Yesterday Google unveiled a major update to their Social Search feature. MG Siegler over at TechCrunch did a nice job of breaking down the changes but I thought I would talk about the impact (if any) on your website getting found.

In Case You Missed It

The size of your social network is about to play an even bigger role in the search results you see. Google has now begun ranking search results in order of your social reach, to some degree. Links to pages that have been tweeted or re-tweeted by someone in your social circle will now be moved to the top of the search results page. Google has a deal with Twitter to allow the search giant access to the full stream of tweets.

Social Search Up Until Now

Until this latest improvement was announced, Social Search results (introduced in October of 2009) were results that appeared towards the bottom of the page. Links to blog posts or websites shared by your friends, or friends of friends would *only* appear at the bottom of the search results page. No impact on search rankings.

You might be asking the question: “2009, why haven’t I seen any social search results until now?”. Like many of the features released out of Google Labs, you must be signed into your Google account before performing a search. Think of it as an opt-in feature. Visitors to Google that never sign into their Google account will not see social search results.

Impact on Your Search Ranking

Google has upped the anti with this new incarnation. Links to blog posts or websites shared by your social circle may now appear above other websites in the search results page. This is huge! The role social networks like Twitter play in the findability of your website or blog is increasingly becoming more of a factor. The more your website or blog is shared online, the more likely your page is to appear in someone else’s search.

All that being said, this is still an opt-in type of feature. Unless you are signed into your Google account you will never have social results mixed in with regular results. You now have to go one step further; Google requires you to link your Google profile with your Twitter account, for example. You must add your social network account to your Google profile before this feature can be used. See screen shot below. Also, this only applies to visitors of Google.com. Those of us using Google.ca or other locale-specific search sites will not have access to this yet.

As MG Siegler points out, none of this applies to your Facebook network. Google hasn’t tapped into the effect of a Facebook “Like” on your website or post. Not yet anyway!

Why this is Important

As I mentioned earlier, the size of your social network as a business or blogger, is playing a bigger role in how your website or blog ranks among other search results. The larger your network, the greater your reach.

What’s your take on this? How many of you actually log into your Google account before running a search? That seems to be the one factor that prevents social search from completely obliterating a well optimized website. People just don’t go that extra step and log into their account before searching. If they are already logged into Google, how many of those users will go that extra step and link their Google profile with a social network like Twitter? I guess that remains to be seen.

Remember the days when investigating a purchase meant picking up your local yellow pages?  Well, my friends, those days are long gone!

Enter the Age of Social Shopping

Plenty of research exists on the shopping habits of consumers and most have come to the same conclusion: the “New Consumer” investigates their purchases for Products or Services online prior to conducting a transaction.  They Google, Bing, Tweet (and many other acts of Social Media investigation) to find what they are looking for.  Then, they ask their Social Media networks for their ideas and opinions.

Never before have people had so many options to choose from and so many places from which to gather word of mouth “yays and nays” on products and services.  People are going mobile, online and to social media to access a powerful network of people who can make or break your sale.

What’s a Business to do?

Ensure you communicate a consistent message and brand on various consumer touch points, such as your website, Twitter Account and Facebook Fanpage.

Consumers are also looking to social networks for deals.  So provide relevant deals/coupons or offers on each of the media channels you choose.  If you offer the deals (along with the possibility for product/service reviews) right on your website, people never have to leave and can simply complete the entire process on your site.

So what does this mean for you and your business?  It means you have to be Findable and brand yourself on as many social media outlets as possible!  Ensure you communicate the same messages on each of the outlets you choose.  Also, make sure your SEO is up to date so people can find you…in the Age of Social Media, if you are not Findable, you are not shoppable!

How have you networked lately?  Do you belong to several Networking groups for  Social or Business purposes?  Then hopefully Twitter has been part of your networking system.

Twitter is a real time – powerful networking tool for people and businesses.  Networking in 140 characters…impossible you say? Join the conversation and see!

One of the reasons why Twitter is so powerful is the ability to network quickly and productively with potentially thousands of people or more in an instant…if you do it right!  And always remember that people are nosy (you know you are too!)…they want to know what is going on in your life and your business.  If you are smart and savvy with your tweets, people will want to listen in to your conversation – just like the Nosy Rosy sitting beside you on the Go Train!

Twitter reaches out to everyone – women, men, moms, dads, entrepreneurs, small businesses and large corporations to mention a few!  Each of these people network in the community in different ways but all can use Twitter to network from home…in their pajamas if they choose to do so!  Once you establish relationships on Twitter, meeting a potential friend or client in person is a cinch…that initial dialogue has already started and the connection is already established.  Just imagine how a business could benefit from this!

Here are some tips:

- Follow the right people – related to your personal likes, your type of business or your location.

- Have the right people follow you – appeal to those you want to follow you and search for them.

- Don’t spam – multiple accounts sending the same tweets at the same time, selling or asking people to constantly check out your site or what you offer will lose your followers very quickly!

- Follow those who follow those you follow (do you follow?) – look at your followers and follow their followers.

- If someone follows you, follow them back out of courtesy – unless they have a suspicious picture, non-existent bio or no followers but are following hundreds of people!

- #FollowFridays – Your time to give back to your network – tweet a user name and reason why others should follow them.  What goes around comes around

- Retweet others as you want to be retweeted!

So, if you are not on Twitter go on and join the conversation!  The most important tip to remember – HAVE FUN!  (even if you are wearing your pajamas!)

And if you are confused or want some more tips, give me a call!  I am always here to help!