It sometimes seems that Google can’t go a week without changing something up, and every change is met the same way: Too many people jumping on the bandwagon with assumptions and theories that over time hardly stand up. There are the, “The Internet is dead” camp and the, “I’ve only taken one look at this but this is what you should be doing camp” and many more besides. Sometimes it’s hard to know what to make of Google’s seemingly random change schedule, and that’s why I usually ignore any new feature for at least a month until I have long enough to assess it and come to my own conclusion.
This weeks new feature though, “Search, plus your World” is one I have hopped straight on, mainly because it’s an extension of their existing social search, but also because this is a change I have seen coming for quite some time and have been actively preparing my clients for. Search is no longer about SEO. Just as Google has been integrating Twitter and other social features into search results, they are now using information that has been shared with you personally to supplement your results.
If you’re not sure how this effects you, think of this; If you have one customer who shares how good you are through Google+, whenever one of that persons friends searches for something related to your site, that personal recommendation will show in their search results. That’s a powerful tool for any brand that manages to utilize Google+ and get their customers motivated enough to share and re-share their content suddenly gets a huge boost in the search results.
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If you don’t already have a search social strategy in place (and yes this is different from both your SEO strategy and your social media strategy) now is definitely the time to focus on this area, because Google is going to continue integrating personal recommendations through social media into search, and traditional results are going to become harder to maintain as this trend grows.
About Scott Polk
Scott Polk has built his expertise as a knowledgeable and experienced Search Engine Optimization/Internet Marketing strategist for more than a decade.
He concentrates his resourcefulness and skills on the diversified aspects of Search Engine Optimization for clients, where he’s earned the distinction of consistent top rankings in all major search engines. Scott is consistently involved in technologies that maximize Conversion, Usability and Accessibility when optimizing & developing large web sites as well as identifying problems/solutions that result in major cost saving strategies.
Currently he is the Co-Founder of ObsidianEdge Marketing – a full service internet marketing agency specializing in SEO, Social Media, Link Building and PPC. Scott frequently speaks at professional internet marketing conferences world-wide on SEO (PubCon, Affiliate Summit, iGaming and others).