Yes, it’s true that Google is doing Universal Search (bringing in Social results *like LinkedIn profiles* – and video clips – and press releases) in response to a search query. That’s been true for two years now. And that’s why the more you are present on the internet, the more likely you will be found. But it is NOT a game changer. Websites with ample and useful content will still receive high rankings for relevant queries right in the mix. They’ve even pulled back a bit in overwhelming the searcher with all these types of results.

Second: Yes, it’s true that Google has been doing Personalized Search for at least the last 6 months – WHEN you are signed INTO Google (reading your g-mail, looking at your analytics, etc.) In that case, if you were to type Lincoln Center while logged in – they’d give you our Mulberry Street entertainment center, not the one on Columbus Avenue. They DO want to be hyper-relevant to searchers. And that’s good – because the more relevant your website IS to the particular searcher’s known and predictable parameters, the more likely YOUR website will come up. So it behooves you to focus on your target markets with razor sharp precision – so that if you sell clothes for pre-teens on line, your whole emphasis is ON tweens – their terminology, their habits, their passions. Google will make the match and not send a tween interested in fashion to Macy’s first, IF your on line store have more to offer a tween and that’s evident – in abundance.

Then there’s SOCIAL SEARCH. That’s being speculated upon every hour of every day. Google does NOT want to lose out to Twitter. Or Facebook. Or even YouTube (their OWN property.) You Tube IS the second biggest search engine in the world today. That’s why they bought them. And they tried to buy Twitter, but no twakers. (smile.) These social sites – like Twitter – will harness the ‘wisdom of the crowds’ and when someone searches for ‘tween clothes for girls’ THERE, their friends and fellow tweeters just might tell them where to go to buy, instead of Google. And people are more likely to take the recommendations of friends than of Google. BUT Google harnesses the ‘wisdom of the crowds’ themselves, by counting In Bound Links as their most important criteria. They may have to fine tune this particular algorithm point, to make it even more precise and telling – or they can just look over the shoulder of Twitter and others and serve those ‘social recommendations’ in their results as well.

I’m watching this play out constantly – trying to know where search (and FIND) are headed. And it’s a big reason I got so involved with SOCIAL so early – and why my clients should too.

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