Google’s Most Drastic Changes Yet to the Way We Search
In case you haven’t heard Google just dropped a bombshell on the way we search for things on our beloved search engine. CNN.Com’s headline dubs it “most radical transformation ever”.
They are calling it “Search, plus Your World” and if you didn’t think you had a reason to join Google+ before, maybe this will change your mind. This new feature will now incorporate data from its new social network Google+ alongside the public search results when delivering those coveted 1st page listings. The new “Your World” results will include items that you have posted or shared, items that have been shared directly with you or publicly by people you are connected to on Google+ and other Google services like Picasa and more to be integrated soon, I’m sure.
For Instance, when I search for “Pictures in San Francisco” the line above my search results now look like this:
And alongside many of the results you’ll see this Icon which indicates it’s something that has been shared with you or by you on Google+:
You will now be seeing all the pictures, posts and profiles that are related to your search. According to Google’s blog “You should also be able to find your own stuff on the Web, the people you know and things they’ve shared with you, as well as the people you don’t know but might want to … all from one search box.” In short, they want to include “Your World” in their search.
Personalizing results is nothing new to Google. They’ve been providing personalized data, in one form or another, to signed-in Google users since 2005 and even included social results from sites like Twitter up until Twitter cancelled the agreement to allow Google access to its feed last year(more on that later). But until now they have never been able provide you results on such a deeply personal level.
Something else they have done is incorporate Google+ profiles as a major part of the results. When typing in someone’s name, Google Instant will automatically try to finish your query with Google+ profiles matching your search and will of course then allow you to add that person to your circles directly from the results page. The results also show the most recent public posts this person has made.
A Search for Mashable’s Pete Cashmore ends up looking like this:
Now this next feature is a big one and could quite possibly be its most powerful. You can type in any subject you are interested in and in the sidebar, above the sponsored ads are recommended Google+ profiles and pages that are related to your subject of interest. Even though I hate this overused term there is no other way to describe this other than an absolute GAMECHANGER!
Check This Out:
I searched for the Term “Internet Marketing”
You can actually optimize your Google+ account to have your profile shown in the related people/pages box for whatever your niche happens to be. Talk about becoming a market leader! This. Is. Awesome.
This new, seemingly Google+ biased change in the way we search online has not gone unnoticed. In response to the Google’s announcement, Twitter had this to say: “As we’ve seen time and time again, news breaks first on Twitter,” we’re concerned that as a result of Google’s changes, finding this information will be much harder for everyone.” Google then fired back by stating that Twitter is the one who chose not to renew last year’s deal between the two companies that allowed Google access to the social network’s real time feed.
Twitter isn’t the only one is thinks Google is abusing their power. The FTC has already been alerted that
Google could be violating anti-trust laws and privacy laws with its new feature. It looks like the gloves are off and it will be interesting to see where all this goes in the coming weeks and months. For now I think we can all agree on one thing; if you’re a marketer or market leader in a specific niche you better have a Google+ account and incorporate it in everything you do. And, if you’re someone looking to make a splash in your niche there is no better time than now to come in with an even playing field and become a market leader in your own right.
The way I see it, this is only the tip of the Iceberg. After reading ‘In The Plex’ by Wired editor Steven Levy, I got a real sense for Google’s plans for the future of the internet. They intend to BE the Internet. They want people to be able to login to one central hub online and have everything they could possibly need right there at their fingertips. They’re photos, music, videos, social connections, files, documents, emails, and more. Facebook almost beat them to the punch with their close to 1 billion active users logging in almost daily but Facebook is missing the one most important ingredient: The world’s most powerful search engine.
If you’re looking for more information on Google Plus Marketing check out this book by our very own Ryan Michael Bush on www.Amazon.com
What do you think of Google’s new changes? Are they fair or foul? Leave your questions and comments below.
