In terms of letting a driver keep his (or her) attention focused on the road, search suggestions are far and away the most significant new feature.  Forget the idea of working out how to spell all of "Bar Stuzzichini" on a small screen while traveling at 70 MPH.

Now, as a post on the LatLong Blog explained, "[C]ars with our new service package will provide suggested results after you enter the first few characters – similar to what you’re used to on Google’s desktop web search.  Suggestions are based on your location and will surely speed up your search."

Next up is a "pictures at your destination" service.  When available, Google will provide satellite photos, Panoramio pics, and/or Street View images to make recognizing an unfamiliar place easy.

Finally, the blog post made the somewhat vague promise, "[W]e’re continuing to make improvements to our Local Search offering. . . .  By taking advantage of the rich information and fresh data this technological integration allows, we hope searching for places in your car makes it faster, easier and more exciting for you to get where you’re going."

These features are sure to please BMW buyers, and might even cause one or two serious technophiles (or directionally challenged individuals) to pass up rival brands.

An official release explains that users can look for anything from full addresses to lone keywords.  The service determines their current location, "and then displays the local results with details of address, phone number and distance.  For example, you can look up business information like the names of restaurants, hotels, service stations, banks, supermarkets, cinemas and public facilities such as schools or city halls . . ."

The only catches: just the 1 and 3 series will be paired with this feature at the start.  Also, in addition to having to buy a BMW in the first place, would-be users will have to opt for a nav system and fork over $199 per year for the BMW Assist Convenience Plan.  So BMW Search isn’t exactly a widespread standard feature.

Still, since this tech had its start in Germany and spread throughout Europe some time ago, it’s nice to see it reach the U.S. in any form.  Assuming owners use the option at all, it’s bound to be offered in conjunction with more BMW models, and other companies (Mercedes and Yahoo, for example) should release similar things.

This feature made its first widespread appearance in BMWs; owners throughout Europe are able to use Google Maps in the comfort of their homes or offices and simply send directions to their navigation systems when it’s time to go.  Mercedes made a similar move that involved both Yahoo Maps and Google Maps.

Now we’re reaching the masses, though – those who couldn’t afford a BMW or Mercedes or simply chose something else (and “something else” is, in all reality, likely to be sexier and/or more reliable).  The one catch here is that the new deal only involves the TomTom brand of navigation systems.

And Google – Yahoo fans will have to either ignore this innovation or adapt.  Still, TomTom is a pretty major player in this field, and Google is, well, Google.  The (free) feature’s ease of use adds even more value to the equation; a demo video proves that just about anyone who can type and click should be able to operate it.

Keep an eye out for Garmin, another company that specializes in nav systems, to follow TomTom’s lead.  Also, this development will increase the pressure on automakers to come up with their own out-of-the-factory solutions.

myTELUS reports new BMWs will come equipped with “Google By Car.”

The German luxury carmaker is now the only automobile manufacturer in the world to offer Google local search in their cars. The search function will allow drivers to look for local information anywhere in Germany- powered by the worlds most powerful search engine. Results are displayed with address, phone number and distance, and upon finding what they’re looking for, the driver can transfer the coordinates into their car’s navigation system and mobile phone at the touch of a button.

Sweet!

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Google, BMW Enhance European Nav Systems

Thomas Wuertele and Jeff Zabel (of BMW ConnectedDrive and the US BMW Technology Office, respectively) started by explaining the less exciting half of this arrangement on the Google LatLong Blog.  “In addition to Google Maps Deutschland, you can now send businesses from Google Maps, Google Maps Italia and Google Maps UK directly to your in-car navigation system,” the pair announced to all European BMW Assist customers.

It’s an interesting idea, and one that we covered when the feature first debuted in Germany.  The in-car Google Local search takes things a step further, however, and should, as opposed to a sort of handy shortcut, provide truly useful assistance.

After all, as Wuertele and Zabel point out, “[W]hat about when you want to find a business on the road?  […]  Looking for a gas station, a museum or a nearby sushi spot?  This service gives you access to all the information from Google Maps while you enjoy your drive.  Just search online using Google Maps and transfer the address to your navigation system, or call the contact with one click.”

The BMW representatives then link to a YouTube video for a quick demonstration.  Unfortunately, they don’t give any sort of timeframe for when this service might become available throughout Europe, and there’s no telling when either of these features could come across the Atlantic.

Thai Tran, a product manager at the search engine company, explained the feature in greater detail. “[U]sers in Germany can send a business listing found on Google Maps Deutschland directly to cars enabled with the BMW Assist service,” he wrote. “Drivers can then set it as the destination for the in-car navigation system, or they can call the business from within the car.”

The main point of all this? “No more having to write down the address and re-enter it in the car – now you can just click and drive!” Tran provided a nifty little video if you’d like to see the feature in action. It should make life a little simpler for BMW owners, assuming they can figure out the (reportedly) awful iDrive controller that’s in charge of the operation.

This isn’t a technological breakthrough; Google worked out deals with both Volkswagen and Honda some time ago, and aftermarket navigation systems are capable of similar feats. Still, good for Google – and BMW. Now we just need the companies to bring it this feature to the U.S.

Keep an eye out, considering that Tran concluded, “As additional devices come online, we’re excited to see what is possible, and we’ll continue working to make the information that you need available to you when and where you need it.”

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Lots of fun commentary on this one:

Google blacklists BMW.de – CNET News.com

Ramping up on international webspam – Matt Cutts of Google

BMW cheats search-engines, Google removes it from search results – Boing Boing

For Matt Cutts to point out a crackdown on international search spam, I suspect there has been a lot of it going on un-checked. Or at least not under as much scruitiny as English language sites.

Time for BMW.de to clean up their act and brush up on steps to a re-inclusion request.

I wonder how BMW Public Relations is going to handle this? Do you think they’ll “out” the SEO?

Lee Odden is President and Founder of
TopRank Online Marketing, specializing in organic SEO, blog
marketing and online public relations. He’s been cited as a search
marketing expert by publications including U.S. News & World Report and
The Economist and has implemented successful search marketing programs
with top BtoB companies of all sizes. Odden shares his marketing
expertise at Online Marketing Blog offering
daily news, interviews and best practices.

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