This week, Google has introduced real-time search results into its search listing pages. This is a big development that spells the dawn of a new age in terms of how search engines display information. We check it out and identify the steps small businesses should take to make the most of the change.
What has changed?
Google is now including real-time information from real-time social networks like Twitter and blogs. So if you search for ‘Christmas‘ for example you will now see a little box appear towards the top of the search results that scrolls a list of real-time content relating to the search – all of which is being published as you watch.
Why is this important?
Until now, Google has only indexed pages that have been published for some time, but with the increasing popularity of social media and in particular, networks like Twitter, which have an instant or real-time element at their heart, Google wants in on some of this action.
What does it mean?
Essentially it means that Google is giving more prominence to social media and real-time information. This might not sound much, but if the roll-out continues, you might find that when someone searches for your brand and would normally have seen your website as the first link, they might now see a range of tweets or blogs posts talking about you first. This could have a positive or negative effect depending on what is being said.
It is unlikely in the short-term that real-time results will be shown in every search, but expect it to increasingly be an option for searchers.
What should brands do?
The most important thing is to ensure you are monitoring what people are saying about your business online. You can do this in a range of ways including running searches on social networks to having Google alerts.
If you are already on Twitter then this will put you in a prime position to capitalise.
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