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Filed under: Search, Web

Google knows where you are, offers localized search results

Google Starbucks
Google has been throwing some mapped results into general searches for a while. But now they're a whole lot more likely to be relevant, because Google is triangulating your geographic location based on your IP address and other information to give you search results in your area.

The end result is pretty useful. If you search for restaurants, post offices, libraries, or chain stores like Starbucks or Best Buy, there's a good chance Google will show you local results from your area complete with links, phone numbers, and a position on a map.

On the other hand, there's something a bit creepy about this new feature. I'm sure I'll get over it just like I got over the creepy, "wait, Google must be reading my email if the service can offer contextually relevant ads" jitters. But you can certainly file this under the category of "how much information do you really want any one company to have about you?"

Filed under: Internet, Video, Google, Search

Google to roll out video ads in search pages

Google search with videosYou know how Google's been shaking up it's old fashioned search engine by adding image and video links to its formerly text-only results page? Well, according to the New York Times, the company's about to go one step further and introduce video advertising.

Google has reportedly already begun displaying video ads on a limited number of pages, but we haven't run across one yet. Eventually we may also see image-based ads and interactive map ads showing up on search results pages.

The idea is that the ads are tailored to the page you're seeing. When Google's search page was populated with text-only links, video ads would have stood out like a sore thumb. But now that you can find a bit of everything on a Google search results page, text only ads are pretty easy to ignore as your attention is drawn to images and videos.

Filed under: Business, Internet, Blogging, Web services, Microsoft, Search

Microsoft gets set to launch new Live.com Search interface

Microsoft gets set to launch new Live.com Search interface

Microsoft is headed towards the rollout of a new Live.com search today, including a brand spankin' new interface.

There will be a gathering in Mountain View at the Microsoft campus for industry insiders to get a glimpse at Microsoft's latest search interface and redesign today. The new redesign will see a refreshing look for the search interface taking cues from both Ask and Google Universal Search. MSN Shopping will also get tied into the search results for consumer product results, making for an all around better user experience.

Akram Hussein, a Windows Live Platform Program Manager caught a glimpse of the new look while on his home PC, and managed to snap a few shots of the cleaned up design. He has since pulled down the post with images from his website but we did manage to get copies and have compared them with the current Live.com search results. We will have to wait and see what else is truly unveiled as all information from the meeting will be under an embargo for later this evening.

In more MSN news, there is also talk of MSN Video adding instant start and less intrusive ads in video content.

UPDATE: Microsoft's press release on the new updated Live Search Engine.



[via marketingpilgrim]

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