Ep 147: Long tail searcher behaviors, Gemini switch appears, Content publishing being upended by search
Long tail searcher behaviors: 10% of Discovery searches involve a brand search on Google, Gemini search now a front and center toggle in the Google App, Content publishing being upended by search - Can it change?
Part 1 starts 00:13 - Long tail searcher behaviors: 10% of Discovery searches involve a brand search on Google
In our most recent multi-location consumer Google search behavior research analyzing restaurant searches we saw roughly 10% of all searchers use the scrolling map for location precision and we saw an equal number of searchers do a local brand search as part of their discovery process. These brand searches seem to be either to better understand a location or to confirm their choice. Oftentimes it was a shorthand way for searchers to increase their confidence in the overall rating of a location without having to read the reviews.
Part 2 starts 11:14 - Gemini search now a front and center toggle in the Google App
he mobile Google App is now offering a toggle switch that allows users to easily compare traditional results with Gemini results. While search is the default, Gemini is readily available as an alternative choice. Gemini is more like the 10-blue links Google. The UI is cleaner and there's less "information clutter." It's not clear, however, that you can entirely trust Gemini. While interesting, it still seems to be more of a positioning ploy vis a vis ChatGPT and their recently announced search engine than a real alternative to search.
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Part 3 starts 19:22 - Content publishing being upended by search - Can it change?
Recent tales of Reddit content outraninking original content seems to belie Google’s stated intent of the Helpful Content Update showing smaller sites that demonstrate EEAT with real world experience and a singular point of view. While some are optimistic that new developments in Google AI will fix the results, the way that the algo works might doom it to a loop of brand mediocrity.
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How Google is killing independent sites like ours
Google: We Want To Reward The Best Content No Matter Site Size
Thoughts on why big brands dominate Google. And how this is soon likely to change