OntoSearch

By Pontus Kristiansson, CEO of Avail Intelligence, http://www.avail.net

For quite a few years, we at Avail have been preaching that a new age in data technology is coming. As entrepreneurs frequently are, we were too early.

But now I am convinced we had been proper.

The age of recommendations

In the beginning, there was Internet 1.; a static media intended for larger organizations. As publishing costs were high, the amount of web content was limited, meaning a directory approach was achievable. You basically organized the Internet sites into a list by category.

Then, a shift happened. Due to the fact of the emergence of new technologies, on-line publishing became radically easy and extremely affordable.  An innovation more considerable than the Gutenberg press, anyone could now contribute. The Internet exploded with content. Directory listings of the World wide web just could not maintain up – search became the only possibility.

The limits of search

But as the Internet continues to grow exponentially, search too has its limits. Have you ever tried searching for “New York hotels”?

You get 111 million outcomes.

A narrower search for  “Cool Copenhagen hotels with a pool” generates a mere 2.7 million results.

With 10 results per page, that’s a lot of pages to scan via. You do not need a lot more outcomes – what you want is a suggested result that matches what you are looking for (perhaps “Other men and women like you ultimately preferred Hotel Guldsmeden’s web site”)

Now, even Google thinks search as we know it is broken. In a recent WSJ interview, CEO Eric Schmidt says, “as you go from the search box [to the next phase of Google], you truly want to go from syntax to semantics, from what you typed to what you meant. And that’s essentially the role of [Artificial Intelligence].”

Schmidt also sees Google evolving beyond its present passive role into a proactive agent, suggesting things you may like based on what you already have completed.

“[One] notion is that more and far more searches are completed on your behalf with out you needing to sort. I really believe most people don’t want Google to answer their questions. They want Google to tell them what they ought to be performing next.”

You must care

If you are reading this, you are almost certainly in the e-commerce arena. So how does this apply to you?

Well, look at the evolution of the Web -  From browsing, to searching, to recommendations. It sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

What men and women do on Google, they also practice in on the web stores. And though you do not have millions of results, the hundreds or thousands you may possibly have is enough to confuse. And unlike Google, you have competition.

If you do not assist your shoppers locate what they are looking for, they’ll leave. They will acquire somewhere else, and strengthen the competition with their money.

Some businesses, like Amazon and Groupon, are already taking benefit of the age of recommendations. If you are not doing product recommendations – you don’t want to turn out to be an extinct Net dinosaur like Lycos, Excite, or AltaVista. Instead your eCommerce web website requirements to be a fast moving Google and define your technique for a new age.

PS. If you are looking for a good, concrete place to start, don’t miss the recent Avail Intelligence -Patricia Seybold Group on-demand webinar Searching to Boost Holiday Sales and Profit Margins? Now’s the Time to Get Personalat https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/956393259

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Avail Intelligence is Europe’s largest provider of on-line merchandising solutions for the retail business. Since its establishment in 2000, Avail’s technology, support and expertise have delivered far more than billion in added sales for over 100 retailers, such as Redcats Group, Neckermann, and Game, in 25 countries. Avail has offices in USA, United Kingdom, France, and Germany, and headquarters in Malmo, Sweden.