Social Media is Now More Critical with Google’s New Real Time Search Feature
Written on December 8, 2009 – 12:17 pm | by oldschool
Yesterday Google announced that it will be featuring more “real time” search results which includes content from blogs and social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace. Just for fun, I have provided a link to the Yahoo News story on this. 
As if we didn’t already know that being involved in social media was important to a business, this latest move by Google further emphasizes this. So what does this mean for those that are actively trying to generate business online? First of all, don’t by any means abandon what you are doing. Search Engine Optimization and Paid Search are still the foundation of a solid online marketing campaign, so you want to make sure you are continuing to make strides there. But, if you have not ventured out into the world of social media, you might want to take a look at it now. Here are some suggestions:
1. If you don’t have a blog, start one. Ideally, your blog should be a part of your website (i.e yoursite.com/blog) as opposed to a separate stand along blog, so your domain can capitalize on the inbound links to the blog.
2. If you don’t have a Facebook Fan page, start one. It does not cost anything to set it up, and it’s really not that difficult. Here is a link to the first of a “how to” series I wrote on creating a Facebook page.
3. If you aren’t on Twitter, join. Early on, I was not a big fan of Twitter but as I have seen more value from it, I am encouraging people to join. Here is the key to being successful on Twitter; you have to learn how it works and stay active, otherwise you will deem it a waste of time. A great feature to learn on Twitter, is the “local search” feature where you can do a search based on your region. I actually used this just yesterday and found a partner prospect for my company.
As we go into 2010, I hope this gives you some insights into how you can improve your online positioning by staying ahead of your competition. If you need help implementing any online strategy, don’t hesitate to contact me.
More From Anthony Kirlew
- Critical Issues to Discuss with your Web Designer
- How To Ensure That Your Content Is NOT Promoted in Social Networks
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Tags: Facebook, google, MySpace, search, Social Media, Twitter
8 Responses to “Social Media is Now More Critical with Google’s New Real Time Search Feature”
By Anonymous on Dec 8, 2009 | Reply
Yea, I am on facebook for quite some time, getting a little traffic from it, but something keeps me from joining twitter, seems so strange when everyone is bombing me with twitter this twitter that opportunities.
By Prospect Solution on Dec 14, 2009 | Reply
I have a facebook account but I did not use it as my social bookmarking. From now on I shoould do your advice and I will sign up also to twitter.
Thank you for sharing.
By BWI on Dec 14, 2009 | Reply
Google’s real time search is a Twitter killing idea. It puts more value into blog posts, and leaves tweets for the value they truly are…140 characters.
By Keithbrad on Dec 16, 2009 | Reply
This is great for me and my sites, the new version of google’s search engine “caffeine” thats coming out early 2010 is suppose to be more focused on Social bookmarking sites too, so I think and cross my fingers that this will help my sites out.
By swarovski strass on Dec 28, 2009 | Reply
Interesting post oldschool. I always learn a lot from your posts and really appreciate it! I wish you a Happy New Year. Regards, Martin
By Joe Cheray on Jan 12, 2010 | Reply
Anthony these are some of the same things I keep telling people. The thing is that folks need to accept that these platforms are here. I think the thing is tho is they don’t know how to navigate the whole landscape of the multitude of sites that are out there.
I have been encouraging people lately to find about three platforms at the beginning to learn about and start with them in implementing and incorporating them into their online social media/networking plan for their business.
By oldschool on Jan 15, 2010 | Reply
@BWI – It is actually the opposite and gives more value to Twitter.
@Joe – I agree that people should focus on a few specific social sites and not feel that they need to engage every single one of them as it can be overkill. Thanks for commenting; haven’t heard from you in a bit. Best wishes for 2010!