Tag Archives: Desktop Search

What’s New for July 18, 2013 – Facebook Web Insights, Maps for Android, Desktop Search

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Facebook Web Insights Upgrades

Facebook Web Insights has undergone a serious upgrade.  Upgrades include easy adjustment of dates for comparison, ability to review the cost of reaching a target demo, allows you to determine what post types are best, and even tracks Facebook visitors hour by hour over the past 7 days.  Other additions that the Social Media Giant has made: the ability to track post clicks (all clicks, not just comments, likes and shares) and understand the full reach of Facebook posts.  Users are still reporting some issues with data exports that are clunky and difficult, but hold deeper information than can be viewed by just using the UI (User Interface).

Most reviews consider the recent changes to be upgrades that allow Facebook to continue to be considered as a viable social media marketing platform with verifiable results.  More about Facebook Web Insights can be found on the Facebook website.

New Facebook Web Insights

Google Has a New Maps App for Android

Google Maps has released a new app for Android devices, with iPhone and iPad versions soon to follow.   The new app will include more search options and updated navigation, as well as reviews and discount offers.  There is also a new tablet-specific design of the app for Android tablets and iPads.  The new app allows users to find locations without typing by tapping the search box to see cards showing eat, drink and shopping options.

The Google Maps app also comes with a new navigation feature that reports road problems and offers users an alternate route to follow if available. For now, only Android users will have access to the feature offering re-route information, with iOS devices getting it soon.

Google Maps for Android

According to Comscore, Desktop Search is on the Rebound

Desktop search in on the rebound, and was up 12 percent year-over-year in June, 2013  comScore qSearch data.

ComScore estimates that there were 19.2 billion “core” desktop searches last month. That’s down four percent from the 20 billion searches in May. But it’s a 12 percent increase from June of 2012.  June is the fourth straight month that desktop search has seen a double-digit rise year-over-year.

The new data also shows a 28 percent gain in core search on Bing between June 2012 and June 2013, and a 12 percent increase in the same time period for Google.

Bottom Line:  Social Media is becoming easier to track and optimize as analytics catch up to the popularity of the platform.   Desktop search, which many experts had considered to be a shrinking platform, is suddenly back in play — perhaps the novelty of using a smart phone or tablet for everything is being overcome by how easy it is to use a desktop, when available, to search online.  Google and others continue to make getting information on the go with smartphones easier, and have given their own Android phones a marketing advantage over Apple by creating easy to use apps for mobile users.

Eric Van Cleave is a Partner in Zenergy Works, a Santa Rosa, California based Website Development, SEO and Online Marketing Firm.

Google and Bing – Desktop Search Surge in October

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According to comScore’s October 2012 Explicit Core Search Share Report , Google and Bing both hit record highs in search market share in the United States in October of this year.

 Google vs Bing

Google’s search market share rose two-tenths of a point, from 66.7 percent in September to 66.9 percent in October. Bing gained a tenth of a point and reached 16 percent in October. Both of those numbers represent all-time highs using comScore’s estimates. Yahoo was static for the month at 12.2% and Ask Network’s share was down from 3.5% in September of 2012 to 3.2% in October of 2012 and AOL was static at 1.8% over the same time period.  These are measures of “Explicit Core Search, “which excludes contextually driven searches that do not necessarily reflect use intent to review the search results.

Desktop search activity was up to 17.6 billion in October, an increase of 8% from the previous month. Desktop search activity had been declining since March, reflecting a move to mobile search. Mobile search is estimated to comprise between 10 and 30 percent of all searches currently, depending on the category being searched.

Bottom Line: The previous high for desktop searches was 18.4 billion in March of this year. Desktop search will typically increase during the winter months, as internet searchers move indoors and use readily available desktop devices to search online. This tells me that while Mobile search is growing, desktop is still preferred for many searches when it is readily available. This gap will close as the mobile devices become more user friendly (like Apple’s Siri).

Eric Van Cleave is a Partner in Zenergy Works, A Santa Rosa, California based Website Development and Online Marketing Firm.

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