Real Time Search Marketing will be Added to Social Media Objectives - Businesses Be Ready
When Google held a conference last week announcing its new real time search feature ( Google Announcement) online viewers were given the opportunity to submit questions to the Google team. Since the feature is new and in the infant stages, there were many questions that came to my mind as the conference ran on. I couldn't figure out whether any one of my questions were important enough that I absolutely needed Google to answer it. After watching the team showcase the feature and use some cheesy dialogue to do so, I found the GOLDEN question!
I was thinking... Google's organic search is so competitive. People are paying thousands of dollars to maintain SEO for organic search. (In case you do not know - organic search is the results that are not sponsored on your search results page after you search for a term -- those results are made "organically" by Google in terms of relevance to the phrase you typed in.)
So since real time search will provide real time updates primarily from social networks, why can't a company update their social networks every few minutes to stay near the top of the search results?
I wondered if Google had anyway to "Weed out" companies that are constantly posting relevant information in regards to their keyword targets? If not, companies that have search indexed social identities could hire someone to constantly update information on their networks to maintain a TOP search ranking. If they do have a way of preventing this then...great! If not, they may need to address this before launch in order to avoid SEO scamming. As soon as I receive an update on this matter I will post to the blog!
So let's put the scamming aside. Real time search is still a way for companies to get web surfers to visit their website. Think about it... someone searches "Google real time search and its effect on social media marketing," a minute after I post this. Most likely my blog post will be near the top of their search results - under the latest tab. If my story looks relevant to them, they will click and be directed to my blog. I just gained a reader from Google's real time search.
Even if someone is searching for "Jordan basketball shoes." You don't need to be a company that sells Jordan basketball shoes to grab that readers attention or to appear in the latest search rankings. You could post a story about a new Jordan shoe that has caused a lot of injuries to basketball players. You are not selling shoes nor do you want to sell shoes, but you are still getting a visitor to your website if they are interested in the story.
That is marketing for you!
So what are the best tactics companies can use to take advantage of real time search in terms of SEO?
- Invest more money in social networking!
Companies need to realize that social networking is becoming a powerhouse marketing tool and real time search is only adding to that power. Invest more money in social networks and make sure that you have a team of people or one person updating your statuses and posting links that are search friendly and relevant. But be careful, don't overload your posts and status updates that you annoy your existing followers. You may gain search visibility, but you are losing followers. Not a good move on your part - so keep those posts relevant for your followers and don't overpost.
- Monitor Google Trends and Hot Topic Search Terms
Google trends is a tool that that displays, in hierachal order, the hottest trends in search at any given time. Once you understand what people are talking about in the world of web you can take advantage of this by giving your own input and relating it to your business. Of course there are topics like the Tiger Woods sex scadal that you may not want to associate with your business, but it really depends what your identity is and who you are looking to reach out to. You can also use Google Keyword Tool to discover how often certain terms are being searched.
- Formulate a Brand Expertise
FIgure out an aspect of your business that you believe you can be an expert in. Once you understand your niche "expertise" you must stay on top of it. Constantly research the information on Google latest search and other search engines/news sites. Make sure that everyday you are researching and learning more about your "expert" topic. Provide posts that are relevant and showcase your knowledge and overtime you will be seen as a leader in your topic. Monitor your site analytics and find out how many people are visiting your site through the category you are reporting on. This will take time so have patience. If after 9 months you are still not seeing any results. Find a new EXPERTISE!
- Listen to the conversation
The best strategy you can utilize with Google's real time search is the ability to listen to what people are saying about your line of business and/or your products/services. Use latest search to see what people are talking about in regards to YOU. Then take advantage of that conversation by implementing similar conversation into your social networks.
