Google updates Image Search with inline panel and more image information

Google's update to Image Search brings an inline panel, which is supposed to make search faster and minimise clicking.

 

Hot deals by

 

Google has rolled out another round of update to its Image Search that is supposed to make the search faster and require less clicks. The update bring in a range of changes, the images now being presented via an inline panel.

“Based on feedback from both users and webmasters, we redesigned Google Images to provide a better search experience. In the next few days, you’ll see image results displayed in an inline panel so it’s faster, more beautiful, and more reliable,” says Google in a blog post. “You will be able to quickly flip through a set of images by using the keyboard. If you want to go back to browsing other search results, just scroll down and pick up right where you left off”.

When users search for images currently, they see large thumbnail images for whatever they are looking. For example, someone searches for the Taj Mahal, the search shows up images of the monument. Clicking on the image enlarges it, and the web page is shown in the background. With the update, Google Image Search shows a display of smaller images with one main image at the centre enlarged, with more image information.

Google also explains what the tweak to its Image Search would mean for webmasters:

- We now display detailed information about the image (the metadata) right underneath the image in the search results, instead of redirecting users to a separate landing page.

- We’re featuring some key information much more prominently next to the image: the title of the page hosting the image, the domain name it comes from, and the image size.

- The domain name is now clickable, and we also added a new button to visit the page the image is hosted on. This means that there are now four clickable targets to the source page instead of just two. In our tests, we’ve seen a net increase in the average click-through rate to the hosting website.

- The source page will no longer load up in an iframe in the background of the image detail view.

- This speeds up the experience for users, reduces the load on the source website’s servers, and improves the accuracy of webmaster metrics such as pageviews. As usual, image search query data is available in Top Search Queries in Webmaster Tools.

resource:http://www.thinkdigit.com/Internet/Google-updates-Image-Search-with-inline-panel_13189.html

Facebook Launches Graph Search to Rival Google

There was whispers recently that Facebook had some big news to share and now we know what it is…Graph Search which CEO Mark Zuckerburg announced last week.
Very soon Facebook users are going to be able to search with in a garden wall for things their friends like, places they have been as well as pictures they have posted.
What is a graph search and how does it work?

"The search bar is going to start by retuning the top search suggestions. This is going to include: people, pages, apps, places, groups and other suggested searches. Facebook users are going to be able to search for things like restaurants that are near them, hotels they would like to visit or photos that have been posted by friends or pages that they have liked. It will even allow users to search for what games their friends like to play.
There are a lot of things you need to consider when you are setting up your Facebook for successful search results. Likes on Facebook are actually going to be one of the most important components of this graph search. The more times something is liked, the larger group of individuals it is going to connect with. Make sure you fill out your profile, group and/or business page completely. It is also important that you make sure you only use real information. If there is something you DON’T want to reveal, it is better to leave area blank than to make up information. You should also avoid trying to create your own sub-categories or adding your own information. While it is only natural to want to embellish what you have to write, it is only going to hurt the search engine results.
What are the implications for SEO and online marketing?
Quite significant according to Marketing Pilgrim:
In the worlds of SEO and internet marketing, Graph Search will change the game entirely. Your fans are more important than ever. With Graph Search, people who like your Facebook Page and share your content will automatically become unofficial word-of-mouth brand advocates on your behalf. Facebook’s new pillar is further affirmation for a trend that we’ve been seeing for quite a bit of time – simply put, people prefer to turn to their friends for advice.
With the prospect that Facebook’s Graph Search could eventually become a fairly effective local search and recommendation engine, SEOs need to pay more attention to like signals, review signals and check-ins. Think about it, users will be typing in “pizzerias that my friends like” (meaning having a page that people “like” is a signal) or “pizzerias that my friends have been to” (meaning Facebook check-ins are a signal). The same goes for our clients – It’ll be our job to train our clients to focus on attracting the right fans to your page and giving your fans a reason to interact with your content on an ongoing basis. This includes providing incentives for checking-in upon arrival and engaging your audience with worthwhile content. This puts a whole new spin on the significance of developing a content strategy for Facebook – your business page just gained a whole new level of importance."

Currently, Facebook Graph Search is only available in beta, but make sure you sign-up to the wait list so you’re one of the first to get access when it is officially launched.
recourse: http://blog.ineedhits.com/search-news/facebook-launches-graph-search-to-rival-google-211512285.html

Google Overhaul’s Image Search; Webmasters Rejoice

As most people are aware, the current Google Image Search requires multiple steps to view images. Currently, when a user searches for an image, they are brought to a search result page with different images. To see a bigger version of the picture, users have to click on it and then they are brought to another page. To view another picture, they have to go back to the image result page and then click on another picture. It can become quite a hassle for those who want to look at multiple pictures.
The new change to Google Image Search will now bring up a larger image when an image is clicked on the image result page. Users will have the ability to look through multiple images in a way that does not require multiple clicking. Simply using their keyboard, users will be able to skip through the different images instead of needing to go back to the search result page and selecting a new image.
This new change will also add four clickable targets that will make it easier for users to visit the actual website that the image is being hosted on. This update to Google Image Search will also prevent phantom visits, which many publishers have noticed happening to the current system. More information on the results will also be displayed, including metadata, the page hosting the image, its size, and domain name. This is designed to increase click-through rates to the sites hosting the images.
During the testing of this new update, it was reported that Google noticed an increase in click-through traffic, which should make webmasters very happy.
You can find out more about this update to Google Image search here.

1st Google Panda Update Released for 2013

Even though Google initially denied that there was an update taking place, it was announced on January 22 that a new Panda refresh has been pushed out.
This is the first update from Google in 2013 and the 24th version of the Panda refresh update. Google says that this update has affected only 1.2% of English queries and many webmasters are reporting to not have even noticed a change in their website’s ranking at all.
Google’s main focus has been cutting down the amount of low quality web pages and Panda has been one of the ways that Google is doing just that. Since Panda’s release almost two years ago, Google has been able to target those websites the feature spam, keyword stuffed content, serial plagiarism, and much more. The websites that have been targeted receive lower ranks by Google. Websites that receive very low ranks will be removed completely from Google Search.
The updates to Panda refresh are designed to perform regular refreshes that allow Google to weed out websites that are content farms, spam, and overall poor websites to improve the overall user experience. This Panda refresh update is not creating as much buzz as the December 21, 2012 update though.
Ever since Google Panda was released in February of 2011, there has been at least one update a month, sometimes even two. Most of these 24 updates were announced by Google, but some were not. The last few updates to Panda refresh have only affected English queries.
resource:http://blog.ineedhits.com/search-news/1st-google-panda-update-released-for-2013-291312305.html