Search set to become more “social”

These are big implications for all of us …

… social media is often over-hyped by the various self appointed guru's, but we think that the principles plus the numbers behind it, are sound enough. Smart Realtors are already capitalizing on this new frontier.

Getting mentioned is the new link building.

Now and in the future it's all about building those connections between people and social media is built from the ground up to achieve that goal.

This will be Google's biggest problem because links as a measure of relevant content doesn't work as well as it used to, so you can expect to see Google trying to use an evermore complex set of signals and algorithms.

Here is an example of a regular Google search:

The normal stuff right (except we are #1 for that search term )

Further down the results page is one of Google's experiments – social search, which still in Beta. These results reflect the interests of those in your online social circle:

Here is the result of another search, in this case "San Diego Real Estate". Drew's site comes up because we are connected through Gmail, which is stated right up front next to his name.

The signals that Google will be monitoring will involve the connections people make with your site. That's really what Google wants to know – who is most relevant.

So one of your major strategies for the future will be to consider the many different ways people can connect with you, and make sure you enable those connections.

Google is embracing Facebook – with login and sharing on it's subsidiary – YouTube

But with the new FaceBook like button, they are trying to use like button clicks to put your name on ads:

"Marketers have always known that the best way to sell something is to get your friends to sell it," says Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook's chief operating officer. "That is what people do all day on Facebook. We enable effective word-of-mouth advertising at scale for the first time."

In the next and last article in the series we will give you some pointers to stay ahead of the game.

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