What does it mean for search marketers now that Google+ has real-time search?

You may recall that real-time search, the Google Search feature that delivered up to the minute updates from Twitter, mysteriously went missing back in July. The reason for this is the failure between the two companies to renew their deal. Something told us that Google would not totally abandon the concept and find some way to incorporate it again with or without the aid of Twitter. With its own social network in circulation, the missing piece of the puzzle started to appear more obvious. Well, it looks like the internet giant finally decided it was time to make a move because real-time results are back in action.

Google recently incorporated real-time search capabilities into the built-in search feature that powers Google+. Similar to the previous function fueled by Twitter, using the feature is pretty straightforward. All a user to has do is go about conducting a search as they normally would, and click on the “1 more recent post”, which should appear in a few seconds. From there, results related to their search query will automatically start to show up in real-time. Obviously, the biggest difference is that the results are pulled from Google+ rather tha
Twitter.

Search Marketing Implications

So what does the inclusion of real-time search results mean for social marketers? It means that Google+ now has even more value, perhaps even more tha
Facebook in this regard. Despite its vast array of features and legions of loyal users, Facebook’s internal search engine leaves a lot to be desired. With Facebook, searching for content is limited and not very useful outside of discovering new pages and possible new friend connections. Real-time search on Google+ is geared to help the user find exactly what they are looking for, with the added benefit of receiving the info as it comes in.

All in all, we see real-time search in Google+ being a tremendous luxury for marketers. If the community puts it to use, it could be great for brands looking to increase awareness, drive traffic, and create meaningful connections. Unfortunately, the real potential of this feature is on hold for the time being. Since Google is asking brands to hold off until it introduces business pages, there really isn’t much that can done at this point without drawing the wrong kind of attention. For now, we advise marketers to stay on top of the developments and learn all about the potential benefits of real-time search as it relates to social media.

Some pundits are questioning why Google did not introduce real-time search with the initial launch of Google+, but as the saying goes, “better late, than never”. With reports of the platform experiencing a huge decline in traffic and losing steam, introducing it now could be a part of a plan to rebuild momentum. In any event, real-time search is a nice addition that could pay off for marketers as Google+ matures and generates more content.