Social Search went live this morning on Google. No, not Google Plus – but GOOGLE, the mothership of the internet. They’ve been hinting that social has been influencing the Google algorithm for a while and as of today there’s no more hinting. It’s in your face. Bamm!
Here’s how a search for an Irish Pub in NY looks to me. Remember, I’m in San Francisco. You can see there’s 30 of my friends that have recommendations for me.
Google has placed that right at the top!
I didn’t know I even had 30 friends in NYC, let alone personal recommendations for me.
The truth is, they might be friends, but they might also be friends of friends. That means they might be someone you don’t recognize, don’t know and yet they just influenced your search result! Wow! They might have written a review on Yelp, or uploaded a picture to Posterous, or liked a YouTube video. Those are the rare instances. The majority of what shows up as a ‘recommendation’ in search is either a share to Google Plus or just a simple +1 by them.
That’s why, even though you don’t think you need another social network, you do need to understand what’s happening. Lucky for you, we have help!
January 16th, 2012 1PM Eastern- Understanding The New Google+ with Mike Mueller
Join us with special guest presenter Mike Mueller for an in depth look at the Google+ social network including how to drive traffic back to your website as well as the NEW Business Pages.
In this webinar we’ll discuss:
- What is Google+?
- Step-by-step walkthrough on how to get started
- Current useful Google+ applications for business
- How to keep Google+ from becoming a time suck.
- Understanding how to use this new Social Search to your advantage
With over 62 million users already on Google+, this is a network to definitely consider in your online marketing plan.
This is a free webinar with limited seating, so sign up now! Register Here
No denying, this changes the game. I do think the game, unintentially as far as Google is concerned is possibly changing in other ways too. According to the Wall Street Journal, in reaction to this move by Google, Facebook and, Twiiter are now working with Microsoft to get a stronger position in search rankings there. There is a chance, though small, that Google has created it’s own weakness by making this move ahead of large scale Google+ adoption, and more importantly, usage.
Obviously they hope this move drives users to G+, but leaving Facebook and Twitter out may prove unwise and could allow unintended momentum for Bing as a result.
Excellent points Colin. I still wonder why Google is so set on having a social network instead of just working with the successful ones and continue to create better features for search & YouTube.
Wow…we need to be everywhere and I thought I already was doing that when Google Plus came along. Count me in
great! See you then Fred!
This blog is a good one! Its original, thanks for the info! Is there a way I can tell my people about this post.