With the introduction of ‘Search, plus Your World,’ content will now be pulled from the Google+ social network into regular Google.com search listings. This development means that brands looking to capitalise on the benefits of Google’s ‘social search’ must establish a presence on the Google+ network along with gaining a greater understanding of the importance of distributing suitably optimised content.

Google’s new search function can be toggled on or off directly from the Google.com page; enabling this function means that any search terms entered will display posts, images, people and pages from the Google+ social environment. These could be images or posts that have been shared publicly and are relevant to the current search or those that have been shared directly or privately with the user. These relevant ‘social’ results are displayed in prime position at the top of the search listings above results from the rest of the web, which demonstrates just how coveted this prominent ‘social’ position could be for brands and businesses.

Search results from user’s Facebook & Twitter feeds will not be included in any of the search listings, which again emphasises the importance of a brands’ presence on the Google+ social network, which has rapidly reached around 60 million users since its release from beta testing.

Pete Goold, managing director at online PR and social media agency, Punch Communications, said: “The emphasis on social search and the Google+ network may be seen by some as Google using its influence to encourage users to adopt their social network and the move has already raised concerns from Google’s former partner in social search, Twitter.

“Wherever you stand on that particular wrangle, Google.com’s newest feature confirms what the SEO community has known for a while – that there are benefits to search within social media and they are likely to increase as time goes on.

“This change is expected to boost G+ user numbers and brands must act quickly in order to understand the impact and opportunities that this development will bring to them and their engagement strategies. Understanding how to effectively incorporate keywords into Google+ content in order to increase relevance will prove vital in order to take full advantage of improved visibility across social search results.”

If you are currently talking to SEO agencies about an integrated SEO, social media and PR campaign then contact Punch Communications to find out how a cohesive approach can transform your business. For more information, visit http://www.punchcomms.com, call +44 (0) 1858 411 600 or circle gplusnick.com/punchcomms.


Source: PRWeb
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