Gone are the times when all you needed to do for your website to rank higher in search results was to add the right keywords to the content on your site. A search engine was just a medium to enter keywords and look up the search results that came up. Many a time, these search results were irrelevant and a user ended up wasting a lot of time to get the required information. Even so, a few search engines with accurate and superior algorithms were ahead of the competition.
The advent of mobiles and voice search has now changed the way people search for information online. Mobile data traffic is growing hugely and mobile technology has significantly transformed the search habits of a user. Apps are revolutionizing the way mobiles are used and very soon, apps may become a preferred mode of finding information instead of a browser. In addition, digital assistants like Siri and Cortana enable voice search and voice commands to carry out many tasks on mobiles, making the search engine or browser a thing of the past.
The “humanization” of search or natural language has resulted in better and more accurate search results. As is evident, the future of web search is about a ‘thinking’ or ‘knowledge’ engine that can send customized and relevant data to users, based on their preferences and requirements. Type-ahead and context search are a step in this direction. Personalized page rankings will enable more effective search results. Advertisements that are displayed will be more relevant to a user’s tastes and preferences. Predictive pre-search, understanding of user intent and the most personalized search results will define the future of web search. Search engines will also work in sync with social networks to enhance a user’s search experience, giving more accurate search results with in-depth information.
A few upcoming elements of web search include:
- Location- specific
- Voice, text and touch technology
- Conversational ability
- Predictive and customized functions
- Social network integration
Technology has made people and machines savvier, paving the way for a revolution in the way individuals look for and receive information, creating a search experience that is truly dynamic and remarkable.