Posted by: Caitlin Diehl, Senior Marketing Coordinator

2009 was another incredible year for Google. Despite new competition, a refreshed search engine from Microsoft and a search partnership that might have made others worry, Google maintained its stronghold on the search market. Here are some examples of what kept searchers on their toes and the competition at bay:

Google Wave
In May engineers released their first demo of Google Wave – Google’s real time communication and collaboration tool. Even though it will not become open to the public until mid-2010, the development and first releases of this new program represent some of Google’s finest work of the year.

According to Google, Wave should be considered a “conversation and a document where people can discuss and work together using richly formatted text, photos, videos, maps, and more.” Google suggests using waves for event organization, group projects, photo sharing, meeting notes, brainstorming and even for interactive games. Check out Google’s Wave help pages for information about how the tool works.

Google Chrome Web Browser & Operating System
Google Chrome is a web browser like Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox. It was originally released for Windows in December of 2008 and wrapped up with the Mac and Linux versions in December of 2009. According to Google, the speedy and stylish Chrome allows users to search and navigate to web pages all from the same box. Tabs can be arranged however users wish. Frequently visited sites become thumbnails in the New Tab page. And users also have the option to add themes to personalize their browsers.

Launching in the second half of 2010, Chrome OS, the operating system, will be an “open source, lightweight operating system that will initially be targeted at netbooks.”

Visit http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/introducing-google-chrome-os.html and http://chrome.blogspot.com/2009/07/google-chrome-os-faq.html for details.

Google Caffeine
Perhaps one of the more notable happenings of 2009 is the introduction of Google Caffeine. The official launch of this new, enhanced version of Google’s search engine has been pushed numerous times throughout the year and into early 2010. Some of the enhanced features of Caffeine include increased speed and accuracy, an emphasis on relevancy and a greater index. Google claims that those who have put time into search engine optimization (SEO) will only be impacted positively by the makeover. Keywords will be weighted more heavily, and content will continue to drive search engine rank. Learn more at http://mashable.com/2009/08/10/google-caffeine/.

Integration of Social Media and Real Time Search
It’s no secret that social media is taking the Internet by storm. Instead of looking for news through search engines, users are going to sites like Facebook and Twitter to get updates on current events. In order to work directly with this influx of social media, Google began indexing social media in their search pages in 2009. It seems they’re even getting preferential treatment. For example, after witnessing Twitter’s huge growth and the push for real time results, Google began incorporating Twitter updates and live feeds into search results.

Google also introduced its “latest news” section, pulling in real time updates from Twitter, Facebook, press releases and other sources. The results live within a scrolling window at the top of the results page, and they automatically update every time something new is posted about a user’s query.

Get the details at http://lifehacker.com/5420872/googles-new-real+time-search-streams-breaking-news-and-live-twitter-updates.

Personalized Search
Google’s Personalized Search has been a controversial issue for online marketers. Doubts about the value of metadata arise when users are given results based on their individual search habits. In December, Google announced that personalized search is available for everyone, signed in or not. For signed out users, Google collects data from 180 days of search linked to a cookie in their browsers. A ‘View customizations’ link appears in the top right area of the search results giving users the option to view their Personalized Search.

While it might seem like search engine optimization (SEO) will not be used by Google when delivering these personal results, it is important to keep pages optimized with the most relevant content possible. Many users will not use the ‘View customizations’ link and might turn it off permanently. Users clearing cookies will also rely on the natural results given by Google without personalization, which emphasizes the need for marketers to keep pages optimized. Check out http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/personalized-search-for-everyone.html to learn more.

These new programs are just a few of the many features and tools Google has spearheaded and released in the past year. 2010 will undoubtedly bring about numerous innovations and changes to the search engine market.