Google and Twitter Make Up – Which is Good for Everyone

Google-Twitter-Partner

 

For the better part of the last few years, Google and Twitter have had a strenuous relationship, always viewing each other with a wary eye while begrudgingly acknowledging that they need each other in some capacity. Well, the tech giant “frenemies” took a major step forward in their relationship with Google and Twitter announcing this Tuesday of plans to integrate Tweets into mobile search results, directly from Google.

“Starting today, we’re bringing Tweets to Google Search on mobile devices. So now when you’re searching on the Google app or any browser on your phone or tablet, you can find real-time content from Twitter right in the search results.”

It will be the first time that Tweets will be available to Google search since 2011 and while it’s limited to mobile search for now, tweets in desktop results will be coming soon according to Google. On the surface, it seems beneficial for both parties – Google will receive access to the almost half-billion tweets sent per day increasing “real time info” in search results while Twitter can broaden its exposure and reach with a larger audience through Google.

real time tweets appear in Google search resultsSo if both parties stand to gain so much from their new partnership then why the previous distrust? The answer is a long and complicated history when Google launched its “Real-Time Search” which used Tweets, Facebook posts, blogs and other sources to become a pretty cool feature for the search engine. Unfortunately for Google, Real-Time Search was discontinued after a short life in 2011 when their partnership with Twitter ended due to Twitter’s desire to keep their content proprietary to users.  This new collusion will allow both parties to hit the reset button on a once-promising relationship that stands to benefit them both.

Google Will Gain…

…the Twitter “firehose.” It’s that simple. Twitter’s firehose “sprays” almost 9,000 tweets per second and now instead of a slow, excruciating crawl through Twitter to access realtime information, Google will soon be able to access the coveted firehose directly and index real-time tweets into their search, providing users with instant, realtime information instead of old, outdated search results. As a plus to Google, Twitter seems to have no plans to institute a fee or charge for access.

Google has consistently focused on the user experience which demands instant, real-time information. If there’s one thing that Twitter does better than any other social media platform, it’s providing  those realtime updates for users who crave the most up-to-date information on an array of topics and issues happening throughout the globe. From news to sports and so much more, Google’s search can provide instant, updated and current information via Twitter.

Twitter Will Gain…

…a phenomenal (and much-needed) amount of exposure. Though Twitter is still popular, the number of daily users has slowly declined. While it may still be considered a niche medium, rife with hashtags, a 140-character limit and a confusing etiquette that all can drive casual users away, Twitter still remains a incredibly important force as a social media platform and isn’t going away any time soon.

Despite its status as the go-to medium for instant, realtime updates, Twitter also has the smallest market share out of the top five social media sites, lagging well behind Facebook and even dropping behind Instagram and Pinterest.

social media users among adults

Thus, a partnership with the world’s most popular search engine will provide Twitter with much-needed visibility in an era where people tend to flock to search engines first, and then social media later. By integrating Tweets into Google’s mobile search, Twitter will stand to gain more exposure and more users.

In addition, having Tweets appear in Google search will help with generating ad revenue, something they’ve admittedly struggled to do since their IPO in 2013.

There is a new opportunity to drive ad revenue with more eyeballs and thus more engagement. In a world obsessed with generating viral, organic content having Tweets exposed through Google search could lead to incredible, viral opportunities.

 

What Does This Mean for My Marketing Efforts?

Twitter just became more important. Social search is obviously going to expand and Twitter has already proven that despite their rank among all social media users, engagement and real time results can be more important than sheer user numbers. Twitter has already played major roles in revolutions, protests and elections.  It’s the ultimate realtime newsfeed; it’s social, conversational, organic and global. And all of this will soon be appearing in mobile search results for the world’s largest search engine.

While the exact date that Tweets will begin appearing in Google’s mobile search has not yet been revealed (most marketers expect a gradual roll-out), now is the perfect time to either establish a Twitter strategy or tweak your organization’s current Twitter and SEO strategy. With social search becoming more prevalent, it is important to evaluate your company’s entire SEO and social media strategy and discuss ways that you can combine both efforts to best optimize each of them. The gap between “social” and “search” has been rapidly shrinking and with the world’s most popular search engine partnering with the world’s most popular realtime social newsfeed, that gap will close more and more.

google-twitterBy becoming familiar with Twitter, staying engaged, posting relevant content geared toward your targeted audience and maximizing your reach, your company will be in prime position to be among the first to benefit from the massive potential of the Google-Twitter combo. While their relationship has been rocky, the rekindled Google-Twitter romance will benefit not just the two tech giants, but also all of us.

When users can access instant, realtime and social results for whatever we search for with a mobile device in our hands, an increasingly interconnected and global world is about to get even smaller.

 

For help with your social media and search engine optimization, let our team of experienced and dedicated web analysts, SEO specialists and content curators help your social media marketing and SEO efforts succeed.

Jump in. Get ahead. Just like Google and Twitter, the right partnership at the right time will help your marketing efforts take off! Contact us today and let us help get you started.

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