The recent deal between Google and Twitter means that the search engine giant is now able to use Twitter data to provide more relevant searches for Google users. This means that search engine marketing strategies now have the potential to be tailored to specific demographics and target audiences.
In short, Google Social Search will enable anyone logged into Google Profile to find real time search results from others in their social networks, so far in Twitter and Friendfeed, which is now owned by Facebook. Although results from microblogs are in the public domain and therefore findable, Google Social Search will make relevant results about local issues more prominent. Events such as these usually do not make it into news sites because they are about small local issues. If plans go ahead to incorporate Facebook and Linkedin with social search capabilities, results from microblogging sites will be easier to find. This will improve and refine search results by increasing time-based relevancy, resulting in a more favourable experience for the user.
As far as search engine marketing goes, Google Social Search could be used to target a wider audience, but there is an underlying worry that this will generate more spam as far as the user is concerned and therefore backfire in marketing terms. As search engine marketing harnesses the potential to reach more people through optimisation using social networks, the end result could be a massive spam machine, which Google will ultimately have to filter out to retain prominence as the preferred search platform. Google is trying to provide the user with a more relevant search experience by using Google Profiles to refine results and produce the best SERPs possible.
All of these applications are still in Beta stage to discover how they can be made more user friendly and it is expected that these improvements will create a more refined feature for businesses. If a user is logged into their Google Profile and uses Social Search to find a local service, those trusted and recommended by their contacts should be promoted. At the same time there will undoubtedly be scope for business advertising in this arena, likely through Google’s Adwords platform. It is often said that the internet forms a global community to the detriment of local alliances, but using applications such as Google Social Search, it also has the potential to bring back local issues and support local businesses through easier internet searches for relevant information.
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