Search is changing fast – and I mean fast.
Google has now started providing real-time search results. So that means that if you post something on a social media platform you could expect to see it appearing almost immediately in a relevant search. Google’s real-time search which provides a stream of data within Google’s normal results page. It’s all suddenly very exciting again.
But SEO bods will of course already be undertaking manipulation strategies. That in itself will probably give rise to a barrage of incomprehensible tweets that serve only to distort things further. It could also prove a nightmare for those in charge reputation management and make 24/7 working the norm for PR departments. As with most innovation it’s very difficult to see whether we should be celebrating real-time search results now or whether in a few months’ time we’ll be wishing it had never happened.
Commentators are already prophesying that search could implode under the weight of the black hat operatives; is this just another straw on that particular camel’s back I wonder?
Its important to remember that real time search will only apply if the popularity, high volumes of search or appearing as a trend on Twitter. Real time search not only takes info from Twitter but also from Facebook and LinkedIn so for businesses to appear on Google and Bing’s real time search facility must start participating in social media. The great thing about real time search is that all the real time information appears at the top of the first result page (page 1) and cannot be missed by anyone searching for you brand name or product name. So if you a viral marketing campaign is working then imagine the success you could achieve if it appears on Google and Bing too?? A word of warning, one simple complaint or negative tweet could harm your brand and business reputation and stop someone from doing business with you having seen a negative comment appear in real time search on Google or Bing. A suggestion is for businesses is to actively seek these negative comments on social media sites and ‘push them out’ by replying and solving to customers problems…quickly. More and more people are asking questions on Twitter such as ‘My Windows 7 OS keeps crashing’ or ‘Went for a meal at Joe Smiths Restaurant and the food was awful’ and if these kind of questions become a trend then it is most likely to appear on Google’s real time search. Most importantly businesses who are failing to participate in social media need to start listening to what is being said on social media sites because real time search could undo months if not years of hard SEO work.