclear about what this device could be, but The Merc suggests a possible blackberry-like device that has VoIP capability which can be used when in WiFi range.
As pointed out in a previous post on new product announcements at 3GSM, VoIP enabled phones can lessen the dependence on wireless carriers. This can sidestep the carrier control that has proved to be a significant barrier in pushing mobile local search applications out. Getting planted directly "on the carrier deck" is the challenge because it requires a relationship to be formed with a carriers, which is hard to do and often involves signing over one's soul.
Google, with a prospective phone of its own, could essentially sidestep this challenge. Of course the phone could be something completely different, or perhaps not a phone at all but a software platform for mobile devices, akin to Windows Mobile or Palm OS.
Rumors like should be taken with a grain of salt and a certain amount of discretion, but they can also be valuable as a mental exercise to speculate possibilities in embryonic areas such as mobile local search.
Posted by Mike Boland at 5:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 2, 2007
Using MoLo to find a MochaStarbucks is often the first example used when someone tries to explain the benefits (or detriments, depending on your outlook) of location based services. "You'll be walking by a Starbucks, and get hit with a promotion for coffee on your mobile device," the story often goes.
There has been widespread agreement that this scenario will never happen and that location based services will only work with an opt in model, hence the increased discussion over Mobile Local Search (MoLo). SMS (texting) is currently the most widespread form of MoLo, however many more are in experimentation phases and are patiently waiting for greater mobile search and smart phone adoption.
Well it seems that Starbucks - never having cooled off from the excitement over the possibility of push based mobile advertising - has gotten tired of waiting and has launched its own SMS based mobile search product. Like Google SMS and Yahoo! Mobile, any text enabled mobile device (basically every phone on the market) can send a search query to a five digit number that returns locations of nearby results.
In Starbucks' case this means sending your zip code to "MYSBUX" (a curious combination of letters if you glance over it quickly) to receive a text message back that has the locations of the nearest 3 Starbucks. CNET blogger Caroline McCarthy points out that this is only good if you know what zip code you're in, which isn't usually the case for travelers. Those that can find out their zip code will likely have GPS, and would thus have a more robust platform on which to find Starbucks.
Similarly, if you know what zip code you're in, you might already know where the closest Starbucks is. In any case, this might be unnecessary in some urban areas where you can almost turn around and see three Starbucks from any given spot.
But it could actually catch on well in other areas among the legions of Starbucks faithfuls, given the sheer size of this population and the fact that we're talking about an addictive substance. If it does, it could also work towards the general awareness and greater adoption of SMS search and MoLo in general. We'll see.
Posted by Mike Boland at 6:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 28, 2007
Mobile, Video Search Ads Set to Grow?After digging deeper into the results of its "State of Search Engine Marketing 2006" report, SEMPO has revealed that a majority of respondents in the North American study said they were interested in mobile and video search, but few were willing to pay more for those ads.
That's not surprising, given human nature -- if you ask someone if they'd like to pay more or less for something, I'd assume that most would choose "less." What's more interesting is the level of interest from marketers, indicating that these ad models may be farther along than some would think.
SEMPO reports that 66 percent of respondents say they would be interested in contextually targeted advertising attached to video search results. Of those marketers, 53 percent want contextual video ads, compared to 33 percent who want contextual text ads attached to video clips. For mobile, SEMPO found that 60 percent of respondents are interested in contextually targeted ads delivered to mobile search users.
Dana Todd, president of SEMPO, says she's cautiously optimistic on the future of mobile search.
"Advertisers go where the audience is interacting. In the U.S., the fact that everybody is carrying a cell phone is less important than what they're doing with it. Right now, they're using them in rudimentary ways, for communication, and for playing games and listening to music," Todd told SEW.
Todd pointed to a recent comScore study, which found that cell phone Internet usage is an activity for the young. That study found that 29 percent of respondents in the 25-34 demographic and 23 percent of 18-24 year olds currently subscribe to a cell phone Internet service, while only 13 percent of adults over 35 do so.
"Until users find it's a useful environment, we're not going to see significant play, but there's still a market there," Todd said. "This is an area where local search has the most promise. We need to look at how users are interacting with their phones, and find a way to engage them there."
Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 11:19 AM | Permalink
February 22, 2007
Local Search Partnerships of the DayToday saw a few notable partnership announcements in the local search space. More specifically in local online classifieds and in mobile local search.
-- First, Tellme announced this morning that it will expand its mobile voice platform to allow mobile search application developers to build products that integrate voice and visual search. Voice recognition technology developers TuVox and Viecore were also named as partners that will work on such applications.
This has the potential to bring together the ease of speaking, and of seeing results on a screen. One of the challenges in mobile search is designing compelling products, given hardware restrictions such as small keypads. So the ability to speak search queries or business lookups can be a way to sidestep this challenge and raise adoption levels.
Conversely, when results are returned, sometimes its easier to see them on a mobile screen than it is to hear them - particularly if the information can be saved on the device (rather than written down) and in turn used to dial a business or interact in other interesting ways such as getting directions or coupons.
40 million people use Tellme every month, including its voice portal and free (downloadable) beta product Tellme by Mobile. These are based on the VoiceXML 2.0 protocol that makes internet data available on mobile devices via voice applications. New "multimodal" capabilities should expand the company's overall user base, by opening the door for new partnerships to be formed and functionality to be built.
This should be a step towards bringing the company's voice search capabilities together with other mobile applications, as the enigmatic mobile local search area continues to see experimentation with new and interesting ways to appeal to consumers and build ad models.
-- Second, fresh off its partnership with Nokia last week, AdStar has partnered with classifieds aggregator Edgeio.
Edgieo will use AdStar's software to offer print advertising upsells (on behalf of newspapers) to its new classifieds listings boards marketplace, a free listings source. Basically, this becomes a channel for for newspapers to upsell print ads to anyone going to Edgio to post free listings.
As many newspaper continue to look for ways to monetize online classifieds, creating free classifieds destinations with print upsell possibilities is one way to go about it. AdStar has created another creative way that positions itself as a value-added channel for its newspaper clients to reach a larger audience of classifieds sellers. This strengthens AdStar's value proposition and its profile as a distribution source for print, online and (as of last week) mobile ads.
For Edgeio, this is an added service it can use to attract additional traffic and listings, as content aggregation is a cornerstone of its business. It gets its content from a combination of listings that people publish directly to its site; and aggregated listings scraped (by permission) from bloggers, individuals and website developers that have listings on their own sites. It currently has about 100 million listings from 162 countries.
Financial terms weren't disclosed but the AdStar integration is scheduled to be completed in the second quarter. More from the press release.
Posted by Mike Boland at 6:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 16, 2007
A Step Forward For Mobile Local SearchOne thing that has stood in the way of mobile local search adoption is the lack of a clear and compelling value proposition. This is partly a result of hardware restrictions; there are small screens and keypads on most cell phones and smart phones haven't reached mainstream penetration (although prices are coming down which should bode well for mobile local search).
But another major factor has been that the control exerted by carriers in the U.S. and their ability to decide what devices and platforms work on their networks (this is not the case in Europe). This has effectively stifled a lot of innovation at the application level, as explored in the recent Kelsey Group report Targeting Users: Application Level Innovation in Mobile Local Search).
Even though applications can be developed that require users to navigate to a site on the mobile web using a WAP based phone, and other more robust programs can be downloaded, both of these options require an additional step. This represents a sizable adoption barrier in an already early-adopter medium.
Therefore the few search applications that get the endorsement of carriers and are correspondingly planted "on the carrier deck" are the only ones that currently have a shot at worthwhile traction. And the carrier's filter for choosing the best mobile search products are not always the same as what the market would bear.
Enter Nokia and Motorola, which announced yesterday at the annual 3GSM World Congress that they will launch their own navigation services that don't require carrier networks. With the thought that carriers have been slow to innovate, both companies announced new GPS enabled hardware and navigation services that they will sell directly to consumers.
These navigation platforms will include, local search, directions, and the ability to download maps for any destination in the world. These services will be free, with the option to upgrade to features such as voice directions and live traffic updates. CNet has in depth coverage both announcements and some of the dynamics surrounding them.
This could be a significant move and the first shot in a battle against carriers to effectively sidestep their rule and offer compelling products that don't require cellular networks. WiFi enabled mobile phones that are able to make VoIP calls when in range a network are another example of something that could disintermediate carriers. And as municipal WiFi approaches reality, more phones like this will be offered.
Combine this with the announcements from Nokia and Motorola, and you can start to see the stars aligning for disruption to carrier dependence, and thus control. Eventually, this should in turn lead to the innovation in mobile local search, characteristic of a free market. Something like this needs to happen if Mobile Local Search is to get off the ground in the U.S, and you can start to see the wheels turning.
Posted by Mike Boland at 3:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 6, 2007
Mywaves Adds Personalized Mobile Video SearchVideo delivered to your phone, based on keyword search, is the essence of the new mywaves offering. Today mywaves announced the addition of a personalized search feature for its mobile video services. This free service offers users content directly to their mobile phones, sourced from many of the Web’s top video sites, including Comedy Central, VH1, YouTube, Google, and CNN.
The new feature allows users to specify a search phrase that alerts mywaves of their interest. The service automatically delivers relevant videos to users’ mobile phones and will send a text messages when new content is found. For those wanting to stay absolutely on top of the newest video content available, this adds a new dimension.
Mywaves currently is averaging 40,000 new sign-ups a week. The explosion of applications for viewing and transmitting video content makes it even more important for video content creators and search marketers to learn how to make their videos easier to find on the Web.
Posted by Amanda Watlington at 7:19 PM | Permalink
February 5, 2007
European Telecoms Giants Planning Mobile Search Engine?According to a report in the U.K. newspaper Telegraph this weekend, a consortium of European providers are teaming up to build a mobile-phone search engine to rival the big three. The Telegraph reports that Vodafone, Deutsche Telekom, Telefonica and Cingular are among the companies in talks on the plan at the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona.
A UK executive at one of the companies involved is quoted as saying, "There is a big play in mobile search that we need to be part of, and we are exploring those options at a very high level."
Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 1:53 PM | Permalink
January 24, 2007
Online Directories Enhance Mobile Search ProductsYell.com, the online directory of UK based Yell Group announced today that it will enhance its mobile directory platform.
New features include free access to maps, driving directions business name lookups and category searches. In an effort to anticipate some of the adoption barriers that have stood in the way of wide scale mobile local search adoption, the service is available as an application download (compatible with about 100 cell phones) and a browser based version that will work on any web enabled mobile device. The latter will likely be less robust than the former, but casting a wider net with this dual mode approach will appeal to a broader swath of the 15.7 million mobile internet users in the U.K. (Yell's estimate).
This move could signal that Yell's U.S. subsidiary YellowBook will do something similar in the near future. This also comes days after YellowPages.com announced that it will enhance its MEdia Net mobile local search product for AT&T Wireless customers. Like Yell.com's offering, this includes mapping and search enhancements including a single search box for local business searches. It also boasts shortcuts to items of interest that are dynamically featured based on seasons or upcoming holidays. Read the press release here.
Posted by Mike Boland at 5:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 10, 2007
Is Apple iPhone the Key to Unlock Mobile Search?Apple unveiled its much-anticipated iPhone yesterday at CES to the delight of gadget-lovers everywhere. The device is a sleek mash-up of iPod, smartphone, and Internet access device, running on Mac OS X. MocoNews has plenty of details (as well as every other tech blogger on the planet). For search marketers, the most relevant part of the iPhone is its rich local search capabilities.
The iPhone, expected to ship in June, will come bundled with Google search and maps, and Yahoo OneSearch, Go and mail. If the device catches on in nearly the way the iPod has, that means that local search on mobile devices is about to become a very big deal.
The Kelsey Group's Mike Boland says, "Adoption of mobile local search to some degree has been held back by the inferior user experiences of most mobile devices -- which come back to a lot of these design challenges. Apple's cache with consumers from the iPod and iTunes should ensure a healthy demand for this phone. Time will tell how well they embrace it, and if it does anything to push forward mobile local search in general."
Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:31 PM | Permalink
January 9, 2007
Movements in Mobile Search LandMobile search has been quite, well, mobile lately. Becoming a regular topic in search marketing conferences, and often discussed in various forums and blogs, mobile search certainly seems to be one of the bigger trends emerging in late 2006 into 2007.
As announced and discussed in various blogs and news sites, Yahoo! seems to be making most of the news in the past couple of weeks, but there are plenty of others to keep an eye out for.
Greg Sterling discussed the acquisition by Yahoo! of Dash on January 3. This deal will help Yahoo! provide mobile search in cars, and as Mark Walsh points out in MediaPost, allows Yahoo! to claim a spot in the field of automobile mobile providers along with Google. Mark reminds that Google is currently working on a project with Volkswagen (nice intro here) to provide what may would hope would the "farfegnugen" (interesting definition in this thread) of mobile search.
Today, Mark wrote in detail about Yahoo!'s announcement of oneSearch for Go 2.0 at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas , previewed yesterday at Search Engine Land.
In addition, and with good timing some will feel, 4info announced that they are upgrading their mobile search product to provide one click search instead of requiring text message responses to queries. Mark at MediaPost is on top of this story as well, and there is no announcement as of yet at the 4info Blog.
Mobile search is "where it's at," to quote Beck. Two sessions at SES Chicago covered the latest technology and how search engines are helping to provide platforms for more user-friendly mobile search. Coverage can be found here and here.
Posted by Chris Boggs at 10:32 AM | Permalink
January 4, 2007
MapQuest Enhances Mobile Mapping ProductsMapQuest announced a series of mobile mapping and search enhancements today, meant to leverage the company’s leading position in online mapping. The company held a 68 percent market stake in November compared to Google Maps’ 28 percent and Yahoo! Maps’ 27 percent, according to Nielsen.
First off, its MapQuest Mobile product will upgrade to version 2.5, including multipoint routing, walking directions, and 15 million points of interest.
These are all features currently available in MapQuest’s online mapping engine which it would like to bring to the mobile environment. The company’s point of interest search for one (ability to find landmarks and tourist destinations compared to only business listings) is a differentiating factor that has helped it develop and maintain its commanding market share lead.
It has done this, among other ways, by getting creative and tapping into government data sources to index locations of schools, post offices, public parks and other points of interest left behind by some mapping engines.
So far it has been able to carry this lead over into its mobile products. MapQuest mobile is compatible with 250 different cell phones from 12 carriers and it’s currently the top revenue generating mobile search download in the U.S. according to Telephia
“We need to extend our reach and be on as many devices as possible,” said Alan Beigai, Mapquest Director of Wireless, during a product briefing earlier in the week. “Our goal is also to fine tune content and functionality of mobile applications to match that of the online experience.” These thoughts were echoed by MapQuest VP and GM Jim Greiner who was a featured speaker at The Kelsey Group's recent Interactive Local Media Conference.
Secondly, the company announced it will make its MapQuest Navigator mobile mapping product available on Blackberries from Sprint and Nextel. Compared to MapQuest Mobile, Navigator is a more enhanced platform for GPS enabled devices and smart phones. It features text and audio turn-by-turn directions and is marketed as having all of the functionality of an in-car navigation system in smaller (and cheaper) package.
MapQuest should get increased traction for Navigator with this increased availability and with the rising adoption of smart phones. Beigai agrees that existing smart phone users (particularly blackberry users) represent a technically savvy subset that are more likely to download and use the product than the broader mobile device user population.
“It’s a prime segment for us to tap into,” he says.
Interestingly, navigation systems (like smart phones) are coming down in price and Yahoo! this week revealed plans to plant itself “on the dash".
Posted by Mike Boland at 7:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 18, 2006
Searches Up, Dude! Ask.com Sponsors Surf ContestSearch and surfing will converge in Half Moon Bay, California in early 2007, when the Mavericks Surf Contest takes place. Known to surf pros and fans of the sport as the world's premiere big-wave surf event, this season's contest offers everyone the chance to surf Ask.com for all the details and get a variety of results from various Ask sources, including maps and directions online or via Ask.com Mobile search.
"Ask.com® is excited to be an integral part of the preeminent big-wave surfing event, and, as a leading search engine, to be the official go-to source for information for all things Mavericks," said Greg Ott, vice president of marketing. A quick search for Mavericks Surf Contest on Ask.com® will give fans quick access to webcasts and viewing locations, videos, bios on the surfers and the history of the event. In addition, with Ask.com® and Ask.com Mobile(tm), fans can find Mavericks images, news, maps, walking and driving directions, blogs and other information across the Web for fans everywhere. "We're excited to support this great surfing event, as well as to be a resource for all the Mavericks fans," remarked Ott.
On just 24 hours notice between January 1 and March 31, 2007, 24 legendary big-wave surfers will make the pilgrimage to the treacherous Mavericks surf break to compete for the famed title, and $75,000 in prizes to be distributed to the top surfers.
Surfers and fans alike can track the waves and stay informed on contest announcements at the official website maverickssurf.com.
Note: You would think that I got this info directly from Ask.com, since I receive a lot of press releases from the search engines, but no -- this one actually came from an PR company who has me on their list as an action sports journalist. So I just had to post since it was related to my two favorite things: search and outdoor sports.
Posted by Elisabeth Osmeloski at 5:42 PM | Permalink
November 16, 2006
Sprint Launches Mobile Search Relationship With MicrosoftAccording to the Wall Street Journal, Sprint has launched mobile (local) search has part of a broad new strategic relationship with Microsoft, "allowing its subscribers to use their phones to look up information on local businesses and events and find downloadable multimedia content such as ringtones, videos and games." (Here's the Microsoft release.)
According to the article, the new Microsoft-powered search will appear on the "home page of Sprint's browser." The local search component of the partnership will be monetized with advertising. But there's ambiguity in the way the WSJ describes the ad model and I haven't yet had a chance to discuss this with either party.
Here's how the WSJ describes the advertising aspect of the deal. "The local-search component offers a new revenue stream as well: Businesses can bid to be listed as sponsored links in the local-search directory and will pay a fee when consumers click those links to call them through the service."
So the clicks initiate phone calls to merchants. Whether these placements will be separately auctioned and billed as "calls" or as "clicks" is not clear. I'm assuming this is PPCall advertising and will be priced accordingly.
Microsoft is currently monetizing local search online at MSN search and Live Local through its relationship with SuperPages.com, which includes local PPC and PPCall advertisers. It separately has an exclusive relationship with Ingenio to provide PPCall advertisers for the mobile version of Live.com. Whether advertisers in the Sprint deal are being provided via either or both of those Microsoft relationships is not clear at this moment.
Regardless, the move will likely boost AdCenter's fortunes in the near-to-medium term, with Sprint as a mobile distribution partner. It also further solidifies PPCall as an ad vehicle well suited to mobile.
Sprint has an existing mobile local search relationship with InfoSpace, whose downloadable FindIt application works with Java-enabled Sprint GPS phones. Recently, Sprint also announced a deal with Google's new Java-based "GMail for mobile" initiative. But this is a broader and deeper involvement with Microsoft at the level of the carrier deck.
The WSJ article discusses some of the other partnerships between U.S. carriers and mobile search vendors, such as JumpTap and Medio Systems.
If one steps back, what may now be emerging is a kind of mobile search/feature war among the carriers that may trump their collective concern about being relegated to "dumb pipe" status. Sprint has apparently thrown that conventional wisdom to the wind in its most recent announcements with Google and now Microsoft. The emphasis seems, instead, to be on providing the best mobile search and user experience -- as it should be -- in their competition with other carriers for customer acquisition and loyalty.
There's something of an irony here in that on Windows Mobile smartphones (I have the Sprint PPC-6700) the mobile IE browser is the focus of the mobile Web-search experience. In that context, the mobile search experience is much more a duplication – albeit comparatively weak – of the online experience. What that means is the Window Mobile OS (on smartphones) is likely to merely replicate the market position of Google (or Yahoo) rather than boost Live.com or this new Microsoft-powered Sprint mobile search.
Posted by Greg Sterling at 2:34 AM | Permalink
November 15, 2006
The Intersection of Local Search, Mobile & WiFi"Convergence" is one of those buzzwords that's been around forever, loosely used to describe the blending of media and technologies into one unified platform. Until recently, search marketers could safely ignore the hype, but no longer: convergence is finally real enough to pose both a threat and new opportunities for search marketers. This was a hot topic at the SES Local Edition conference, and guest writer Grant Crowell offers key takeaways on the issue of convergence in today's SearchDay article, Coping with Convergence: Local Search Meets Mobile and WiFi, Part 1.
Posted by Chris Sherman at 2:35 AM | Permalink
October 27, 2006
Windows Live Mobile Now LiveGary Price reports that Windows Live Mobile is now live at http://mobile.live.com/.
The features include: 1) Mail 2) Search beta 3) Spaces 4) Local 5) Messenger 6) Live.com beta 7) MSN.com beta 8) MSNBC News 9) FOX Sports 10) Weather 11) Money 12) Entertainment 13) MSN Calendar
More details at http://mobile.live.com/GoLive/.
Posted by Barry Schwartz at 9:10 AM | Permalink
October 17, 2006
Citysearch Adds SMS-Based Local Search For Mobile PhonesCitysearch formally launched its text-based mobile local search service today: CS411 (27411). There's also a send-to-phone feature (see, e.g., "Hotels, Burbank CA").
Doing the same search online vs. CS411 on a mobile phone yields somewhat different results. Users get four results in SMS, which were not identical to the online search results I got for the above search in my quick test. They were, in fact, more geographically accurate. (I received results only for Burbank vs. adjacent areas.) Citysearch consumer ratings are also provided, which you would expect and are central to the consumer value proposition.
Results I received were also "sponsored." Rather than a relevant advertiser link at the top of results, there was an advertiser-sponsor referenced at the bottom. The advertiser had nothing to do with my particular search for hotels but I would expect over time that will change.
In speaking with Citysearch EVP Scott Morrow a couple of weeks ago he stated that mobile was being seen as an important channel and future traffic source for the company and that Citysearch would be rolling out other mobile offerings in the not-too-distant future.
One of the interesting aspects of my discussion with Morrow was about "lead quality" and the differences between a click and a call and a map view, and so on. Citysearch is experimenting with different pricing strategies to better reflect this concept of lead quality, in terms of what the local advertiser actually receives.
Ask.com recently launched a mobile application, the local search component of which ("business listings") is built on Citysearch content and allows users to sort by rating, which is a very nice feature. Both companies are owned by IAC.
Here's a related post on my blog about the current state of mobile local search and related issues.
Posted by Greg Sterling at 9:54 AM | Permalink
October 12, 2006
Ask Mobile Search LaunchesAsk.com has launched a mobile search product at m.ask.com or mobile.ask.com. Ask Mobile is optimized for mobile devices and uses Skweezer throughout to improve readability and download speed on your mobile device.
Navigating Ask Mobile was a pleasure on my Treo. You click on links, navigate to them, but especially nice is the ability to type in a number that corresponds to the link you want to navigate to.
For example, pressing 1 takes me to web search. If I search on [football] as an example, you can then see the smart answers at the top of the results and then five results listed out.
Typing 1 while on that page will direct me to the first result, through Skweezer. Press 9 will give me more options and pressing 0 will take me home.
My main complaint that this was expected in "sometime in 2005" and it is already 10 months into 2006.
Here is a break down of features:
- Web Search: -- Explained above -- Stores recent searches -- Many smart answers enabled -- Squeezer enabled -- Zoom features (search refinements) -- 5 results per page
- Directions: -- Driving Directions -- Walking Directions -- List View -- Turn by turn view (nice when walking) -- Maps (explained later) -- Find nearby feature -- Sent to phone via SMS
- Maps -- Street Views -- Aerial Views (very cool for mobile - example) -- Zoom in or out -- Sent to phone via SMS -- Find nearby feature
- Images -- 3 image results per page
- Business Listings -- similar to maps and directions find nearby business feature
- Weather -- Not full weather functionality but the most important -- Type weather 10010 or your zip code into web search and you get a weather smart answer
- Bloglines link - Area Codes - Currency Conversion - Horoscope - Time Zones
Here is the official release from Ask.com
Search On The Go With New Ask Mobile Search
Ask Mobile Optimizes Search for Mobile Devices
NEW YORK, October 12, 2006 – Ask.com®, a wholly-owned business of IAC/InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ: IACI) and the fastest growing search engine on the Web, today introduced Ask Mobile (http://mobile.ask.com), a new service for searching the Web from mobile devices. Designed to minimize keystrokes, increase navigability on small displays and accelerate page loads, Ask Mobile offers a special interface and search tools to help searchers find what they are looking for faster. The announcement was made at DigitalLife, a consumer event in New York City dedicated to educating consumers on what the digital lifestyle means in every aspect of life - at work, home and play.
“Mobile is an increasingly important access point for searchers,” said Jim Lanzone, CEO of Ask.com. “The new Ask Mobile makes it easy for users of Web-enabled cell phones, PDAs and other mobile devices to take advantage of the world-class relevance and industry-touted search tools offered by Ask.com.”
Key Features
Special Interface for Mobile Users Ask Mobile offers links to key search categories directly from the home page, making it easier to navigate to relevant results. The design saves significant keystrokes for many searches; for example, looking for the weather in the 94114 zip code requires 50 percent fewer keystrokes on Ask Mobile compared to mobile products offered by other major search engines. Fewer keystrokes is an extremely important concept when considering the difficulty of typing on mobile devices and the absence of full-sized keyboards.
“Ask Mobile is designed specifically for search on mobile devices, instead of shoehorning a PC interface into a mobile product,” said Doug Leeds, vice president of product management for Ask.com. “Extensive testing showed that, by eliminating the search box from the home page and instead providing links to key search services, users were more successful in getting to what they were looking for, significantly increasing their satisfaction.”
Ask Mobile utilizes Skweezer technology that "skweezes" Web pages to present content in a format that is easier to view and navigate on small displays and increases download speed. With the Skweezer technology, Ask Mobile allows more access to Web content by allowing pages to load that would otherwise be too memory-intensive for most mobile devices.
Search Services Powered by Ask.com’s proprietary ExpertRank algorithmic search technology, Ask Mobile provides users with highly-relevant search results, bringing authoritative sites within their topic community to the top of the results page, rather than simply ranking sites by their link popularity on the Web at large.
Ask Mobile provides direct access to important mobile search categories on the home page, including Web Search, Directions, Images, Business Listings, Maps, Weather, Bloglines™, Area Codes, Currency Conversion, Horoscope and Time Zones. Additional services, such as sport scores and movie times, will follow the initial rollout.
To see how Ask Mobile works, consider the following examples:
- Web: Try “Eisenhower” or “Angel Island.” Note Recent Search and ability to Narrow or Expand queries. - Directions: Try “94114 & 94607.” Note ability to select List or Turn-by-Turn options, Satellite or Aerial views and Send to Phone.
- Images: Try “polar bears” or “Jessica Alba.” - Business Listings: Try “Starbucks & 10036” or “Chinese & 94114.” Note autodial directly from listings, Street and Aerial views of maps with overlaid location pins for matching listings and Zoom and Navigation buttons.
- Maps: Try “San Francisco.” Note the unique ability to select Driving Direction, as well as Walking Directions, navigation features and option to send maps and directions to mobile devices.
- Weather: Try “10036.” - Bloglines: Quick access to the Mobile version of Bloglines, the world’s number one online RSS aggregator. - Area Codes: Try “Miami, Fla.” - Currency Conversion: Try “100 EUR & RUB.” - Horoscopes: Try “Leo.” - Time Zones: Try “Monaco.”
Instinctive Search Tools Ask.com has been touted by press and industry pundits for its search tools and features, which take search beyond the traditional “blue links”, offering searchers a better way to find what they are looking for. Some of these features and tools are available on Ask Mobile, including Smart Answers, which provide shortcuts to answers and tools at the top of the search results page and Zoom Related Search, which provides conceptually-related suggestions to Narrow or Expand queries.
Availability Ask Mobile is available immediately at http://mobile.ask.com. Users accessing www.ask.com from mobile devices will be automatically recognized and redirected to Ask Mobile.
About Ask.com A leading search engine on the Web, Ask.com combines world-class search technology with one-of-a-kind search tools to help people get what they are looking for faster. Ask.com sites include Ask.com US (http://www.Ask.com), Ask.com Deutschland, Ask.com Espana, Ask.com France, Ask.com Italia, Ask.com Japan, Ask.com Nederlands and Ask.com UK. Additionally, Ask.com syndicates its search technology and advertising units to a network of affiliate partners. Ask.com is a division of IAC Search & Media, a wholly-owned business of IAC/InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ: IACI). Ask.com b-roll footage is available at www.thenewsmarket.com/ask.
Posted by Barry Schwartz at 12:01 AM | Permalink
October 10, 2006
Will Voice-Enabled Mobile Search Kill Directory Assistance?Local media research firm The Kelsey Group just forecast "portal-backed wireless voice search [will] reach 1.45 billion queries in 2010" and cause "a significant disruption of the directory assistance market." On one level, this is self-evident. Because of increasing competition and free alternatives, consumer-pays wireless directory assistance (DA) will eventually go away, unless it becomes incredibly valuable and useful. Cingular is trying to do just that with help from Tellme.
I don't have the report referenced in the release so I can't comment on the forecast methodology itself or, more generally, its analysis. But I can comment on the general issues of usability and the mobile space in general.
Like other traditional local media, directory assistance (if I can use the term "media") is under pressure. According to Opus Research, worldwide DA revenues (wireless and wireline) are roughly $13 billion. But free directory assistance and its various cousins (e.g., 1800-San Diego, 4Info, UpSnap, 1800-Free-411), SMS, WAP-based search and mobile applications will chip away at consumer-pays wireless DA to the point where it's got very limited usage. The only question is: how long will that take?
In my mind the more interesting questions surround the usability and interface issues in the larger context of mobile-local search. This is something we've posted about multiple times in the past.
Voice has the capacity to be a much more efficient and user-friendly interface than a keypad on mobile devices (especially if you're not on a smartphone). But voice-driven mobile search must work. Deep Nishar of Google previously said to me that he didn't think that voice was "the key" to driving mobile usage. There are issues of background noise, accents and so on that impact query "disambiguation." In addition, the DA databases used to support voice-based mobile search can be inaccurate (just like local listings online.)
DA has been a surrogate for mobile-local search, since it has been the only game in town, so to speak, until recently. Now, as mentioned, there are a range of mobile alternatives, most are not great, to find local information while on the go. Microsoft, Google, Yahoo! and InfoSpace all have people working, to varying degrees, on voice interfaces. Nuance, Tellme and CallGenie are voice infrastructure companies that can voice-enable mobile applications for carriers or direct-to-consumer applications.
Right now, voice is not "the killer app" for mobile. But it could well accelerate usage of mobile data services and mobile local search if it works well. There will probably be a range of applications and user experiences that gain traction with mobile users, chiefly because of the range of devices out there and their capabilities and limitations. The optimal mobile interface and user experience will involve some combination of "modalities," perhaps with voice as an option but certainly the ability to use the keypad to enter text and save listings and/or browse content.
Posted by Greg Sterling at 10:59 AM | Permalink
October 9, 2006
Cingular Wireless Voice-Enabled Mobile Local SearchMore and more directory assistance (DA) is starting to morph into voice-enabled mobile (local) search. This piece in the NY Times over the weekend describes a new deal between automated voice services company Tellme Networks and Cingular Wireless for an expanded service that will offer a range of options that are much broader than current DA. Here's a previous post about how directory assistance call volumes indicate mobile search category demand.
Here's more discussion of voice, DA and the mobile user experience on my blog.
Posted by Greg Sterling at 10:11 AM | Permalink
Windows Live Search Mobile PPCall Deal With IngenioA few weeks ago Google introduced sponsored listings into mobile search. Yahoo followed last week. Now Microsoft has partnered with Ingenio to deliver pay-per-call listings into Windows Live Search for mobile. But unlike the other two programs this is not being launched in beta.
Ingenio's advertisers are the only paid listings that will appear when users conduct a geotargeted search on Window Live for mobile. There will only be one advertiser shown for any given search and Ingenio's entire inventory will be funneled into Windows Live. When there are no relevant Ingenio advertisers, no sponsored listings will appear. (The company has existing mobile distribution through Jingle Networks' 1800-Free-411 and go2.)
Since Ingenio announced its original deal with AOL (see example) more than a year ago it has been steadily building distribution with smaller players in the local market. This is obviously a very significant relationship and may be a prelude to a broader deal with Microsoft. Ingenio wouldn't comment on that possibility, however.
Microsoft currently offers "call for free" click-to-call functionality on Live Local.
All three of the dominant search providers have now flipped the switch on sponsored listings in mobile. We should see a continuing acceleration of product development and competition in the wireless space. Early evidence argues that response rates (clicks/calls) in a wireless environment will be much higher than clicks on sponsored listings online because there are fewer competing advertisers (due to smaller screens) and users' needs are typically more immediate.
While the number of users conducting searches in a mobile environment is currently a very tiny fraction of what it is online, mobile search will be a significant channel in the next several years as the user experience improves.
Posted by Greg Sterling at 8:45 AM | Permalink
October 4, 2006
Yahoo Rolls Out PPC Ads In Mobile Search ResultsYahoo is launching (in beta) paid-search ads in mobile in the U.S. and expanding its test program in the U.K. Only a "select group of advertisers" are initially included (it's not clear what the criteria are). But the number of advertisers will expand over time as the program rolls out.
According to the press release, "consumers will be able to click on the sponsored search results to go to the advertisers’ mobile web site or a landing page to get more information about the advertisers’ offerings, including the ability to call the advertiser."
Yahoo had already been running tests of mobile PPC ads in the U.K. and Japan.
According to CTIA-The Wireless Association, there are more than 194 million wireless subscribers in the U.S., with a market penetration rate of about 65%. In other countries, especially Northern Europe, penetration rates exceed 100%. And China claims over 400 million mobile phone subscribers.
Indeed, as Yahoo's Terry Semel and Google's Eric Schmidt have now pointed out multiple times (I'm paraphrasing), "There are more wireless devices in the world than PCs." As a result there's a great deal at stake in developing a viable mobile search capability and the advertising that goes with it.
According to an article today in MediaPost, which points to a study by mobile research firm M:Metrics, response rates to text (SMS) ads on mobile phones are "only" 7% vs. 29.1% or more in countries in Europe where mobile text ads are more common. Obviously a response rate of 7% is higher than average response rates to sponsored search online. There are several competing studies, however, that argue consumers are least interested in advertising in SMS vs. other mobile formats.
Not to confuse matters, Yahoo's new mobile PPC launch is not about SMS. Rather it's sponsored ads in mobile web search results.
Earlier this week mobile marketing firm Enpocket released the results of a study conducted by Harris Interactive with 1,200 mobile users in the U.S. Europe and India. The survey found general acceptance of mobile advertising deemed "relevant" by consumers. A majority of respondents (78%) said that "they would be happy to receive advertising that is tailored to their interests. Of those, 64 percent would be willing to provide personal details to be analyzed to improve relevance of targeted ads."
In general response rates in mobile tend to be higher than online because of relevance and less ad clutter -- there are fewer competing advertisers to click on (or call). PPCall firm Ingenio has repeatedly cited very high PPCall response rates for its advertisers in mobile, partly for that reason.
Mobile advertising is also great opportunity for local search. People are often looking for local information when they're on the go and have traditionally had to rely on directory assistance (DA), which has been limited by "what city, what listing?" rather than offering the open-ended ability to conduct a category search. Newer services are seeking to broaden the scope of DA, which is starting to evolve into voice-enabled mobile search. Yahoo already offers most of its properties on mobile devices and in June of this year research firm Telephia found that Yahoo Mail was the most visited site by mobile users.
Google shows PPC ads on mobile search results as well.
Posted by Greg Sterling at 9:07 AM | Permalink
October 3, 2006
Mobile Phone Search: The Problem & SolutionsAn excellent News.com article highlights some of the major problems with mobile search and explores some of the solutions and opportunities available to vendors and users. The problem is that "only 18 percent of wireless users in the U.S. have even tried surfing mobile Internet," estimates by the Yankee Group. Google, Yahoo, InfoSpace, JumpTap and Medio see this as an opportunity and continue to develop tools and technologies to bring more of the mobile population onto the mobile web via mobile search.
Posted by Barry Schwartz at 8:47 AM | Permalink
September 26, 2006
The Internet, 'Family 2.0' And The 43-Hour DayYahoo and OMD issued the findings from the latest round of their ongoing global research project in 16 countries that involves online surveys and in-person interviews. What they found is that through technology and multitasking families are cramming the equivalent of 43 hours of activity into a 24 hour day. They also found that the Internet (and mobile phones) are a significant part of the fabric of daily family life.
There's a lot of interesting material in the findings. The top level data can be found in this release.
The following data are some of the more interesting findings published (some of this is verbatim from the release). Families spend more time online than watching TV:
- Using the Internet 3.6 hours
- Watching TV 2.5 hours
- Using instant messenger 1 hour
- Emailing 1.2 hours
- Listening to radio 1.3 hours
Other results:
More than half (55 percent) of survey respondents age 18-34 agreed that without technology they "wouldn't be able to stay in touch with friends and family." More than a third in the 18-34 age group said their social lives would suffer without technology (34 percent) and that technology enabled them to overcome shyness (36 percent).
Two thirds (66 percent) of U.S. families surveyed use the Internet to research products, and 64 percent use a search engine every day. Families also use the Internet to share photos (62 percent), make travel reservations (60 percent) and research health (61 percent).
Internet now a primary resource for various categories of information, including some in local:
Families have adapted to new and changing media and technology, and now rely on the Internet as their top source of information on travel, jobs, finance and automobiles. Approximately half of respondents said they rely primarily on television for news (50 percent) and comedy (43 percent). Magazines are a significant source for celebrity gossip and other niche content. Newspapers are viewed as a strong secondary source, after the Internet, for information with a local flavor such as jobs, sports, concerts and events. And regarding advertising and media consumption...
Receptivity to advertising falls as ad channels become more personal. In the U.S., respondents reported that they were most open to ads in magazines and newspapers (72 percent), radio (60 percent) or TV (59 percent), and less receptive to ads on mobile phones or MP3 players.
Curiously there was nothing in the release about ads online or in search.
Postscript: Since viewing the report itself, I have a couple of things to add of interest:
Across the 11 categories of content that Yahoo-OMD explored (News, Travel, Jobs, Music, Movies, Finance, etc.) the Internet was the preferred source in all but two categories (News, Comedy/Humor), where TV was preferred with the Internet second.
Survey respondents in the U.S. were more open to ads ("It's okay to find advertising in each place") in traditional media than online or in mobile. The mobile finding is broadly consistent with other research in the market, but other studies have indicated people are open to paid-search ads and other forms of online advertising if it is perceived to be "relevant."
Posted by Greg Sterling at 11:44 AM | Permalink
September 21, 2006
Nokia To Integrate Live Search Into Mobile DevicesEchoing earlier deals with Yahoo and Google, Nokia, the world's largest mobile handset maker, has said it will integrate Microsoft's Live search into its mobile search offering. Here's more from Reuters. The handset makers are doing deals with search brands, while the carriers (at least in the U.S.) are seeking to favor their own search solutions over Google and Yahoo for fear that they'll be bypasssed, just as most Internet ISPs have been online.
Posted by Greg Sterling at 11:55 AM | Permalink
September 19, 2006
Local Matters and Mobile People Partner for Mobile Local SearchDirectory, directory assistance and local search infrastructure provider Local Matters today announced a deal with European mobile search company Mobile People. According to the press release, "The collaboration between Local Matters and Mobile People is designed to bring new revenue opportunities to the Yellow Pages industry by combining mobile search capabilities with existing yellow and white pages information for competing in the growing search marketing industry."
There are already a range of yellow pages-like mobile content services on the market. (Nokia has relationships in Europe with most of the local directory publishers and uses their data to power its local search product.) But the mobile needs and interests of consumers requires expansion way beyond traditional yellow pages content. The user experience is critical in mobile (even more than online) and directory publishers will need to rely on third parties with mobile expertise to create that user experience.
For yellow pages publishers, simply announcing, "now our content is wirelessly enabled," will not be sufficient to gain consumer adoption in a segment that will be even more competitive and difficult than local search online.
Posted by Greg Sterling at 9:11 AM | Permalink
August 30, 2006
Yahoo 'Goes' for Windows MobileYahoo announced today the availability of its Go bundle of services for Windows Mobile. According to the release, the content and applications available include: Yahoo Mail, Yahoo Search (Local, Web and Image), Yahoo Photos, Yahoo Address Book and Calendar and Yahoo News and related content.
According to mobile analytics firm Telephia, 34.6 million U.S. wireless subscribers accessed the Internet from their mobile phones in June, 2006. Yahoo Mail was the number one mobile destination, while Yahoo Search was number 10:
1. Yahoo! Mail 2. The Weather Channel (Weather.com) 3. ESPN 4. Google Search 5. MSN Hotmail 6. MapQuest 7. AOL Mail 8. CNN 9. Yahoo! Weather 10. Yahoo! Search
Although the mobile market is still young, the competition and adoption are both starting to accelerate. Mindful of what happened to most ISPs on the Internet (they were simply ignored by users, except for the bill), carriers are seeking to protect against "disintermediated" on the wireless web. Accordingly, The Wall Street Journal recently reported that U.S. carriers fear Google and Yahoo and are trying to work with smaller companies "that they can control."
We'll see whether that strategy will pay off given the enormous brand equity that Google and Yahoo have online. For their part Yahoo and Google have struck a number of deals with handset makers such as Motorola and Nokia.
The Yahoo Go initiative is about creating a unified experience across multiple platforms: mobile, PC, TV. Here's SEW's original post when the service first launched.
Posted by Greg Sterling at 11:57 AM | Permalink
August 29, 2006
New Search Patent Filings: August 29, 2006 - Yahoo looks at Interactive TV and VOIPYahoo patent filings include one detailing bidding for placement in paid search filed this past April, another that details a very interactive environment for watching television programming, a third describing a method of soliciting consumer reviews, and a granted patent for a Voice Over IP (VOIP) system that doesn't require Telephony Interface Cards.
Microsoft had two new patent applications published, including one which provides a means of suggesting alternative spellings for words, and another that interacts with searchers to help them construct queries.
IBM filed a patent application for building social networks within a business organization, and was granted a patent for a method of checking pages shown in search results for viruses.
America Online looks at the classification of queries in a manner which seems very similar to the editorial opinion decisions made in a recently granted Google patent.
Mobile search company Geovector comes up with a way to make quick hyperlinked image maps from mobile phones with cameras.
Yahoo
System and method for enabling multi-element bidding for influencing a position on a search result list generated by a computer network search engine Invented by Ted Meisel, Peter Savich and Thomas A. Soulanille Assigned to Overture US Patent Application 20060190354 Published August 24, 2006 Filed on April 24, 2006
Abstract
A system and method for enabling information providers using a computer network such as the Internet to influence a position for a search listing within a