Search Predictions for 2007: social search, vertical search, Google, and more

[mandy]

7 search engine and search marketing predictions for 2007:

6. The joy of shopping and vertical search
The inherent inefficiency of directive search has created and opportunity for vertical search sites. You can find everything from retail shopping aggregators to travel sites. The relationship between vertical and shopping search and directive search is an unhappy one.

Searchers bounce between comparison shopping destinations and retail sites with such frequency that identifying a purchase path can be a problem. Vertical search sites also have something of an unhappy relationship with ultimate purchase destinations, particularly in the travel category.

The few remaining independent shopping classifieds (beyond Google's Froogle and Yahoo Shopping, et cetera) possess technology that can benefit the user but are significantly lacking in support services. This year, surviving shopping and vertical search technologies will become more consumer service centric, thereby creating a better destination for searchers and cultivating their loyalty...

full article: http://imediaconnection.com/content/13076.asp