The Importance of Social Networking Just Grew Exponentially Overnight

The importance of  social networking just exploded overnight with Google’s announcement that they are extending Personalized Search to signed-out users worldwide. In the past, you had to be logged in to Google before they would give you search results tailored to your search history and personal preferences.

Using the -,+ and x icons, you could move a listing higher in your personalized results and even delete the result completely.

As of today, you no longer have to be signed in to Google to get personalized search results. Your results will be rendered based on your search history and clicks over up to 180 days of passed search information. If you don’t want personalized search results, you can disable customization by clicking on web history and then disable customizations based on search query.

So What Does This Have to Do with Social Media Marketing?

Think about it for a second. The average user is not going to read Google’s latest news on the personalization of search. They will continue to go about their daily business unaware of the changes.
If they are aware, many will consider the new policy as another step in Google’s quest to refine relevant results to the end user. Why should they do anything? Let’s put aside privacy issues for the moment while we consider the effect this will have on the keyword phrases your company is optimizing for.

Personalized search results will dilute your search engine optimization efforts

How Can You Optimize for Personal Search?

The effectiveness of using Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) is a strategy that has been debated for years. According to Aaron Wall, “Latent semantic indexing allows a search engine to determine what a page is about outside of specifically matching search query text.”  Basically, you are using language in your web content to match Google’s algorithm with a given search term. Like anything else in search engine optimization,  your best course of action is to try it and see if it works for you.

Danny Sullivan’s Tips on Taking Advantage of Personalized Search

Titles & Descriptions are crucial: You need the clickthrough more than ever. Clickthroughs get your site as seen as possibly important to a particular person’s profile.

Get on the Google personalized homepages of searchers. That means offering them a feed or a gadget and encouraging take-up with an Add To Google buttons.

Put Google Bookmark buttons on your site, such as the one offered by AddThis. Getting bookmarked also helps you be seen as important.

Why is Social Media So Important?

Now, not only do you want use online and offline social networking to become an influence in your industry, you want to influence the search queries your target audience is using to find your products and brand.

Reading this post, a few of you probably noticed the Google result I posted.

Some will search Google for the complete term, Social Media Marketing Toronto Wolf21.   We just influenced your search query.  Eventually, you will search without the brand name, but we will still come on your search results page because of your search history.

Marty Weintraub’s Tips on How Can you Influence Search Queries in Your Target Market?

1. During phone calls say “search for THIS and click on It.”
2. Tell potential customers at meetings & pitches.
3. Email links to unpersonalized SERPs with instructions to click on the results.
4. Put SERPs link in blog Posts.
5. Never miss a chance to direct folks to content by way of  SERPs/click.
6. Making up words usually works, I.E. tell people “Go to Google and search for something like,  “The Mighty Rankinstanker.”  Say, “Click on the first result.” In this case the user has demonstrated to the engine he/she ‘likes” SearchEngineLand.
7. Go mass market. Make the call to action. Advertise:  Put “Go to Google.com, keyword ________ in your radio ad.

Some great ideas on influencing search queries associated with your business in 20110.

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