Forgive your marketing department if the release of Google Now slipped past it unnoticed. The mobile service was launched with little fanfare for Android devices in 2012. As of 2013, Apple users can download the predictive search app for free on iTunes.
Changing How We Search
Google Now aggravates information from multiple Google services to effectively predict what you'll search for in advance and displays the information as you need it on categorized cards.
Google Now's predictive searches are, by all accounts, eerily accurate, as long as the information you want can be categorized into the service's pre-designated and easily readable cards, which the app displays as you need them. As the technology behind the app improves, the service should predict more varied results.
Looking for a good sushi bar in New York City? Google Now will have recommendations for you before you get hungry. Need to find the address for the 12 Palms addiction rehab center? Google Now will have it waiting for you.
Tying Google Together
Google Now only works if the user takes advantage of the search engine's other services. The app aggravates a wide variety of user information, including physical location, app personalization, search history, Gmail, Google Calendar, Google+ and Google Finance.
With the information from these sources, Google Now can accurately guess your preferences and needs based on past behavior. Additionally, the app can alert you to calendar and Gmail information.
The Death of SEO?
With Google Now generating so much interest, rumor has it Google plans to integrate the app into Chrome and the search engine homepage. Some pundits have labeled this move the death of SEO. What point is there to search engine optimization and keyword choices if Google predicts user needs in advance?
This predication is a little dire and all-too-common. We heard much the same when Google launched its auto suggest feature. What Google Now does is no different from the data mining marketing companies performed for years. The app simply aggravates information for the consumer, not the retailer.
While it's important to consider the impact Google Now will have on SEO, relevant content and good SEO practices will probably remain unchanged. Google still needs some means of evaluating, classifying and ranking information, after all.
Preparing for Google Now
Google Now does have the potential to change user search patterns, but quite frankly, those patterns are already in flux. The popularity of mobile devices resulted in a sharp increase in the importance of local searches, and Google Now holds promise as a local SEO platform.
If nothing else, be sure to optimize your Local Business and Google+ pages for local search results and relevancy. Search engine optimization isn't dying, but as users turn to predictive searches, SEO and SEO writing becomes more and more targeted.
Marketers should — at least eventually — be able to tie email newsletter links and social media posts to Google Now. The app could remind users of local sales or direct them to events based on information mined from email and social media.
Source: ProfCopy.com/blog
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