Social networks such as Facebook and Twitter have revolutionised the way we communicate online, while link sharing sites such as Digg, Reddit and Delicious have changed the way we find and share content.
It was only a matter of time before this socialisation of the Internet became endemic, and now even Internet search is undergoing a socialisation process.
Google Social Search Last week Google went global with the roll-out of its 'Social Search' feature, which was first launched in 2009.
Social Search effectively mixes content that has been shared or created by your online friends in with your regular search results.
This works by linking your Twitter, Facebook and other social accounts with your Google profile (at your discretion of course).
So, for example, if you search for reviews of a restaurant near you, a review written or shared by one of your Facebook friends may pop up alongside organically high-ranking pages.
Bing likes Facebook This socialisation of search isn't necessarily new, but it is certainly gaining pace.
Microsoft's Bing search engine struck a deal with Facebook last year, giving it access to 'Like' data from the social behemoth.
Now when users search, relevant pages that have been liked by their Facebook friends show up in the results.
Google meanwhile, which enjoys a far less cosy relationship with Facebook, have responded by creating their own '+1' button, which they helpfully describe as being, "shorthand for 'this is pretty cool' or 'you should check this out.
'" When people +1 things, these are once again shown in the search results, alongside details of who liked it.
A new evolutionary struggle for SEO? With all of these social search features the user must of course be logged into their Bing or Google account, and actively choose to share and receive content recommendations.
For the moment social search may not seem significant in the wider field of SEO but it is looming ever larger on the horizon, with search engines and social networks pushing hard to convince users that search is better when it's social.
And with the socialisation of search, the emphasis on producing genuinely useful content that is shareable will become ever important in planning an SEO strategy.
Is your SEO professional socially aware? Revolutionise your SEO campaign with social media and talk to your SEO Agency today to find out how social search could play a part in your marketing strategy.
It was only a matter of time before this socialisation of the Internet became endemic, and now even Internet search is undergoing a socialisation process.
Google Social Search Last week Google went global with the roll-out of its 'Social Search' feature, which was first launched in 2009.
Social Search effectively mixes content that has been shared or created by your online friends in with your regular search results.
This works by linking your Twitter, Facebook and other social accounts with your Google profile (at your discretion of course).
So, for example, if you search for reviews of a restaurant near you, a review written or shared by one of your Facebook friends may pop up alongside organically high-ranking pages.
Bing likes Facebook This socialisation of search isn't necessarily new, but it is certainly gaining pace.
Microsoft's Bing search engine struck a deal with Facebook last year, giving it access to 'Like' data from the social behemoth.
Now when users search, relevant pages that have been liked by their Facebook friends show up in the results.
Google meanwhile, which enjoys a far less cosy relationship with Facebook, have responded by creating their own '+1' button, which they helpfully describe as being, "shorthand for 'this is pretty cool' or 'you should check this out.
'" When people +1 things, these are once again shown in the search results, alongside details of who liked it.
A new evolutionary struggle for SEO? With all of these social search features the user must of course be logged into their Bing or Google account, and actively choose to share and receive content recommendations.
For the moment social search may not seem significant in the wider field of SEO but it is looming ever larger on the horizon, with search engines and social networks pushing hard to convince users that search is better when it's social.
And with the socialisation of search, the emphasis on producing genuinely useful content that is shareable will become ever important in planning an SEO strategy.
Is your SEO professional socially aware? Revolutionise your SEO campaign with social media and talk to your SEO Agency today to find out how social search could play a part in your marketing strategy.
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