What Does Google’s New SSL Search Mean For Analytics?

Filed under: Analytics — Tags: , , , — Mark @ Tuesday, June 8th, 2010

Last month Google made the announcement that in addition to its regular search choice they would start offering a new “secure” alternative.  The new offering can be found at https://www.google.com and the idea behind the new service is rather simple. By using SSL technology you are able to create a secure and encrypted connection between your browser and Google, ensuring that no third parties on your network will be able to intercept your search results.

However, this new enhanced privacy potentially comes at a cost for those of us out there who rely on analytical software to gain valuable insights into how users come to discover our site. Let’s say for example you owned a website that sold home theatre systems, traditionally when a user searched for the phrase “buy home theatre” in Google they would be taken to the address http://www.google.com/search?q=buy+home+theatre. Then when a user clicked your listing in the search results and was taken to your website, using analytical software you could then see what page the user came from, and in turn, discover what search phrases they used to discover your site. (more…)



“Self censoring” – a new social media trend?

Filed under: Social Media — Tags: , , , , — Marcelo Silva @ Tuesday, May 18th, 2010

What do social media and tattoos have in common? They’re both things you might live to regret!

At the end of 2009 the major search engines brokered deals with the larger social media players (i.e. Twitter), allowing them to index real time content and thus further embedding social information within search results.

Will consumers and businesses start trawling for information via the likes of Google and what will they come up with?

As we continue to live in the now, we tend to forget about the potential long term implications associated with Social Media. For example, a recent security flaw on Facebook highlighted that there is the potential to compromise private conversations.

Should consumer privacy concerns continue to mount; what are the implications to businesses? Will consumers tend to shy away from engaging with brands within Social Media platforms? How will consumer behaviour change? (more…)



Microsoft, Yahoo merge – a “game changer”

Filed under: News, Search Engines, Updates — Tags: , , , — Ian Lavelle @ Thursday, July 30th, 2009

For those of you too busy to read the news in the past 24 hours, there’s been a pretty major development in the land of the search engines. Microsoft and Yahoo! have announced a deal whereby they will be combining their search offerings with the aim of invigorating the challenge to Google.
(more…)