Starting in early December, 2009, Google took another giant leap by releasing Real-Time Search. Now, for some search queries, the first page of results shows a scrolling box with real-time search results – many of which come from users’ social updates and content. Real-time Search has major implications and further alters the SEO landscape.
To be seen in others people's social search results you will not only need a Google account and profile, but also must add links (the actual connections) within your Google Profile. Google suggests links but you are free to add as many links as you would like from virtually any social media, bookmarking or networking site. Keep in mind that the more links you add, the more exposure you might potentially receive. The main social networking sites (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) are an absolute must to include but also consider your website and/or blog as one of the links.
Remember when adding these links that you are allowing Google to track your connections on the Web. Google will never public admin to it, but many in the community argue that the main reason for launching Google Social Search is that it gives them another way to provide better ad targeting.
Now lets look at how Google Social Search will affect SEO. If we figure that Google integrates Social Search into the main search results, in the future the number of online connections you have established will directly impact the search results. The more people following you on Twitter, Facebook, FriendFeed, Flickr, Google Talk, or any other significant social site, the more exposure you and your website will receive. So how do you take advantage of this new potential back door to the top of the search engine rankings? Keep building social networking profiles and make sure they are active and as targeted as possible. Make sure all of your social profiles have proper links to their respective websites and, conversely, make sure your websites promote your social network profiles. Keep promoting your blog’s RSS feed — as the more subscribers you have on Google Reader, the better.
Popularity will be an important factor but trust will be equally important. Be sure to engage your followers in order to help build that trust. With many questioning whether or not social media is worth all the time and effort it takes, Google Social Search might finally provide the answer. Get ahead of the curve now, while you still can.
