What is Google real time search and how is it going to change the rules of engagement when it comes to SEO?
Real time search is the big talk of the day at the moment. On December 7 Google announced the release of their real time search in this blog post Relevance meets the real-time web. This is what Google says:
“Try searching for your favourite TV show, sporting event or the latest development on a recent government bill. Whether it’s an eyewitness tweet, a breaking news story or a fresh blog post, you can find it on Google right after it’s published on the web.”
So let’s put this to the test. Basically to see real time search in action I went to Google.com and searched for “social media”. The search results initially appearing is the normal good search results so no difference yet.
To see the real time search I clicked on Show options 
and selected “Latest” from the left menu. The result is what you see on the picture above.
You can see that on top there is the a tweet about social media posted 6 seconds ago. Then there is one from Friendfeed posted 18 seconds ago and we have a blog post about social media posted 57 seconds ago. I think you get the pictures. To me real time search is up to the second coverage of what is being said in social media and blog sites.
The real time web casting and search was really started by Twitter. Also referred to as micro blogging, the concept is around short posts about something that is happening right now normally posted via mobile phones. For example I was at the SEO Pro seminar a couple of months ago and people were tweeting about some hot topics being discussed at that very moment. Another example was the post election results in Iran, you could get the latest news in tweeter as it was unfolding in the streets of Tehran.
Talk about entertainment and well real time search is going to provide a very fertile ground for up to the second gossip and news. Good example was Tiger woods accident. Socialmediatoday.com covers what happened in twitter in this post Why Twitter Wins: Tiger Woods’ Accident.
Twitter, along with other social media tools such as Facebook has become essential tools in the distribution of news. The Tiger Woods’ accident further exemplifies that the Internet is squeezing the life out of a traditional medium such as newspaper industries by bringing dishing up-to-date reports of the incident. This is why Google don’t want to be left out and their real time search is primarily about integration with Twitter.
So how is Google real time search going to effect our organic SEO strategy?
Since real time search is very new, it is currently under constant updating and fine-tuning by Google. As yet I can’t see many real time search results in the standard organic listing, but Google says based on relevance they will include this.
Rand Fishkin from seomoz.org talks about real time search in his post 8 Predictions for SEO in 2010 and predicts that the implementation in the actual search results is something that is going to fade away. He goes as far as saying “This is, in my estimation (and many others), the worst implementation of new results Google’s ever implemented”. So to make sure we are clear here, what he is referring to is the search results without clicking on Show Options and selecting Latest.
My own take on this? I agree with Rand to the extend that I don’t believe Google will sacrifice quality for PR in the sense of just tapping into this new and popular phenomenon. On the other hand the additional filters in the options left menu is certainly a useful feature for people who want to narrow down their search results and peak into what is currently covered in social media sites such as twitter.
The partners that Google announced as supporting in their real time search results are:
Facebook, MySpace, FriendFeed, Jaiku and Identi.ca — along with Twitter
My conclusion?
In my opinion businesses should definitely plan to engage and contribute in websites Twitter, Facebook, FriendFeed and mySpace. SEO starts with good content and social media sites are a good means of spreading the word for your content and building buzz. This not only creates brand awareness and brings you visitors but also will improve your SEO ranking. However, when engaging in social media sites it is important to get the balance right. If you focus on selling that will defiantly turn many people off. After all it is called social media because it is supposed to be sociable. It’s a bit like going to the pub. You need to go every week to start building trust and making friends. In the long run those friends can then work as a good connections for business referrals.
Other useful links on real time search:
From searchengineland.com: What Is Real Time Search? Definitions & Players
From econsultancy.com: 24 social media experts interviewed
Apart from Google, other useful websites for real time search:
http://www.whostalkin.com/
http://socialmention.com/
http://blogpulse.com/
http://www.scoopler.com/
What’s next?
As I am optimizing my blog and a number of my clients website, I will be posting a series of posts about successful social media strategies and SEO tips. If you are interested to be updated sign up to my mailing list on top right corner.
- Top 10 SEO tips to help you improve your search ranking
- How I got my first 100 Twitter followers
- Top 10 SEO myths revealed
- Link building part 1: One way editorial links and how to get them
- Link building part 2: How one competition boosted my Google Page Rank
Ashkan is an SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) and social media consultant who helps website owners achieve high ranking in Google’s organic search results. Here Ash shares his experience, tips and advice to help you make the most of your web business. 
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Interesting blog post from Google.
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/this-week-in-search-121809.html
Their prediction for 2010?
As these “time-to-result” efforts continue to emerge in 2010, we’ll keep pushing the envelope on indexing speed, accuracy, and comprehensiveness. And that means you can expect the search experience to get more social, more personal, more interactive, and more ubiquitous.
Interesting observation:
I also published this blog post on the ecademy blog. in the first 50 minutes of doing so if I searched in Google for “How is real time search affecting SEO” this very blog post was number 1 in the organic listing (without clicking on view latest). to me this is because it was a fresh blog post which matched exactly what the search term was.
Ashkan: I love how detailed your post and then how you made proof by showing what results you received.
I did this with video almost two years ago and self doubted myself quiet with what results I received after an exercise with one of my mentors. He had me write up report and for some stupid reason I did not publish it.
I will be visiting you more often, so glad I found you today.
Hi Michele
Glad you found it useful. Look forward to more feedback and comments.
Ash