Real Time Search Results From Google
A few weeks ago Google announced they were rolling out their much anticipated real time search function. While some in the community are excited to see how they can implement real time search results into their SEO program, others aren’t so optimistic.
How Does Google Real Time Search Work? Google real time search delivers results by crawling various “Social” sites such as Twitter, Yahoo Answers, Facebook, news articles, Digg, MySpace, etc…Along with a link to the content, Google shows how long ago the particular comment was posted. There are also options to pause the list to keep if from refreshing. Additionally, Google will only display this new feature if it has a “real time component”.
The algorithm for this new real time search feature is relatively unknown. I would imagine that their is individual algorithm for each source i.e a twitter algorithm, a digg algorithm etc. There should also be a separate algorithm that chooses the most reliable source for the keyword. Example: A keyword like “Technology News” might give more weight to Digg as opposed to another source. More news on this as the SEO community obtains more insight.
The benefits of a real time search component are obvious. Some examples are ski conditions, breaking news, surf information, tide conditions for fishing, etc…The possibilities are vast. Amongst all these benefits, however, are some potentially problematic issues. The most obvious one is spam. Twitter, Digg, and other social sites have been battling spam since their inception. The question becomes not how to stop the spam, but rather who should stop it. Do Twitter and Digg have to tighten the reins or is it Google’s responsibility to filter out spam through their algorithms? My personal opinion is that the responsibility lies with Google, however, I’m sure Google will be pressuring the most influential social sites to clean up their spam if they want to be included in real time search results.
Aside from the spam is the following concern:
Twitter Down...Again
Twitter is constantly going down due to “over capacity” issues. While Google could be given priority over users in Twitter’s API, this is not a guarantee. My personal opinion is that Google will not be granted priority as this will decrease much needed leverage to drive up the sell value of Twitter. This would potentially force Google to increase their bid to acquire Twitter.
The final negative to real time search from Google is the monopoly they are creating. Let’s face it- Google is the beast in the search community. If an independent site invests the time and resources to come up with a good idea to improve search, it is likely that same feature appears on Google in the near future. That being said, independent real time search sites such as OneRiot and Topsy, will take a huge traffic hit. Granted, some users will prefer the clean cut interface those sites offer, but Google is set up to potentially knock these sites off the radar. While business is business, this reality reduces the number of 3rd party developers who will invest their time and resources. Those 3rd party developers are an important part of the internet community as a whole, and should be protected as such.
All in all, real time search from Google will make numerous improvements to search functionality. It will also change the ways in which users interact and search through social media. While the majority of this post hinges on the negatives of this new feature, their are major benefits which cannot be overlooked. Spam filled or not, I will be checking ski conditions over the Christmas holiday using Google’s new real time search feature!
Have a different opinion? Think I’m crazy? Challenging the opinions of fellow SEO’s in the community is one of our greatest strengths. Please post in the comments or send an email to webmaster at SEO Lair dot com.
Related posts:
- Google’s Twitter Algorithm
- Google Caffeine: Speed Now For Rankings Tomorrow
- Google Vs. Bing: Search Engine Wars – Part 1
- Google OneBox – Integrated Search Optimization
- Showing Success Outside Of Core SEO Metrics
I enjoyed this post. I also agree with your conclusions. There are better ways to tame the real-time stream of data. TipTop http://FeelTipTop.com is my preferred search tool for such data. I also do all my online shopping there.
This is great in terms of seo. Nada appears to rag upon it than this.