analysis of google's leaked wdyl.com campaign

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What is www.wdyl.com?

(And what does it mean for Google?)

Google & the Contextual Search StoryAlice Lee | 6/29/2011

This presentation will tell you:

What WDYL.com is, given its recent leak via TechCrunch on 6/27

Its implications as a part of

a larger marketing push by Google

History: Google & Contextual Search

Marketing Ploys: WDYL: What do you love?

Establishes connection between “the things that you love” and “how you can use Google Search tools” to imply: “Search for the things that you love on Google”

Amalgamation of search content, image, news, trends, video, mobile, etc. responses about given queries to showcase diversity of tools

Soft launch few days back, formal launch in coming week: some parts are nonfunctional

Youtube Search Stories Heartwarming/clever stories that illustrate how Google Search enhanced

an individual’s connection to the important things in their life

Search Tools Google Insights for Search: pointed search iGoogle: “self-curating” feed

Google Tools

WDYL

Personal history context: auto-suggests search terms on home page

• Pulls from:• Maps• Youtube• SketchU

p (3D)• Blogger• Calenda

r• Patent

Search• Chrome• Books• Translat

e• Image

Search• Mobile• Trends• Gmail

• News

Deep Dive

Overview

Messaging

Functional Purpose

Inconspicuously Absent Features

Weaknesses: WDYL’s shortfalls

Differentiation: What this means for Bing

Overview

General web consensus that this is a marketing push rather than a functional tool Lacking functionality because leaked on TechCrunch at 11PM on 6/27 Some content portals not very relevant to most queries (ie. Maps) Has more of a “Wow” factor and potential application of the entire toolset

is very niche (ie. research projects)

Portal pulling feeds from various Google content sources based on search (“Googling Google products”) Two types of feeds:

Search tools: News, Image, News, Trends, Video Consumer tools (extraneous relevance): Maps, Events, Marketplace

Organizationally: No hierarchy or priority ordering given to specific feeds (even though some

more relevant than others) Blanket search across all platforms (no customization based on what you’re

searching. Ie. search “apple” and Calendar will input “Date with Apple”)

Messaging

Messaging: Consumers should use Google Search tools to learn more about and get closer to the things that they love Implies connection between what you love and using

Google tools to enhance that experience Strengthens emotional tie to Google (also

established through “Search Stories” campaign), making consumers more likely to use it

Functional Purpose

“Big Picture Search”: A “contextual” look at chosen topic via different media

Marketing Ploy: Another “quirky” initiative (“What do you love?” by nature is a playful title) by Google

Educational: Way to familiarize/introduce Google users with/to different tool offerings Search Piggyback: Drive users of search onto other

lesser-used niche search products (ie. Patent Search, SketchUp 3D service, etc.)

Consumer Integration: Showcase search tools (images, news) with consumer products (Gmail, Calendar, Events)

Inconspicuously Absent

Content Search | Doesn’t actually pull from Google.com search

Social Media | Google Buzz feed – although Blogs Search is available + Buzz share button on left. No apparent search integration with Google+ feeds

Personal Search | Doesn’t search thru personal mail, search history, etc. Perhaps lesson learned from Buzz

(although Google+ settings are defaulted to public)

Incomplete Functionality (due to leak) Marketplace (product search on its own

yields results for Microsoft organically) Groups yields no Discussion activities

Weaknesses

Weaknesses:

Not an actual tool for research Low discoverability of most relevant content due to lack of prioritized

feed organization Some components not actually relevant to most searches (ie. “Maps”

and “Earth” only useful for location queries) Unappealing for users who try to use this as a research tool

“More Coming Soon”:

Ability to customize page to add/remove your own Google product widgets, ie. “Scholar” reserves if working on research project

Left-hand scrollbar implies even more GS features to be added

Messaging Differentiation

Highlights differences between MS and Google Search positioning: MS: Bing/FB recommendation feature

Messaging points more heavily towards community-based experience of search

“Find what your friends love, found relevant, and shared” Google/wdyl/Google+

New +1 sharing feature: community-based but messaging still revolves around the individual (ie. Google+ creates a “dashboard” of likes for each individual user)

“What do you love? Let us help you find out more about this.”