First, sorry for the lapses between blog posts. The unfortunate reality is that the blog does take something of a backseat versus servicing clients, business development and doing all of the interesting things that are going on with the De Ward Group right now.
Is it just me, or has Google really stepped up their efforts over the last few weeks and months? They've made many changes to their services, from minor UI tweaks, experimenting with different ad formats and organic listing formats, right up to introducing entirely new products such as FastFlip in the Google Labs.
Granted that Google has always been experimental, but one has to wonder if perhaps they are pushing things a bit harder now to counter the fact that Microsoft's search solution - now known as Bing - has crossed 10% market share for the first time in as far back as anyone cares to remember. These Nielsen ratings only came out the other day, but it was obvious that Bing had been gaining some traction. And knowing that Microsoft may very well soon accrue a on of traffic from Yahoo - assuming the deal gets regulatory approval - can only be increasing the pressure on Google.
These are very interesting times for us here in the world of search engines. I very nearly fully exited the SEM industry back in 2003 when sold the SEOChat.com company. Even though I did make a conscious decision to become a less public figure, I'm very glad that I chose to stay within the industry. We've got one hell of a roller coaster ride ahead of us in the coming 2 years, and I would hate to miss it.
Bing still have a long way to go. But as much as I love Google, I have to hope that Bing can step up to the challenge and give Google a run for their money, because competition is good for you, me and everybody.