Windows Live is the red-headed stepchild of online search. Which is too bad, because I really like the site.

Microsoft is doing some really innovative stuff on this site (see Microsoft Virtual Earth Delivers 3D Advertising), and their Live search for mobile product (wls.live.com) is really kickass – it blows Google Mobile away, in my opinion.

But for all the innovation, the site definitely still feels like Microsoft hasn’t really figured out what to do with it yet. There doesn’t seem to be any clear strategy behind the whole Live effort, which is kind of odd.

Greg Sterling points out Windows Live has just added Classifieds results to the search engine. Windows Live Expo is Microsoft’s answer to Google Base or craigslist (see The Big Guys Are Moving In); and Windows Live Search is now incorporating Live Expo results under the Classifieds tab. (Bear with me on this one – as usual Microsoft has not made their branding easy to follow…)

It’s obviously a work in progress. The listings are woefully inadequate. Only 11 houses for sale in Portland!

And unfortunately, clicking on ‘Map the Results’ doesn’t seem to work right now – or at least it didn’t for me.

But tantalizingly, it looks like you might be able to map those results directly into the 3D version of Virtual Earth. That would be very cool. A 3D home search right in your browser. You can also add an RSS feed of your search results directly to your Live.com homepage.

Clicking on an individual listing (e.g. Gorgeous Colonial in Canby, OR) and there’s a number of other noteworthy features.

First and foremost, is the ability to share the listing on Facebook – which is the first example I’ve seen of direct integration between search engine (or Realty.bot to quote Greg Swann) results and a social network. New ways to share your findings with family and friends is going to be a big trend this year I expect.

On a more practical note, the ability to plot driving directions to a listing is a natural and instantly usable feature that I’m surprised more map based search sites (Trulia, Redfin, etc.) haven’t implemented.

My theory is that the Live platform is just a testbed for new ideas, a running Beta so to speak, to allow Microsoft to tinker with some of these new ideas and technologies before committing to them wholesale in their more mainstream MSN brand.

I’ll be interested to see whether Microsoft can capitalize on some of this innovation or if the ideas will get picked up by one of the other consumer portals (Yahoo! Real Estate or AOL Real Estate) and Windows Live gets left behind again.

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Ask City incorporates features from a number of third-party sources but, most interestingly for real estate readers, from Yelp, Judy’s Book and CitySearch. These sources power Ask City’s ratings for each listing it returns. Here’s a listing of Agents & Brokers in my zip code, as an example.

Regular readers will know, I’ve been harping on the growing importance of online reputation management (e.g. Rapleaf’s Real World Feedback System) for a while now. I think Ask’s new product aptly demonstrates this point as it is pushing these rankings/ratings deeper into the mainstream. Agents and brokers are going to have to be aware of the need to monitor their rankings on these search sites as I think they are going to increasingly become important lead generators.

Trulia adds Google Earth (kml) feeds to its search results bringing my dream of conducting a Virtual World real estate search one step closer.

Carnival of Real Estate is up at the Property Monger.

Real Estate Bookmarks is a del.icio.us clone designed specifically for sharing real estate-related bookmarks. Their database seems to be mainly populated with agent sites, though it does seem to work easily enough. I created an account and added my site with little trouble. Honestly, I can’t see the point though, as del.icio.us works just fine for me right now.

Speaking of del.icio.us, you can see my bookmarks on del.icio.us here. I’ve also been trying to get the del.icio.us “thingy” to automatically post my daily links to this blog – but with little success. If any of you can figure it out, let me know.

Finally, if you have an article, blog post or specific tidbit you’d like to share with me, tag it with the ‘tforem’ tag to del.icio.us and I’ll be sure to read it.

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I can’t even remember the last time I flipped open a phone book.

These days, my instinct is to go straight to the Internet to find whatever I need. If I’m looking for a dry cleaners, Chinese food or even a real estate agent, I’d head straight for Google Local, Windows Live or Yahoo! Local before even touching a printed page.

Research shows I’m not alone, Greg Sterling reports on a recent study that found:

• 70% had used the Internet to search for a local service business in the past three months. (Roughly 78% of the US adult population is online.)
• 89% found search to be “somewhat effectiveâ€? or “very effectiveâ€? in finding local services in their area.
• 68% said they would most likely use the phone number on the website to contact a vendor.

The final bullet is especially relevant when you consider Google has just launched a Click-to-Call feature on all its listings, something Windows Live did earlier this year.

This is why I think local search is going to be such a crucial part of any real estate advertising plan.

So where can you start?

Patricia Hursh from Clickz gives an excellent overview of how to initiate a local search campaign and outlines the following tactics as critical components:

1. Geotargeted search campaigns
2. Local keyword campaigns
3. Ads on local search engines
4. Ads on search result maps

Numbers 1 and 2 primarily focus on optimizing your Pay-Per-Click advertising buys and I’ve already written about targeting local search engines like Outside.In with locally relevant advertising – so I thought I’d focus on #4 and how, through paid advertising, you can ensure your business is featured prominently on the results for map based searches.

Both local search leaders (Google and Yahoo – Windows Live runs a distant third, despite an impressive product) have adopted slightly different strategies towards implementing local search. In a recent issue of AdAge, Yahoo! said Local Search is like Social Networking.

local is expanding from a look-up use case or the old Yellow Pages approach to a browse-type use case, where you want to bring in user-generated content elements to make a decision. … It’s more of a research and comparison shopping case.

Yahoo!’s search results return more like a traditional directory, but come complete with ratings and user recommended results. Results can be sorted by several criteria including distance and rating and business owners can claim existing listings or add their business using their Yahoo! member ID. Yahoo! also offers premium listings that ensure your name is seen at the top of the search results page.

Google, for their part, has a slightly different approach – focusing instead overlaying search results geographically on top of a Google Maps mashup. Local business owners can add their listings through the Google Local Business Center, sponsored links which add an image and contact number can can be purchased through their AdWords program.

At the absolute minimum, every real estate agent or small business owner in business today should be maintaining a basic (free) listing on these local search engines. Why would you want to potentially miss a hot lead?

The more adventurous out there might consider springing for a paid listing. You’ll be on the cutting edge of a new advertising medium so results might vary and hey, if you sign up before the end of the year, Yahoo! will even give you your first month free.

Me, I have to go recycle my soggy Yellow Pages.

Update: Looks like Google has had to pull Click-to-Call due to prank phonecalls. Not terribly surprising. The technology is in its infancy and will surely resurface in some other form soon.

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