"To Find Us, Just Type Our Name into Google!"

[bouncybunny]

I may be late to this, but I've noticed recently that more and more companies are adding tag-lines and calls to action in print adverts which, rather than give a direct web address, simply ask the user to type the company name (or name of brand or product), into Google's search box. Almost treating it as a kind of directory.

Now, I'm trying to work out if this is simply inexperience or an innocent misunderstanding of how the web works or, on the other hand, an attempt to leverage Google's strong brand name as some authentication of their product?

Or, am I missing something?

[tedster]

I'd say this is something Google actually likes. The number of URLs that get typed into their search box is staggering, and their own Chrome browser uses a single box for both search and location.

The common user does not understand web technology, and probably never will. But users do know brand names. So I'd say your last guess is the right one - it's "an attempt to leverage Google's strong brand name as some authentication.

[smallcompany]

Time for Binging...

[yaix2]

This may be even good for SEO, now that signed-off users get personalized SERPS too.

The more often a user clicks on your URL inside the Google SERPS, the better your site will rank for other keywords too (for that user, and probably globally).

[Lexur]

...simply inexperience or an innocent misunderstanding of how the web works...

Maybe they know Google always gives their domain in the #1 when his brand is searched and it's an innocent use of their experience about how the web works.
With "innocent" I mean they don't know how many power are giving to Google algorythm/company.

[internetheaven]

Time for Binging...

That will NEVER catch on ... we need a "trendy name for Bing searching" thread.

My vote is for B-Dogging ... ;)

[AndyA]

That will NEVER catch on ... we need a "trendy name for Bing searching" thread.

My vote is for B-Dogging ... ;)

I have heard several people tell someone to "Bing it..."

Easy to say, clever, and what impressed me most was the person they were speaking to knew what they meant. Bing is catching on, and with Google's latest transgressions, the other SEs might find themselves with a bit more traffic.

Webmasters helped establish Google as the #1 search engine. I would imagine what webmasters giveth, they can also taketh away. No company is immune to change.

[dusky]

If you sengine anything your are doing a search using whatever Search Engine you like. I hate the media and news channels such as the BBC, they ought to know better not to give free promotion or advertising for any particular SE. OK G* is the dominant one now, but why didn't we use a SE's brand names as verbs before G* came along, Y!, A*ta V*sta, Web C***ler...the list goes on and on. And I don't want to hear the old story of hoovering the house or others that their brand names became that familiar to the point of using the brand as a verb. I don't google anything, nor Bing anything, neither Yahoo anything, I always sengine what I am looking for.

So sengine it instead, or sengine for it, all good!