December 7, 2009 Google launched real-time results and it changed the world of SEO as we all knew it. After reading the news and experiencing it for myself, I was left with a few questions. Does the change present more positive or negative implications to the art and science of SEO? How do I, as an online marketer specializing in SEO, continue to tout to clients the value of SEO and importance of showing up in organic search? In regards to whether the implications are positive or negative, as usual in the world of SEO, it’s a draw. Depending on who you talk to, the answer can go either way. On the other topic though, the vote was almost unanimous; we maintain our value by refocusing what we report as important, and draw inferences on visibility and rank.
So, what is important? Traffic volume and conversions are now the two most important data points of interest. We continue to build trust and value with our clients by proving to them, through data, how our efforts are impacting these metrics. This puts visibility in the area of “inference.” One can infer that if traffic and conversions are increasing in Google, then one has a pretty good ranking in the results. Along with traffic volume and conversions, we should also focus on engagement (time spent on site), bounce rate and link popularity. This is a more streamlined approach to reporting which highlights activity that is relevant to the client.
There is a real advantage for those of us who choose to see the silver lining in this major industry adjustment. We always knew that the activity in the socialsphere had an impact on organic search; now we’re tasked with how to make that work to our benefit. And how we, as SEO’ers, do that is by educating our clients on how social media and SEO complement each other and develop campaigns to support and prove that. We will need to be proactive in understanding how the different social platforms can be optimized and build this into our SEO best practices. Making these adjustments and continuing to see success as a trifecta; SEO, Paid and Social is what will keep us as strong players in the game.
With that said, I don’t think real-time results present a negative vs. positive impact on SEO. They’ve become a catalyst for change and an advocate for what has become the essence of GroupM Search’s “Propulsion” search strategy — looking at your paid, owned and earned media holistically — in this case paid search, SEO and social media — to achieve optimal performance in the online market. So, I say we do away with the thinking of positive versus negative, and view it with the optimism of opportunity.
For more information on Google’s real-time search, and to read some of the opinions of SEO experts please visit the following sites: iMEDIA Connection, MediaPost, SEO Chat and Mashable.
As a consumer, I’ve had mixed feelings about real-time search results. While seeing the most current information and chatter has its benefits if you’re interested, often times when searching I’m looking for information from sources I trust and don’t always find the real-time results relevant. On the flip side, with the immediacy of information in our lifestyles today, there’s value for advertiser in that it makes conversations about brands visible that otherwise may have gone unseen/unheard.
Cindy, this is a great point! Which is why I think it puts a lot of responsibility of discernment on the shoulders of consumers, especially when you throw personalization in the mix. People have to understand what they’re seeing and why they’re seeing it before they can make an informed click.
I think the goal should be to do all that we can to own the space for our clients…this is the only way to control their perceived authority. Be in the real-time search results, be in the organic results, and have a presence in paid. This way we’re appealing to those who are looking for relevance, those who are looking for “what’s happening now”, and those well…who just may be looking. As long as their finding our brands.