How real time search could affect SEO

Google have now started to roll out real time search. Posts from social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook will now appear in the SERPs for certain brand and product related keywords. This big change from Google will create lots of implications for search engine optimisation professionals and brand management.  Below I have provided a few of my thoughts on this topic:

• Brand management – In addition to traditional SEO, large companies will have to place more emphasis on brand management. Constant reputation monitoring will be required to ensure that bad comments about a particular brand are responded to quickly and accurately.
• Mobile communication – With the rise in mobile internet communication, including smart phones and iphones, users will be able to review a product or brand instantly. This review might then appear in the search results for a particular brand or product name.  This may cause even large brands to struggle to protect their brand at all times.
• Traditional SEO – This move from Google means that there will be a large space on the first page of Google which cannot be controlled with traditional SEO methods. As SEO professionals, we will need to discover the ranking algorithm Google uses to rank real time search data.

On a positive note, the move should mean that smaller brands will be able to rank well for a competitive keyword if they have an active social profile

It will be interesting to see how other SEO companies and large brands react to this change from Google. Watch this space

Paul Spreadbury
SEO Manager