WebProNews » Mobile Search

Google Goggles Adds New Search From Camera Feature

Chris Crum — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 18:15:35 +0000

Google has launched a new version of Google Goggles for Android, which will let you you know when you take pictures that Goggles can actually recognize.

“With this new opt-in feature in Goggles, you can simply photograph an image using your phone’s camera, and Goggles will work in the background to analyze your image,” explains software engineer Pavel Vodenski. “If your photo contains items that Goggles can recognize, the app will notify you.”

“Photos you take with your phone’s camera will only be seen by Goggles if you enable the Search from Camera feature,” adds Vodenski.

To do this, simply launch Goggle Goggles, go to settings under menu and enable it.

No word on when the feature might come to other devices, such as the iPhone. Kind of like the Instant Upload feature of Google+.

It’s version 1.6, and is available in the Android Market.

Verizon Does App Search on Android Phones, Taps Chomp Algorithm

Chris Crum — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 19:54:25 +0000

Marni Walden, Verizon’s CMO, announced today that beginning this fall, all Verizon Android phones will ship with app search, courtesy of Chomp.

“Verizon is the only carrier with an app store and the only carrier to make app discovery available on shipping phones,” a representative for Verizon tell WebProNews. “Chomp’s app search engine will be integrated into the new Verizon Apps store and branded as Chomp search.”

Verizon is also launching a new Verizon Apps store, which will replace VCast.

“With almost 1 million apps available for iOS and Android users, app discovery is now critical,” the rep says. “As more people move into a ‘post-PC,’ mobile world, this number will continue to grow.”

“Web search from companies such as Google is not able to perform app search in a quality way,” she adds. “Chomp realized early on that web search doesn’t work well for app search because the information that’s available about apps is completely different than Web data. Chomp spent 2 years developing app search and has 11 patents pending for both search and user experience.”

Chomp’s algorithm learns the functions of apps and lets users search for apps based on what they do. It learns things associated with each app from the info available on other app marketplaces, along with data from Twitter, Facebook, and various blogs and sites.

Chomp CEO Ben Keighran says, “Verizon undertook a rigorous app search evaluation process. Like us, they realize that app search is completely different from Web search. It’s an incredibly difficult problem to solve, but Chomp has addressed it through years of development and millions of downloads. Our approach to app search perfectly matches Verizon’s demands for an industry-best app store experience.”

Chomp’s app search engine will power all searches in Verizon apps beginning on Android smartphones being released later this fall.

Bing Adds Mall Maps to Mobile Search

Chris Crum — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 18:55:30 +0000

Bing has added mall maps and map search to Bing for Mobile. Microsoft’s search engine currently has over 400 shopping malls available in map form.

“Venue maps are a great way to save time and frustration when planning your next summer vacation or that last minute shopping trip – getting you in and out the door faster. Additionally, we now also provide the capability to search on the map,” says the Bing Maps team. “We’ve made locating mall maps an easy task from your desktop or m.bing.com. Just search for the mall name on Bing or Bing Maps, then click on the Mall Map link in the search results contact card.”

“You can also view different levels of a specific venue by clicking the ‘Level’ button at the top of the screen and then selecting the correct level from the provided list,” the team says.

Bing has also added the ability to search from Bing Maps itself. Search results utilize the split view syncing a list and map view in a single view.

“Pan the map and hit refresh and the results in the list will change based on the position of the map,” the Bing team says. “The map highlights the business locations as you scroll through the list making it easy to see where all the options are located. Clicking on a list item such as a business listing will move the map to focus on that business. Similarly, clicking on a point of interest on the map updates the list.”

The features are supported on iPhone, Android and RIM devices. They can be accessed from m.bing.com.

Google Reports Widespread Smartphone Use

Josh Wolford — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 20:13:50 +0000

You probably already know that people are using their smartphones quite frequently and for a growing number of activities. Some figures have put the ownership of smartphones at 50% for people between the ages of 18-34. It is a bit surprising to see, however, the massive scope of which users are tapping their smartphones for help with shopping.

Google has commissioned a study by independent market research firm Ipsos OTX to find how and to what degree smartphone users are accessing their devices for buying purposes. They study encompasses over 5,000 U.S. adult smartphone users who reported their usage at the end of last year.

First, some of the generic findings regarding smartphone use: 81% browse the web, 77% use search and 48% watch videos on their phones. 72% of the sample group use their smartphone while consuming other media like listening to the radio or reading the newspaper. A third of the people reported smartphone use while watching TV. 93% of people surveyed reported smartphone use while they were at home. No word on whether this includes use to make and receive calls or just use in browsing and searching the internet.

Of those surveyed who use their phones for mobile browsing, 95% look for local information. That includes looking for contact info for local businesses, mapping locations of restaurants and accessing business’ websites. 88% of those that found info that way acted on it within a day. 77% have used their smartphones to contact a business.

The implications of this information are pretty obvious. Businesses need to have a mobile presence whether that means easily accessible mobile sites or integration with various forms of social media. The next set of findings show why mobile ads are so incredibly important. From the Google Mobile Ads Blog:

Purchase-driven Shoppers: Smartphones have become an indispensable shopping tool and are used across channels and throughout the research and decision-making process.

79% of smartphone consumers use their phones to help with shopping, from comparing prices, finding more product info to locating a retailer
74% of smartphone shoppers make a purchase, whether online, in-store, or on their phones
70% use their smartphones while in the store, reflecting varied purchase paths that often begin online or on their phones and brings consumers to the store

Reaching Mobile Consumers: Cross-media exposure influences smartphone user behavior and a majority notice mobile ads which leads to taking action on it.

71% search on their phones because of an ad exposure, whether from traditional media (68%) to online ads (18%) to mobile ads (27%)
82% notice mobile ads, especially mobile display ads and a third notice mobile search ads
Half of those who see a mobile ad take action, with 35% visiting a website and 49% making a purchase

So it looks like people take notice of mobile ads, and often times those mobile ads prompt a user to search for more information about a product or service. And even if the user isn’t buying things straight from the phone, the phone is being used as an aid for in-store shopping.

Below is a video that highlights some of the findings. Here, we learn that 1 in 3 surveyed would give up chocolate in order to keep their smartphones. These responders must be men (hah!). It is also in this video that we learn the most important statistic that the study uncovered – 39% reported use of their smartphones while in the bathroom. Only 39%? Bathroom time = office time, guys. Get with it.

The full report will be detailed in a webinar tomorrow. you can register for that here. After that webinar is complete, check back with the mobile ads blog to download a full copy of the study.

Lead image from intomobile.com

Search Google For Just Businesses That Are Currently Open

Chris Crum — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 15:48:38 +0000

Google has launched a feature for its iPhone and Android mobile search that lets you see results for only local businesses that are actually open at the time of the search. While this may not seem incredibly helpful during normal business hours, it marks a tremendous boost in relevancy for late night searches.

Google uses the example of if you’re trying to get some pizza at one in the morning, but this can be potentially useful in a lot of cases. A lot of small businesses keep odd hours. Some close earlier than others. Some aren’t open on weekends, or on Sundays. Even large restaurant chain Chik-fil-A is closed on Sundays.

"Other local search options available globally include filtering by star ratings (find a highly-rated restaurant for your first date) and by distance (especially handy when you’re on foot)," Google says. "You may have noticed other improvements as well, like the addition of images, reviews from around the web and bigger buttons for viewing a map or calling a business directly. Each business’s open hours are also shown in the result snippets."

Google has been placing significantly more focus on local in recent months, having even moved Marissa Mayer to a position overseeing this stuff. Expect Google to continue making local search better and better, even as it struggles with quality issues for its regular results.

In fact, Google is already showing more and more local results for queries by default.

Does Your Keyword Strategy Take Mobile Into Account?

John Jantsch — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 19:15:29 +0000

Google mobile search and Google search are two different animals and understanding more about both has become a necessary evil. Currently, the results returned when doing a search on a mobile device can vary greatly from those done on a desktop (SEORoundtable)

The biggest difference being that Google figures if you’re on a mobile it’s likely your intent is more local focused – plus it’s easier to know exactly where the search is being conducted.

The other issue is that people turning to the mobile browser tend to search on that device a little differently, think more abbreviated, than they do on the desktop and that’s something we all need to understand a little better.

The Google Keyword Tool is a tool that every marketer must have in the toolbox as a quick way to understand some data on the kinds of things people are actually searching for – or at least the actual words and phrases they use most when looking for what you offer.

You access mobile data through the "Advanced options" link

The tool recently received a nice little update with the addition of mobile search data. Using this tool is the first step to understanding the keyword differences inherent in mobile search. The reason I think this is such an important topic is that at some point mobile search will be the dominant form of search – it’s already there for some industries. (BIA Kelsey Report)

It’s time to start thinking about blending some of your keyword strategies to make them more mobile centric – and of course getting serious about local optimization. (5 Ways to Make Your Website Scream Local)

Some observation’s from playing with the tool:

If you sell something that is mobile related or found primarily via a phone you’ll get far better keyword ideas

You can now have a much fuller picture of the search volume for phrases – mobile is doubling and tripling volume estimates

This is a pretty significant piece in the local search optimization game

Here’s Google’s official help page for using the Keyword Tool.

Originally published at DuctTapeMarketing.com

Blekko Goes Mobile with Android and iPhone Apps

Chris Crum — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 18:54:37 +0000

Blekko has launched new mobile apps for iPhone and Android, which include the search engine’s /date functionality and the ability to mark search results as spam.

If you’re unfamiliar with Blekko, it launched late last year as a human-curated approach to search aimed at eliminating spam from search results by way of human editing. With the new app, users can also "slash in" what they want and "slash out" what they don’t want.

"In a world where people want the most relevant answers on the go, mobile search is becoming increasingly more significant," said Blekko CEO Rich Skrenta. "With our iPhone and Android application, users can utilize personalized slashtags, friends, experts and the community to get the most relevant results all from the mobile device.

See an interview WebProNews recently conducted with Skrenta here.

With the mobile apps, users can also access a website’s SEO data on the fly (like the desktop version).

According to Blekko, they already have 100,000 slashtag vertical search terms that have been created by thousands of human editors. These cover topics such as health, money, and autos, as long as narrower topics, such as: gluten-free, college football, and the Grateful Dead.

The new apps are free in the iTunes store and Android Market. Blekko is available for all versions of Android, and a spokesperson for the company tells us they’ll be rolling out the app across all mobile platforms, but iPhone and Android were good places to start.

Google Places with Hotpot App Released for iPhone

Chris Crum — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 16:56:58 +0000

Google has launched Google Places with Hotpot for the iPhone. Given the iPhone’s pending availability to Verizon customers, this should provide a huge boost in use for Google’s recently launched local offering. Google Places with Hotpot has been available in Google Maps for Android, but now it’s a standalone iPhone app too.

Google Places with Hotpot lets you search for places that are nearby and personalizes the results based on places you’ve rated using the service in the past. More on how Hotpot works here.

"It can be pretty rewarding to discover a new place you love, but we also realize that there are some experiences you just can’t wait to share," says Greg Blevins, a software engineer with Google’s Hotpot team. "So Places makes it super simple to rate a place with your iPhone while you’re there. Just fire up the app and hit ‘Rate now.’ It will use your location to guess your current place and let you post a Hotpot review right from your phone. But it’s not just about getting to say what you think—the more you rate places, the more you’re sharing about your tastes and the more we can give you personally tailored recommendations."

The app can be found by searching for Google Places in Apple’s App Store or visiting this link. It’s available for all iOS devices in English for now. More languages will come later.

Google says you can expect more features and improvements to roll out soon. It would not be surprising to see some deals-type things make an appearance.

Google’s Marissa Mayer, who is now focusing on the company’s geo and local products, recently talked about how Google already has Groupon-like products, after Google’s failed bid to acquire the growing deals company. "I think that when you look at our overall suite of services, especially around our advertising, we already have some things that are like this," she said in an interview with Media Beat. "We have things like coupons and offer extension ads that allow merchants to basically make offers to our users. So we’re looking at how we can take that technology and put it to use, especially in the location space."

Google Places would be the location space, and getting the new app in front of iPhone users (a number which is sure to skyrocket next month) could be a powerful weapon.

Google Goggles Gets An Upgrade

Chris Crum — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 19:33:39 +0000

Google has launched a new version of Google Goggles, the application that lets users point their phone’s camera at a variety of things and get search results by taking a picture. The new version, version 1.3, is faster and smarter, according to Google. It can scan barcodes "almost instantly," the company says.

"Open Goggles and hover over the barcode or QR code," says a blog post from a couple of Google software engineers. "Within a second the phone gently vibrates and presents results, without requiring a button press. Simply tap on the result to read product reviews, check in-store availability and compare prices."

Goggles can also now recognize print ads from magazines and newspapers, and even solve Sudoku puzzles. This is illustrated in the following clip:

The video also displays what would appear to be a new tagline for Google Goggles – "Solving life’s problems, one puzzle at a time."

The print ad functionality could be pretty useful for those interested in the product being advertised. Even if the ad does not come with a QR code, readers will still be able to scan the ad and get more info.

Top Searches Will Be Influenced By Changes in Search Habits, APIs

Chris Crum — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 22:01:43 +0000

Tired of top ten of 2010 lists yet? Me too. We’re 4 days into 2011 now. Enough is enough. Yahoo got the memo, as now it is looking back on the past decade in search beginning with 2001, and looking at how much has changed (and how much hasn’t).

What is the biggest difference you see in search activity from 2001 to 2011? Comment here.

"Some trends have continued over the years, for example pop-princess Britney Spears made the list every year, while some trends changed drastically, largely thanks to new technology like mobile devices," a spokesperson for Yahoo tells WebProNews.

Back in 2001, the top ten list featured things like Napster, NASCAR, the IRS, and of course the World Trade Center. In fact, there had not been another news event to reach a year’s top ten list of Yahoo searches until the infamous BP oil spill of this past year.

The decade in search was largely dominated by entertainment and celebrity queries like Spears, Kim Kardashian, Megan Fox, Miley Cyrus, Jessica Simpson, Paris Hilton, Lady Gaga, Eminem, Justin Bieber, 50 Cent, etc.

Harry Potter came in on the top 10 three different years. It’s actually surprising that it it didn’t come in more.

How people search should play a big role in dictating the top searches going forward. "While some our most popular questions have stayed the same over the years, the answers – and how we get them – have seen some big changes since 2001," says Yahoo. "Innovative features and Quick Apps now bring the information you’re seeking within the search page, rather than just giving you a list of links."

"You can even Sketch-a-Search!" the company says referring to its own mobile app, in which you can use your finger to draw a circle around an area on a map and bring up search results. "Today’s Yahoo! searchers don’t have to rely on PCs; mobile devices now let you search on the go, delivering snack-sized bites of information – like scores, stats, and song lyrics – perfect for the top 3 2010 searches on mobile: NFL, Lady Gaga, and Rihanna."

Of course, apps are obviously influencing search well beyond those using Yahoo. APIs will continue to be a huge factor in the way people do their searches. According to Programmable Web, which runs an API Directory and a MashUp directory, API growth doubled in 2010 with social and mobile trending upwards. Search was number 4 in the top 5 API types of the year, just ahead of mobile.

Local, social, and realtime are bound to be three of the largest factors in search in general moving forward. Of nearly a thousand apps added to Programmable Web’s MashUp directory, 270 of them tapped into the Google Maps API, nearly 200 tapped into Twitter’s, and nearly 100 tapped into Facebook’s and YouTube’s each. Each of these is extremely valuable to search.

What do you think will be the most significant factor in search activity in 2011? Share your thoughts.