the Google search is a Web search engine owned by Google, Inc., and it is the most used search engine on the Web. Google receives several hundred million queries each day through its various services.

The domain google.com attracted at least 135 million U.S. visitors in May 2008.[3]

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For any business, the searchability of your website is crucial to the success of any internet marketing campaign. Luckily, the largest search engine in the world, has made it easy to help you do just that.

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Why the End is Nowhere in Sight for Google

By Julie Batten, The ClickZ Network, Aug 4, 2008

• Google isn't just a search engine, it's an online empire. With its hands in every kind of Internet-delivered medium (video, user-generated content, mobile, print, TV, etc.), Google is constantly and speedily acquiring the resources to essentially own the online space -- or at least partially own. And don't forget Google's other Web services, such as search appliances, Web analytics, and Webmaster tools. It's got its sights set on cornering other markets.
  
  
• Google is search marketers' darling. When SEO or SEM (define) experts talk about search, they often use "Google" interchangeably with "search engine." Why? Because when you're optimizing a site, Google is the engine you optimize it for. When you only have a dollar to spend in paid search, you spend it with Google. It has the eyeballs, inventory, and leader-of-the-pack clout that makes it impossible notto think about and include Google when planning search marketing activities.


• People cite how in 1998 Google came in and seemingly wiped out Yahoo's then-well-established market share. What they don't realize is we were just at the beginning of our love affair with the Internet. Since 1998, Internet use has grown exponentially and with it, slowly but surely, search engine use. Just four years ago, only 30 percent of American Internet users accessed a search engine in a typical day.
  
• Now roughly half of Americans use a search engine in a typical day, according to the Pew Internet &d American Life Project. The fact that this wasn't such an entrenched daily activity for Internet users back in the day suggests it would have been easier to gain market share over an established competitor. However, as search engine use is growing so rapidly, it threatens to trump e-mail as the most frequent online activity. It's going to be increasingly difficult for new entrants to change user's behaviors and get them to switch.


• And even if new entrants are somewhat successful, it doesn't mean Google won't sustain. Just look at Yahoo. In the five-plus years I've been in search, it's held steady around 20 percent market share. Why? Because those Internet pioneers among us starting using this engine way back in the day and just can't seem to break the habit. Just like some of us can't help but use "google" as a verb. They die hard, don't they?

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Google has developed a real estate listings search service, and it's already looking good!

Google has silently released: Google Real Estate. I don’t know if that is the official name, but that’s what I’m calling it until I hear otherwise. When you do a search query for “real estate”, “homes for sale” , or “apartments for rent” a new option appears. See below screenshot:

As you can see, you can further refine your search by location, listing type, Distance, relevance, most recent post date, oldest post date, Price, bedrooms, and bathrooms.

The next screenshot displays a thumbnail of a photo of each property and a description. The Google Local map is on the right side of the page.

When you click on the pushpin, another photo & description pops up on the Google Map.

Real Estate -  Secret Beta; Threat to Cendant, Move.com, HouseValues, ZipRealty (CD, GOOG, HOMS, SOLD, ZIPR)
- about stocks: CD / GOOG / MOVE / SOLD / ZIPR                                                                posted on: April 05, 2006 |


Since Mr Sandlar's discovery (more screenshots here), the beta has been removed from public view. However, the prospect of an impending release of a Google real estate listing search service threatens a number of publicly traded companies.
The US real estate market is remarkably inefficient, and a number of publicly-traded companies benefit handsomely from that. US real estate commissions, at 4-6%, are higher than in most other countries. Improved information flow will reduce inefficiencies in the market and ultimately cut brokers' commissions or eliminate them entirely.
Effective search for real estate listings combined with Google Base would allow home sellers to list properties directly with Google for no fee. The screenshot above suggests that Google has already integrated its real estate search with Google Maps.
The most likely victim of Google Real Estate will likely be:
Cendant Corporation (CD) 
Cendant provides real estate and travel services, including traditional real estate brokerage services, car rental, and time shares. Cendant has announced that its business units will separate into four companies. The Real Estate Services Division will become Realogy Corporation upon the completion of its anticipated spin-off from Cendant during the second quarter of 2006. It consists of four primary business units: the Real Estate Franchise Group, representing approximately 15,000 residential and commercial franchised real estate offices and 313,500 sales associates affiliated with the Century 21®, Coldwell Banker®, Coldwell Banker Commercial®, ERA® and Sotheby's International Realty® brand names; Cendant Mobility (which will become Cartus), a premier provider of employee relocation and global mobility services with six global service centers on four continents; NRT Incorporated, the nation's largest residential real estate brokerage company with operations in 35 major metropolitan markets; and Cendant Settlement Services Group (which will become Title Resource Group), a leading national provider of title, escrow and other settlement services. In 2005, the Cendant Real Estate Services Division reported revenues of $7.1 billion and EBITDA of $1.2 billion, with year-over-year growth of 9 percent and 5 percent, respectively. Wonder how that growth will look in a few years time...
Other publicly companies at risk from Google include:
ZipRealty (ZIPR) 
ZipRealty provides brokerage services to buyers and sellers through its employee-agents in Arizona, California, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Washington, District of Columbia, and provides consumers the opportunity to access Multiple Listing Services (MLS) data through its Website with a lower commission structure than is typical in the industry.
HouseValues, Inc. (SOLD) 
HouseValues provides a service for residential real estate agents that combines lead generation from its HouseValues.com and JustListed.com Websites with its Market Leader prospect management system and personalized coaching and training. HouseValues provides these services to agent customers for a monthly fixed fee pursuant to contracts, most of which have an initial term of one year, continuing thereafter on a month-to-month basis until terminated. Wonder how many of those contracts will be renewed in a few years' time...
Move.com, formerly Homestore, Inc. (HOMS) 
Move.com provides an online service that enables consumers to find real estate listings and other content related to residential real estate, moving and relocation. The Company's primary consumer Websites include REALTOR.com, the official site of the National Association of Realtors (NAR); HomeBuilder.com, the official new home listing site of the National Association of Homebuilders; RENTNET, an apartment, corporate housing and self-storage resource; SeniorHousingNettm.com, a comprehensive resource for seniors; and Homestore.com, a home information resource site with an emphasis on content related to mortgage financing, moving and storage, and home and garden activities. HOMS stock has been a long-term let-down. Doesn't look as though that's going to improve...

Search Engine Indexing, Rank and Content Relevance - how do you get it?

August 25th, 2008 Chris Frerecks Posted in GOOGLE |
http://realestateblogsites.com/2008/08/25/favored-search-engine-indexing/
So, what is it that gets you favored search engine indexing, rank and content relevance? What we do know [per the below Google quote] is that your web presence is being scrutinized competitively in over 200 different ways. So, does a search engine care about your site, or just about its’ pages? Is it the back links that do the trick? Is it the relevance to your subject matter of back links that really matters? Is it the rank of those back links? Can a search engine detect paid or recruited back links and ignore or penalize for them? How about date of creation stamp- have you been there longer? Is it how fast your pages load or, at least, the content on your pages? Is the amount of search activity going to your site a competitive signal? Has an ability to track your RSS subscription numbers become an important metric? Is it how focused and consistent your content creation is? Or better yet, how strong is the competition for each of the topics you target on each of these signal points and the 200 other we may or may not know about?
The truth is [per the below Google quote], no one really knows… and it changes all the time. As a firm, we believe it’s probably all of the above and then some *but mostly we believe it’s about your content.* Versus technology or link optimization strategies, which may get you somewhere temporarily, content is the sustainable logic in a world where search engines need loyal search in order to succeed. Specifically, *search engines are either the best conduit to answers OR searching consumers will move on, leaving pay per click models short of the click revenue needed to succeed.* And by the way,approximately 9- 11% of all searchers will click on the pay per click advertisements… leaving 90% for the organic content creator.

 

Regardless of what we believe, one can draw their own conclusions from what Google itself says, as follows:

• VP of Search Quality Udi Manber, "The goal is always the same: improve the user experience. This is not the main goal, it is the only goal.”
• Udi Manber, “…surprisingly little is known about ranking at Google. This is entirely our fault, and it is by design. We are, to be honest, quite secretive about what we do. There are two reasons for it: competition and abuse…"
• "We’re constantly experimenting with our algorithm, tuning and tweaking on a weekly basis to come up with more relevant and useful results for our users."
• Mr. Singhal [current master of Google’s ranking algorithm] has developed a far more elaborate system for ranking pages, which involves more than 200 types of information, or what Google calls “signals.” Page Rank is but one signal
  • "Page Rank relies on the uniquely democratic nature of the web by using its vast link structure as an indicator of an individual page’s value. In essence, Google interprets a link from page A to page B as a vote, by page A, for page B. But, Google looks at considerably more than the sheer volume of votes, or links a page receives; for example, it also analyzes the page that casts the vote. Votes cast by pages that are themselves "important" weigh more heavily and help to make other pages "important." Using these and other factors, Google provides its views on pages’ relative importance."
  • "Some signals are on Web pages like words, links, images and so on. Some are drawn from the history of how pages have changed over time. Some signals are data patterns uncovered in the trillions of searches that Google has handled over the years.”

Amidst all the above there have been two Google algorithm changes fairly recently, where top websites and bloggers saw dramatic changes [some up, some way down] in their indexing and their page rank. It’s common and it isn’t ever going to be a static environment, so suggesting there are sure- fire technologies and linking strategies runs counter to Google’s need for the best and most timely answers [or content] possible. Careful, it’s unlikely anyone is outsmarting Google’s army of engineers.
Our focus remains on bringing people the most user friendly optimized blogging software possible and on teaching leading content creation technique that stimulates both search engines and humans