Google and Twitter Team Up and Change Search

First there was Bennifer. Then Kimye. Now, there’s Gwitter. Or should we call it Twoogle?

It’s finally happening. Social media and search engines have finally joined forces. Internet marketers have been talking about this for years. Sure, Bing and Facebook have been in cahoots for a while now but Bing gets a bad wrap as a never-used search engine. (Surprisingly 20-percent of the search market share is now attributed to Bing – a slow but steady gain.) Whether this pressure from a decrease in market share inspired Google to explore social media inclusion to its results, or not, this new relationship between Google and Twitter has already changed how we search AND how we see tweets. And for similar reasons, Twitter has most likely felt a similar pressure from Facebook’s continues growth.

With Google and Twitter in cahoots, when users type in their questions or keywords into the Google search bar, once that search has begun, real-time tweets straight from Twitter will populate the results. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

But what is the true impact that this combination of forces will have on those of us using Twitter to boost our communication efforts? What does this mean for your CSR and sustainability content? Twitter just became a far more important tool for communicators and Google just became real-time relevant.  Make sure there is someone on your team who is master of the 140-character limit, understands hashtags (#CSR and #sustainability are easy to incorporate) and knows how to make a shortened URL.

What are other potential impact areas of this powerful duo? Twitter has struggled with its advertising offering for the past few years. We all know that Google is a powerhouse in online advertising. Whether you’ve loved or hated Twitter ads in the past, this partnership will result in powerful promoted tweets visible outside of Twitter to the general online population.  Check out Twitter’s homepage when you are not logged in as an example.

If you haven’t mastered your 140 characters yet, now is the time to do so. Twitter should no longer be treated at a secondary form of communicating your message. These pithy messages are now competing with each and every landing page along with every other tweet similar in content to yours.

At 3BL Media we’re excited as this new development and are awaiting to see how all of this rolls out.  For now, this Google/Twitter integration is available for MOBILE ONLY with promises that the desktop version will be available soon. In the meantime, explore some of these articles speculating what this new relationship could bring to the online search experience:

• Bloomberg Business: Twitter Reaches Deal to Show Tweets in Google Search Results
• Reuters: Twitter and Google strike deal to show tweets in search results -Bloomberg
• Search Engine Land: What Signals From Twitter Does Google Care About?
• DigiDay: 5 things brands should know about the Google-Twitter partnership
• AdAge: What the Twitter-Google Partnership Means for Brands
• CNBC: Twitter bringing 'Promoted Tweets' to other feeds
• The Google-Twitter Deal Goes Live, Giving Tweets Prominent Placement In Google’s Results
• 14 Examples Of The New Tweets Showing Up In Google Search

Image Source: Good 'Ole College Humor