In the battle for search engine supremacy, how much of an impact can universal or blended search have? Is it possible for a search engine to begin to gain share from the strength of search for secondary search results, such as local/maps?
If it is, then Bing Maps Beta may be showing us one of the ways Microsoft hopes to gain ground in the battle for search market share with its Twitter Maps application.
Bing Maps Beta
Twitter Maps basically allows users to see local Tweets – by Twitterer, time, and general location. And while it may gain traction right now purely for the novelty factor – and could, therefore, steal some market share from Google, Yahoo! and other search engines – there will, undoubtedly, emerge some very real-world business applications:
- Tweeting time- and location-sensitive special offers and coupons
- Crowd-sourcing feedback on what should be featured on today’s menu
- Engaging more intimately with the local market
- Creating an instant buzz among local followers who you can see are currently online
There are obviously many different possibilities.
The best part, ultimately, is that the race for search market share supremacy will continue to drive innovation which will only make the experience better for the users.
What are your thoughts about Twitter Maps? Make sure you leave a comment below – good, bad, or indifferent (just make sure your voice is heard).
- Pure cotton candy
- Possible business – and other – apps (if so, what do you think they could be)
- Time will tell
- Who cares
- What the world needs now is NOT another Twitter app
- Something else…
Click here to visit Bing Maps Beta. Then go to the bottom right-hand corner of the legend and click on the > symbol. It will take you to the Map Apps Dashboard.
Author: Dawson Barber, Internet Marketing Specialist
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While Bing maps joining with Twitter is an important part of search algorithm changes, it is still minimal when compared to Google Local Search. It is amazing to me how so many brick and mortar businesses worry over the social media SEO when they have not done the easiest, fastest, and FREE local search optimization for their business with Google Local Business Center. That should be first on your ‘to do’ list after creating and optimizing a website for your business. Heck…if you don’t have a website up but have a physical address and a business phone number you can still go ahead and get your local listing up on the web. We wrote the book on Local Search: Get Found Now – Local Search Secrets Exposed. While there are a myriad of things the small business owner can do to get real web exposure, creating your local listing on Google is the easiest to do. Our book tells you how to get that listing up as well as creating review listings and getting in other free local search sites. Local Search is a great way to get more traffic and better conversions on your site quickly.
Hey Shannon
I completely agree with your comment about getting the local business listing done as a matter of course. As you say, it is easy, fast and free.
I am simply amazed at how many people/businesses don’t even seem to know about GLBC. This, of course, spells opportunity for those that do know about it, as they can quickly (instantly) grab some valuable real estate on the search engine results pages. I’ve helped quite a few people go from nothing to #1 in local search results simply by creating a listing for them (one didn’t even has a website, which bears out one of the points you’ve raised about not even having a website up).
Your book sounds like a terrific resource – and I can see that other people think so too with all the great reviews it’s been getting. Congratulations on that!
Dawson
Where can I find your RSS feed? I’ve tried to subscribe, but I’ve been struggling to find your feed page! Thanks
I think I may have been having some issues with it, but they have been sorted (one of which was that it may not have been prominent enough, so now it’s in the upper-right corner).
Cheers,
Dawson
I think competition in the search industry is good as the consumer will benefit, but I believe it will be tough to dethrone Google for some time.
I totally agree – and it’s great to see an industry that focuses on innovation and quality of experience for the end user, rather than slogans and hype.
Local search is still in its infancy so it’s going to be interesting to see how it unfolds – especially with the tie-in to mobile and all of the enhancements that come with it (visual search, augmented reality, local social web, etc).