Can federated search can simplify discovery for users and deliver revenue for the entire value chain?
Mobile Search is broken. Why? Because users don’t buy what they can’t find, and content providers won’t waste marketing budgets on costly, imprecise mass media promotions to reach consumer targets.
It’s a problem, but I believe help is on the way in the form of federated search, and with it content merchandising programmes that reach users the instant they want cool stuff, eliminate click fatigue and drive content revenue.
Content providers know their customers best. If we can make the path to content consumption shorter and more profitable – without marginalising operators and their ability to monetise search – the entire mobile value chain can prosper.
We call it ‘search merchandising’ and it has two pieces: operator-branded connections to content providers and a network that lets publishers buy all keywords in a category with one purchase.
This simplifies promotion and increases ROI because it eliminates costly and complex keyword bidding. Essentially, if their database has a piece of content that’s relevant to the query, users will find it in two to three clicks. We call the network ‘allwords.’
It’s already live as part of MCN’s search solution in Japan, and is driving 20 per cent plus click-throughs and the industry’s highest conversion rates for those participating in Yahoo! Mobile Japan’s multi-category Digital Content Search services and NTT DoCoMo’s FM Radio Music Search. We plan to launch allwords federated search merchandising in Europe later this year.
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