SEO / SEM Blog by Search Circus

Is Google the Tiger Woods of the Internet? Woods, by nearly all accounts, is the best golfer on the planet. Google’s the leading service for better search engine placement.

But there’s a problem with Tiger’s dominance, as this Wall Street Journal piece puts nicely: the great golfers of the past always had fierce rivals. Jack Nicklaus may have been the premier golfer of his day, but there was always someone else—Arnold Palmer or Lee Trevino—who was breathing down his neck. Woods, on the other hand, appears to be rather lonely at the top. Would a rival, someone who could arguably challenge Woods as the world’s best, compel Woods to step up his game? Would it make Woods even better?

You could say that Google may be experiencing the same conundrum. As the number one search engine, and the number one resource for those seeking better search engine placement, is there any competition that could be deemed Google’s rival?

Right now, there’s nothing. But a few recent changes in the nature of online search could give Google the first real fight for those who want to gain better search engine placement and market share. The most intriguing new trend is the power and usefulness real-time search, which Twitter has been able to harness in a way that has left Google scrambling to catch up.

The other is the mysterious Kuomo, a new search engine that Microsoft is about to reveal next week. If you’ve not yet heard of Kuomo, you’re not alone. Microsoft has been so secretive about their new search engine that any useful details have been scant. According to the software company, it’s been crafted to return better search results and better search engine placement than Google. But what does that mean? Who knows.

So that raises the question: can a new search engine Microsoft really challenge Google? Google’s reputation for returning accurate and useful search results and its ability to get Websites better search engine placement is stellar. So even if Kuomo can return equally sterling results and even better search engine placement, will that be enough to make people switch? Reputation counts a lot more in the online business world than in the PGA. Does Microsoft have the branding power to match Google’s?