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Google Wants More Eyes Through The Looking Glass

Video will change search engine marketing. We will see it more in map apps, product listing ads (PLAs), and in the next generation of paid search and native advertising. The media will support the future sale of Google Glass as well as brand channels on YouTube.

Video will drive the majority of mobile data traffic in 2017 -- about 70% or $442 million, up from nearly $218 million in 2012, according to analyst firm Frost & Sullivan. Google Sites, driven primarily by video viewing on YouTube.com, ranked the top online video content property in September with 165.4 million unique viewers, per comScore.

So marketers should not be surprised to learn that Google launched an invitation-only initiative allowing Google Glass Explorers to invite three friends to spend $1,500 to get their own eyewear. The goal to get more feedback will give more people the opportunity to buy Glass online and have it shipped to their home or office.

"Invitation Only" offers are not unusual at Google. Remember the Google+ invites? Expanding the project will rely not only on video and images as the future of search, but also social networking, whether virtually or in reality. Google Glass answers the question of how video will profoundly influence search engines and search engine marketing. Think of how mini sports recorders from companies like GoPro influenced the movement of sharing video across the Web. Google Glass and other similar wearable devices will replace the first generation of the "wear it" and "mount it" cameras.

Google will also allow current users to swap out their Glass devices with newer versions. The new models look exactly the same with a few modifications, so they can work with new shades and fit prescription frames, a future feature. Users will have two months to swap out their old pair for a new. Don't want to swap out the pair? The warranty expires one year after the original purchase. 

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