Remember when searching for information included a trip to the public library and a surf session through tens of books? Now everything is simplified with a single click of the button. You pick a subject and release the question and Google will give, in few milliseconds, some answers back.
But how does Google know the right answers? Even if the algorithm is a well-kept secret, one thing is having an ever-growing effect – Social Media. With the newest tool released, Graph Search, Google tries to erase the blurry lines between traditional Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and social media, as well as promote a new fresh kind of search: socially search.
Let’s put it like this: you are looking for a tapas restaurant in the city, yet the search from Google is insufficient. When it comes to food recommendations, hairstyling or car repair, you want to find some relevant opinions from your Facebook friends. Google cannot yet provide this data; Google+ needs more time to mature. So Facebook is the best alternative in these kinds of dilemmas. Facebook gives a more human result when everybody else is searching for specialized help coming from niched websites. Therefore, searching socially means to employ your search with the ‘human voice’ of confidence.
In the last few years, the SEO strategy increased so heavily, that it is no longer a performance tool, It’s a “you cannot live without it” necessity. Everybody can optimize their site content by choosing the right keywords, giving a more structured title, increasing visibility and site speed. So, if everybody has the same chance at optimizing, why, on the Google ranking system, is one website is more visible than another? This is the beauty of social media, and the crack in Google’s algorithm.
Google created Google+ because they felt the urge to control the content via a social platform. Then, Google Authorship was born, giving another signal to push to ranking sites and content – again controlled by Google.
The More the Merrier
Social sharing cannot trick the search engine, and yet the power of sharing can influence the power of search. “The more, the merrier”, is the future of search, and you, as an individual user and person who shares, can make a real difference in ranking certain content. So to compare this to days gone by, you get to choose what is on the most visible shelf in the library.
Strategic SEO alone is not enough. Social search comes as a natural consequence of expanded viral communication. Your vote of confidence takes form in a “share”, a “re-tweet” or a “re-pin”. Google needs to know your consumer habits and your interests, so they can transform this into meaningful data; it’s a win-win situation. You say what you like or want and Google gives you what you need. Your customers need to “like” what you do, or you will soon fall off the radar.
This is social influence, a relatively young resource that needs to be fully exploited. Do you have a business? Create engaging content, make it worthy and then use all the social media platforms available out there. Don’t forget to blog about what do you have to offer. May the power of social search be with you!