Google’s announcement of social integration into search (which we blogged about yesterday) has given a shock to both search and social media. Now that the changes have become active for some users, we get a clearer picture of the reality of the implications of this integration. For UK users this will take some time, but that big white space at the right hand side of Google results will soon be populated with Google+ people and pages which correspond with your search query.
As an example, Search Engine Land used the search term “music” to measure the impact of the nee social integration. The search as done using the chrome browser in incognito mode, meaning that Google had no access to personal data when amalgamating the search results. These results turned out to be quite interesting. The results area on the right hand side immediately listed the most popular musicians on Google+, Britney Spears, Snoop Dogg and Mariah Carey. Despite this being a people and places recommendation there was no mention of any of their Twitter accounts. And what about other musicians? Katy Perry has broken many Billboard chart records in the last year, and has a huge loyal online fanbase (over 40 million fans on Facebook alone), but her absence from Google+ means an absence from Google’s people and pages results.
A search on the top music suggestion – Britney Spears – immediately prompts the user to select her Google+ profile. Ignoring the suggestion still prompted at least two Google+ links on the front page, and four links to Google-owned YouTube. Her twitter account languishes in 10th place, and her Facebook (with over 16 million fans) isn’t even on the front page.
Feeling a little mischievous, they searched for Facebook. The top people and pages result is Mark Zuckerberg; but it is his Google+ account. This account has never been updated, and this raises some questions on the relevancy algorithm of this feature.
Today, some tech news sites and blogs are speculating that Google could face antitrust legislation over the changes, but it remains to be seen whether this will come to pass.
What this indicates, is that having a Google+ account is more relevant and essential than ever for businesses who want to succeed online. In order to be noticed, companies will not just want their website to appear near the top of Google search results, but to attract users with a Google+ page link. Remember, if your business isn’t considering a Google+ presence, your competitor probably is.
Micrositez Digital is a Social Media Agency.
