The Perfect Search Engine And How It Would Impact Marketers And Advertisers

The word “perfect” is such a strong and powerful one. Reaching perfection, while the goal of many, is not often reached. But if you’re a marketer or advertiser, just imagine a world where the Perfect Search Engine (PSE) exists. Well, the folks over at Search Engine Land did… and so did we.

The Search Engine Land piece touched on both what a PSE would mean for consumers in addition to the impact it would have on marketers and advertisers.

From the consumer’s perspective it would come down to speed and engagement. Speed in the form “how quickly can PSE return results that match the user’s real intent?” And engagement in the form of the simple act of asking questions “… in many circumstances, the fastest way to get comprehensive results is to ask follow up questions.”

From the marketers’ and advertisers’ standpoint, it would be a matter of competition and less thereof “Advertisers would benefit tremendously from this as well. Instead of competing for traffic they may not actually want they can compete for traffic after the user has clarified their intent. This would improve conversion rates, and save users time as well.”

So that’s what the good folks over at Search Engine Land perceive to be what a PSE would entail…

And here’s what some of our search engine marketing gurus – Russell Kalbach and David Arico, think a PSE would be defined as and how it would affect advertisers/marketers as well as consumers.

SO: What is your definition of the Perfect Search Engine (PSE)?
DA: I would like my PSE to interact with me. I’d like it to be able to look at my search history and provide me more customized results based on my habits. I’d like it to ask me to clarify a search if need be.
RK: The perfect search engine can decipher a users intent when typing in a query and provide the most relevent/useful results. That is my broad definition but we all understand there is a lot that goes into this; crawling, indexing, categorizing, learning user search behavior, trending real time results, location specific results, etc. However, when all is said and done, users don’t care how they get the results but they want the most helpful results and they want them fast.

SO: How would your PSE affect advertisers and marketers?
DA: I would try to integrate them into the search engine results more seamlessly. In fact, I really don’t think there should be any distinction at all. I think ads can have just as much, if not more, relevance than many of the organic results the non-PSEs deliver anyways. That would translate into a boost in traffic for advertisers.
RK: The PSE would be great for advertisers and marketers because it would present users with the most relevant ads. Maybe organic and paid listings are blended without users even knowing. The perfect PSE would be able to determine the best results, whether it is paid or organic, and display them to the user. In theory, this may require advertisers to create ads that mimic the different search result verticals (image, videos, news, shopping).

SO: How would your PSE affect consumers?
DA: It would make it easier to interpret a user’s search query and get you the answer you want. After all, I really don’t care where I find what I’m looking for, just get me there, and fast!
RK: Consumers would find what they are looking for in the shortest amount of time possible.

So what do you think would be in the Perfect Search Engine?

If you’re a brand marketer or product marketer, how would a PSE help you get your brand/product in front of and engage with your customers and prospects?

Do you think we will ever see a Perfect Search Engine?