Google recently has added a bunch of features to their search engine: live results, keyboard navigation using directional arrows, and a completely re-vamped interface. Today, Google rolled out Instant Previews – a feature that involves Google taking a snapshot of the website. Instant Previews result in — according to Google — 5% more user satisfaction in the search results they get.

While Bing doesn’t feature image snapshots, they do have a pop-out box with additional text. Google has consistently augmented their “eye candy” since Bing launched.

Google doesn’t close lightboxes in the Instant Previews.

If you’re trying to show someone a message when they view the Instant Preview, showing a lightbox with an image in it might work. The Instant Previews are 302 x 405px, so the ratio is 1.34. If you were to create a large image that was larger than your content and had a ratio of 1.34, you may be able to display something unique to Google users.

Non-standard indexing rate

Google does not generate the screenshots live; they seem to be generated when crawling the website, which makes sense. Google’s Instant Preview of a Twitter page corresponds to the “Latest Results from…” scroller results. If it’s not updated in  Google’s index, the image will not be updated.

For local SEO, consider adding a banner with local images

If you’re trying to reach an audience that is looking for a local result and not some spammy directory, consider adding images of the area. This may includes pictures of Denver skyline, the mountains, etc.

Denver SEO for Bing.com

With the announcement today that Microsoft is going to be taking over Yahoo!’s search business, Microsoft’s Bing (Previously Live.com) has become even a stronger challenger to Google. It’s important to be focusing search engine optimization not only on Google, but also on Bing.

Here are two starting ways to make sure your website is all ready for Bing becoming a major player:

1. Keep track of Bing’s crawling of your website

Just as Google has Webmaster Tools, Bing has Webmaster Central. Bing’s Webmaster Central finds some different issues that are not always caught in Google. Fixing these issues will help your site’s ranking.

• Make sure your website is validated and you have submitted a sitemap.
• Check to see if your site has any Crawl Issues (broken links, etc.). If your site does, you will want to redirect the broken links back to the correct page, or  your home page.

2. Add your business to Bing Maps and SEO the listing

Bing Maps is like Google Local, and is becoming a true competitor.

• Make sure your Denver business has a map listing on Bing by submitting your business. They will send a post card to verify ownership, and once that has been completed, your listing will be shown on the map.
  • Add your specialities in the box provided. Here’s a great place to put keywords that you think people might search for when trying to find your business or industry.
• Add your business to a custom collection (like my Denver SEO collection), to help people better find your business and related businesses you think are relevant.