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Given my affinity for the interweb and my current career path, I am constantly correcting people when they say that they “assume” I Google.

In fact, I don’t Google.

Compete.com has compiled their latest search engine market share data from October and even though Google still dominates when it comes to usage, it isn’t my favorite by a long shot. This surprises people.

Their second guess is usually Yahoo!, but I shake my head “no” for that answer as well.

MSN? I baffle them again.

Ask.

Ask?? Like Ask Jeeves? The one with the butler guy? Indeed. While it’s true that I never once entertained their search engine as AskJeeves, after their re-branding they piqued my curiosity. I increased my usage of it by at least 600% within the last two years and have watched it grow from something so-so, to my favorite. I would venture to say that Ask.com is one of my BFF’s at this point.

Why? Because it is hands down- the most humanly intuitive search engine. I know that from an SEO standpoint it’s all about formulas of this that and the other. I know. I do it. Every day of life. Some folks have a hard time optimizing sites for Ask and they ask me how I can get the results that I do. It’s easy. I optimize for humans. I use human logic and search psychology and apply it to the content and layouts of my sites, and Ask eats it up.

Their universal search is laid out well from a usability standpoint. Well, hello roll-over thumbnail image and video previews! Hello dictionary with audio sample. Their “Narrow Your Search” function on the left is beautifully thought out and I believe is based partly on lateral search patterns of past users and partly popularity of content. From an SEO standpoint, you can start your negative keyword research right there. Right down to the limited selection (but at least available) custom interface skin. PS - their mapping function is pretty rad too.

If you want to do well in Ask’s search results, you need to only optimize as LOGICALLY as possible.

So, given my fascination with human psychology, specifically as it relates to search, I think that Ask has done a great job with covering their bases. Will they ever be #1? No. Why? Look how many people are still using AOL as their internet provider!

But they are my search engine of choice, and I’m making as many converts as possible.

Ah, networking. The social media blitz has taken the linear baby blue columns of familiar SERPs to a new level with exciting UIs that grab at our attention in ways more contributory to live interaction. We decide collectively what’s hot and what’s not by promoting based on our natural affinities. We don’t have to slog through pages of what we asked for. We are told in a heartbeat what’s best, relevant, unbelievable, and absolutely must see. What’s important to this median is targeted buzz and being able to channel traffic in a method that allows you to maximize the value of your website regardless if you are promoting a political candidate or selling prosthetic limbs. In the human network if you can capture interest, your peers will promote your pages for you.

Mechanically you should carve out a predetermined path to funnel traffic through. Landing pages should be a baseboard. Exciting content is nothing more than a flash in the pan for a web surfer so developing quick paths to discourage bounce increases the odds that they will be lured to the reason you created the site in the first place; they may even find something compelling to link to.

Think of your site holistically. If you were a salesman you wouldn’t just walk up to someone and say, “Buy my product!” You would need to have an introduction, build rapport and credibility, introduce the consumer to the options and finally offer a solution. Sometimes there are shortcuts and sometimes there are not.

The Will it Blend site by Blendtec is a brilliant example of leveraging social media for SEO. One of many targeted buzz bits is a hilarious Chuck Norris rip where Tom Dickson, who happens to be the Founder of Blendtec, appears in a short blending an assortment of rubber dolls in the likeness of thugs and our hero, Chuck Norris. My God you would never put these rock hard rubber figurines in a new blender, but he does! The industrial blender seems to pulverize the obviously stressful load with ease. After which Chuck emerges from the rubber dust unscathed. At the conclusion of the short, while they still have our attention, we are shown where to see more crazy stuff being blended (willitblend.com) and a listing of vendors where to obtain the blender. Below the clip there are a series of similar shorts blending everything from iPhones to tiki torches. To the left we see well placed navigation that allows us quick access to the company blog for more information, or a direct link to the product lineup if we’re ready to shop.

On a social media site like Digg we are captivated by buzzwords like ‘iPhone’ or ‘Chuck Norris’ connected with the radical thought of blending or destroying them! Diggers will promote on the basis of humor while incidentally encouraging links and traffic generation to a page with access to direct sales.

I would consider the Blendtec example a shortcut because it simultaneously satisfies rapport, credibility, an option, in the form of the model used, and you are a single click away from the full product offerings. Awesome!