6 Crucial Steps to Prepare Yourself for the Twitter Facebook Real-Time Search Integration
October 29, 2009 by: admin
Real-time search is all the rage these days and it looks like it will only get bigger. Just last week, Microsoft Bing announced that it will be integrating both Facebook and Twitter status updates into its search results. Minutes later, Google followed suit and announced that it too will be adding Twitter updates (but not Facebook) into its SERPs. Even Yahoo is trying to get in the real-time search game.
The exact details on implementation aren’t yet clear, but it’s likely that real-time Twitter and/or Facebook updates will be added to the regular search results – particularly for breaking news and queries where articles and blog posts have not yet been written (hence “real time” search).
The services probably won’t go live until at least a couple of weeks, if not months, but you can see an example of what’s to come on the Bing Twitter Search page. Pretty cool stuff.
So is this a game changer for SEO and Internet marketing? I vote yes. I’ve written before that Twitter is the future of search and this real-time search integration is clearly a step towards that direction. The addition of Twitter and Facebook updates in the search results will open up new opportunities to market yourself and your business.
What are the steps you need to take to prepare yourself for this Twitter and Facebook search integration? I’ve already gone over Twitter SEO and how to optimize your site for Twitter search, but this new development further adds to the strategy’s importance. Below is a list of ways you can get the most out Twitter/Facebook once the status updates hit the search engines.
1. Get on Twitter & Facebook and be active, duh
This one’s a no-brainer. If you’re not yet on Facebook and Twitter, what are you waiting for? You’re missing out on boatloads of opportunity. Set up branded accounts on both Twitter and Facebook and make your updates public so that the search engines can access them.
Integration of these tools into Google and Bing will further increase awareness of social media and usage should quickly become mainstream. What does this mean? You’ll be able to market to all kinds of people with different interests and demographics. No more complaining that Twitter’s audience is too tech-savvy blah blah blah. Same goes for Facebook.
2. Use your own branded URL shortener
URL shorteners like tinyurl and bit.ly are commonly used for Twitter and Facebook status updates to save space and track clicks. If you’re linking to your own site, however, this is less than ideal because you’re missing out on a great branding opportunity. How are people supposed to know what’s behind that bit.ly URL? This becomes even more important when status updates are integrated into the search results.
The solution? Use your own URL shortener hosted on your domain. Sure you might lose out on some characters, but in my opinion the branding exposure of having your full domain displayed is worth it. Check out this article for instructions on how to set it up for your blog: How To Easily Create Your Own URL Shortener With WordPress.
In Bing’s initial Twitter search demo, the source domain is shown in parentheses next to the shortened URL. Still, my guess is that having your own domain name in the clickable text of the URL is more effective for showing off your site.
For example, which of the links below do you think is better?
3. Do extensive keyword research for your updates
Much like SEO for your web pages, keyword research will be integral for optimizing your tweets and status updates to get them to rank in the search results. Are you using the best variation of your keyword with the highest search frequency? What other related topics and keywords can you include to maximize the search visibility of your updates? You’ll find the answers to those questions in your keyword research.
Use the Google Keyword Tool to look into top keywords you’d like to rank for. Then use them often in your updates. This research might seem like overkill to write a 140 character message, but the subsequent exposure and visits to your site can make it worthwhile.
4. Write about hot topics and trends
In addition to keyword research, stay on top of the hottest trends related to your niche and write about them on Twitter and Facebook. If you have an authority account (more on this later) and your messages rank for hot topics, you could get a lot of exposure.
Google Trends is a great tool for this purpose. For even more, take a look at my post: The 3 Biggest Sources for Uncovering Hot Topics & Trends Online
5. Avoid duplicate content
Search engines tend to devalue duplicate content in the rankings (i.e. web pages that have the same or similar content to others on the web). That’s why as SEO’s we try to minimize duplicate content as much as possible. So why should status updates on Twitter and Facebook be any different?
In fact, the Twitter integration post on the Bing blog stated that “if a tweet is exactly the same as other Tweets, it will get ranked lower.” In other words, the ranking algorithms will favor the original source (by timestamp, or by account authority) when it encounters any duplicate messages.
So how do you avoid duplicate content with your Twitter and Facebook updates?
- When re-tweeting updates, don’t just add “RT” to the beginning and repost. Instead, change it around a bit and add your own flavor. That way, your tweet or update is more likely to rank in the search engines (and avoid any duplicate content filters).
- Don’t tie your Twitter account with your Facebook so that the same updates go to both (i.e. duplicate content). Instead, write unique messages on the two accounts so that they have the potential to rank in Bing.
6. Build up authority for your profiles so you can rank
How Google and Bing will rank the fire hose of information from Twitter and Facebook is still a question mark. However, it’s likely that the following factors will be heavily considered.
- Relevance to queries
- Quantity and quality of followers (i.e. account authority)
- Quantity and quality of re-tweets for a specific update
- Links to Twitter profile
I suspect that re-tweets will be the currency of Twittersphere, much like links are the currency of the web. Google and Bing will look at who’s retweeting who to determine which updates are the most important. Your best chance at ranking? Build up a Twitter profile with lots of followers and retweets. See my post: How to Harness the Power of Twitter in 4 Easy Steps
What’s even more interesting is how Google and Bing will use the data from Twitter and Facebook to influence the organic search listings, if at all. For example, now that Google is easily able to index the entire Twitter stream, what’s stopping them from using the links on Twitter as a quality signal for web pages? More on that in my next post…
What do you think about the Twitter/Facebook integration into the search results? Big opportunity for online publishers and business owners? Leave a comment with your thoughts and any other notable strategies you have in mind!
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6 Crucial Steps to Prepare Yourself for the Twitter Facebook Real-Time Search Integration
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