Search and social, get ready to mingle! Once again, Twitter and Google have arrived at a deal to have tweets show in relevant search results on Google. Since their prior deal expired in 2011, it ended real-time search for Google since the Twitter results were published much quicker than it takes to write and publish a news article. The return of real-time tweets in search results will have a big impact for all parties involved. There is something in it for Twitter, Google, users and companies too.
How will Twitter Benefit?
For Twitter, the microblogging company will gain more exposure. Both Google and Twitter have grown since the last time this partnership was in place. Google has more users than Twitter and many of those users will be intrigued to check out Twitter and sign up when they see how it can be relevant to what they are interested in. Twitter is looking to grow their users with this partnership.
What Can Google Gain?
Google will be able to show even more relevant results, which is their main objective. Twitter has 288 million monthly active users constantly tweeting about news, everyday events, pop culture and more. That content will fill an important missing link in Google's search results, showing real-time information from users all over the world that is related to the search performed on Google.
How Will Users Benefit?
Information is knowledge and the one important thing that users will benefit from is the added wealth of knowledge from the combination. Users will see the real-time Twitter results on Google regardless of whether they are a registered Twitter user or not. The addition of related tweets will help provide information on trending topics, natural disasters, major accidents and other important events in the world. Twitter users that regularly tweet about current events and trending topics will have the possibility of gaining more visibility and followers.
How Your Businesses Can Capitalize on this Partnership
If you don't already utilize Twitter, now is your chance to start and take advantage of the opportunity to have your Tweets show up on Twitter and on Google too. Of course, there's no guarantee that any tweets will show up in search results, but having a sound social plan will help you maximize your exposure on Twitter as well as Google. A sound social plan begins with treating each social channel like it is a broadcast resource. In addition to posting social updates, post newsworthy updates and capitalize on trending topics that are relevant to your business. Also follow these tips:
- Set up a calendar and plan out your tweets
- Evaluate what times and days are best for your audience
- Post and re-post during your peak times
- Diversify your tweets with text, pictures and video
- Use relevant keywords in your tweets
- Use hashtags properly. There is an art to using hashtags and it is important to strategize and always use relevant hashtags
- Understand what Google searchers might be looking for and reverse engineer your posts with that in mind
Real-Time Social
Tweets from Twitter will start to appear in Google's search results sometime in the first half of 2015. Businesses should take the time now to build up a Twitter social following and get a plan in place to make the most of the opportunity.
Real-time social is coming back to Google and this time there is even more potential for brands to increase their reach with this great combination. Be sure to pay close attention to this new development because it is sure to evolve. Tune into expert presentations and watch for case studies to see how companies are having success with tweets appearing in Google search results. Don't forget about implications for calculating data, data integration and also making journalists' jobs easier through efficiency.
