In case you haven’t noticed, Google recently unveiled a new design for its search results pages that gives users access to some new, interesting search options. The new design may not be immediately noticeable, but when you do a search from Google’s home page, you can now see a new, left-hand column on each results page.At the top of the column are the different Google search “engines” (like images, videos, news, etc.). The next section in the column has a link called “Show search tools”, which expands to display a variety of new Google tools for people to use when looking for information.The new search tools let users view results by criteria such as “time” (latest results, past 24 hours, etc.), “location” (nearby results), “related searches”, “sites with images”, etc., which may ultimately have a significant affect on your business’ search engine strategy. Why? Because with each new option a user selects, a different set of Google search results is displayed, based on the option that is selected.So now that there are multiple new Google search options, does this mean that businesses must consider which Google search option(s) they wish to rank for, then optimize specifically for that option? Maybe.The Importance of Real-Time SearchReal-time search was added to Google only a few months ago, and is the result of social sites like Facebook and Twitter becoming a major resource for users who wanted information that is minutes-old, not days, weeks, or months-old. Now that real-time search is even more accessible to users via the left-column options (e.g., blogs, news, discussions, “time” tools, etc.), social search has become even more important for businesses striving to rank well in Google.Social search is all about visibility, meaning you need to have a presence on the social networking sites and get people talking about and / or sharing your content. You need to get people involved with you in order to be relevant in real-time search, and real-time search has already been shown to be a real-big factor in getting to the top of Google rankings.Where Do You Want to Rank Today?If you want to increase quality traffic from Google, it makes sense to optimize your pages for coverage in the search option categories that matter most to your business. For instance, if you operate a storefront in your town, you may want to show up in the local search (and “nearby”) results. Or, if you’re offering a time-sensitive discount or have tied a promotion to an event, then you may want to be included in the “time” results for past 24 hours or past week.Know Your Audience!The key to ranking well in Google – regardless of the search option category being used – is to find the right keyword phrases to use in optimizing your site. Do some actual research, don’t just guess! If you don’t know how to research and find relevant keywords, then hire a professional to help you. You must know what people are actually typing into that search box, or your efforts will do little to drive targeted traffic to your site or deliver new customers and leads. The more you know about the keywords your target market uses to find products and services like yours, the more you will know exactly where you need to focus your efforts in Google.Hurry Up and WaitAlthough Google’s new search tools are a fairly new development, experts are already weighing in with their opinions on how (or if) these new search options will have an impact on a business’ SEO strategy. The early consensus seems to be that yes, the new options will have an effect to some degree, but it’s probably too soon to know to what extent.In the meantime, the best strategy is to keep your site updated with fresh, relevant content, create a strong presence on the social networking sites, build new inbound links, select targeted keyword phrases, and optimize your site using standard, white-hat practices that will help your web site be read and indexed by the search engine spiders. Then sit back and watch the results unfold over the next several months to see if the new Google search options indeed affect your SEO.

What are the greatest changes in shopping in your lifetime? So asked my 9 year old grandson.

As I thought of the question the local Green Grocer came to mind. Because that is what the greatest change in shopping in my lifetime is.

That was the first place to start with the question of what are the greatest changes in shopping in your lifetime.

Our local green grocer was the most important change in shopping in my lifetime. Beside him was our butcher, a hairdresser and a chemist.

Looking back, we were well catered for as we had quite a few in our suburb. And yes, the greatest changes in shopping in my lifetime were with the small family owned businesses.

Entertainment While Shopping Has Changed
Buying butter was an entertainment in itself.
My sister and I often had to go to a favourite family grocer close by. We were always polite as we asked for a pound or two of butter and other small items.

Out came a big block of wet butter wrapped in grease-proof paper. Brought from the back of the shop, placed on a huge counter top and included two grooved pates.

That was a big change in our shopping in my lifetime… you don’t come across butter bashing nowadays.

Our old friendly Mr. Mahon with the moustache, would cut a square of butter. Lift it to another piece of greaseproof paper with his pates. On it went to the weighing scales, a bit sliced off or added here and there.

Our old grocer would then bash it with gusto, turning it over and over. Upside down and sideways it went, so that it had grooves from the pates, splashes going everywhere, including our faces.

My sister and I thought this was great fun and it always cracked us up. We loved it, as we loved Mahon’s, on the corner, our very favourite grocery shop.

Grocery Shopping
Further afield, we often had to go to another of my mother’s favourite, not so local, green grocer’s. Mr. McKessie, ( spelt phonetically) would take our list, gather the groceries and put them all in a big cardboard box.

And because we were good customers he always delivered them to our house free of charge. But he wasn’t nearly as much fun as old Mr. Mahon. Even so, he was a nice man.

All Things Fresh
So there were very many common services such as home deliveries like:

• Farm eggs

• Fresh vegetables

• Cow’s milk

• Freshly baked bread

• Coal for our open fires

Delivery Services
A man used to come to our house a couple of times a week with farm fresh eggs.

Another used to come every day with fresh vegetables, although my father loved growing his own.

Our milk, topped with beautiful cream, was delivered to our doorstep every single morning.

Unbelievably, come think of it now, our bread came to us in a huge van driven by our “bread-man” named Jerry who became a family friend.

My parents always invited Jerry and his wife to their parties, and there were many during the summer months. Kids and adults all thoroughly enjoyed these times. Alcohol was never included, my parents were teetotallers. Lemonade was a treat, with home made sandwiches and cakes.

The coal-man was another who delivered bags of coal for our open fires. I can still see his sooty face under his tweed cap but I can’t remember his name. We knew them all by name but most of them escape me now.

Mr. Higgins, a service man from the Hoover Company always came to our house to replace our old vacuum cleaner with an updated model.

Our insurance company even sent a man to collect the weekly premium.

People then only paid for their shopping with cash. This in itself has been a huge change in shopping in my lifetime.

In some department stores there was a system whereby the money from the cash registers was transported in a small cylinder on a moving wire track to the central office.

Some Of The Bigger Changes
Some of the bigger changes in shopping were the opening of supermarkets.

• Supermarkets replaced many individual smaller grocery shops. Cash and bank cheques have given way to credit and key cards.

• Internet shopping… the latest trend, but in many minds, doing more harm, to book shops.

• Not many written shopping lists, because mobile phones have taken over.

On a more optimistic note, I hear that book shops are popular again after a decline.

Personal Service Has Most Definitely Changed
So, no one really has to leave home, to purchase almost anything, technology makes it so easy to do online.
And we have a much bigger range of products now, to choose from, and credit cards have given us the greatest ease of payment.

We have longer shopping hours, and weekend shopping. But we have lost the personal service that we oldies had taken for granted and also appreciated.

Because of their frenetic lifestyles, I have heard people say they find shopping very stressful, that is grocery shopping. I’m sure it is when you have to dash home and cook dinner after a days work. I often think there has to be a better, less stressful way.

My mother had the best of both worlds, in the services she had at her disposal. With a full time job looking after 9 people, 7 children plus her and my dad, she was very lucky. Lucky too that she did not have 2 jobs.