Search engine marketing (SEM) is a fast-moving industry which is subject to the ever-changing algorithms and constantly changing business models of the search engines. I was recently asked to name what I felt were the most exciting trends in the industry. This seemingly straightforward question led me to really consider the direction that I feel the industry is taking.
From a professional standpoint, I believe there are four critical trends in the industry: MSN’s new search engine, the move towards thematically relevant content, niche-specific search results such as local search and non-Web page results, and integration of search as an overall tactic with other forms of media, both online and off.
MSN Search – What’s the Big Deal?
MSN Search came out of Beta at the end of February 2005. The Beta search was released last November, and SEOs awaited the official launch of the site for months. But what does the launch of MSN’s own search engine mean for the industry? Let's see.
For SEOs, MSN Search means there’s another search player. It sounds simple, but a new and entirely different search property offers the promise of new (and perhaps better) search technology and another venue for SEOs to get their clients listed on a search engine other than Google or Yahoo. MSN previously relied on Yahoo to deliver its search results before the launch of its own index. So while Google, MSN and Yahoo have been the top three players in search for a while, it was only recently that MSN could be considered a separate search entity and a place for SEOs to focus on getting good rankings. MSN currently seems to favor on-page optimization and relevant content. Incoming links (e.g., off-page optimization) certainly factor into overall ranking, though without as much precision as Google which has recently switched its focus to contextually relevant (e.g., quality) incoming links.
For SEMs and site owners there’s the promise of a unique MSN paid search product. MSN currently uses Yahoo/Overture paid search results in the “Sponsored Sites” section of its search results pages. However, it is well-known to SEM professionals that MSN is in the process of rolling out a new paid search product all its own. MSN’s paid search agreement with Overture is scheduled to expire in June of 2006 at which point they will be free to launch their own paid search product. This will provide SEMs and site owners alike with increased keyword inventory along with another search venue to add to the overall marketing mix.
Searchers get more to choose from. Internet searchers now have another outlet with which to perform searches and find Web sites. MSN Search technology, while not completely new in terms of the type of algorithm it uses to rank Web pages, does seem to provide highly relevant and beneficial results. Some of the perks include a huge index containing billions of pages of content. Comprehensive and continual crawling of the Web benefits searchers and site owners alike, with relevant and refreshed results appearing in search results daily. As with Google and Yahoo, MSN Search results now contain non-Web page content such as PDFs, music and images.
Search Engine News 
