The Future of Search – “Google it” or “Facebook it” ?

January 22, 2014 - 3 minutes read - Blog, SEO, Social Media

When we think of online search, a few names come to mind… Yahoo, Bing, and — of course — the grand daddy of them all: Google. Yet, did you know that index search (like Google, Yahoo and Bing) only accounts for 50% of all online search? Yes, that’s right… HALF. So how does the other 50% of internet traffic discover your site?

Will Social Media Direct More Traffic Than Search Engines in 2014?

According to Search Engine Journal, web users are increasingly turning to apps and social media to find the content they desire. “The sites that dominate page one of Google are SEO’d to the max [and] cost serious dollars,” Site Pro News explains. Worse yet, quality content is being determined by a computer — not a human being. Social media, on the other hand, sends recommendations based on user interaction and engagement.

Facebook Prepares To Dominate Search

Last year, Facebook Graph Search and Facebook Hashtags debuted to compete with Google searches. These strategic moves also helped the company better track the interests of its many users. All the likes, favorites, ads clicked, searches viewed and hashtags used are all being tracked. Facebook announced they are also tracking the number of clicks quality articles are getting so they can offer you the content people most want to read. This is valuable information for app developers, advertisers and the overlords of Facebook alike. In the end, the goal is to deliver a more tailored, helpful experience to you, the consumer.

Search & Social Media Work In Tandem

We doubt social media search will ever fully replace our old friend, keyword search. Research suggests that the two are an inseparable pair.  Kenshoo found that using Google search ads and sponsored Facebook content together increased average order values 24 percent and drove click-through rates up 7 percent. Furthermore, Brafton found that social network drives more conversions than any other medium, with 38 percent of consumers saying they’ve made a purchase after first interacting with the products or services on Facebook.

The Final Word:

It’s undeniable that there is a massive shift happening before our eyes. While Google is — and will always be — incredibly important with a huge market share in search, there are billions of social media users looking for answers too. For this reason, businesses NEED a presence on social media sites like Facebook because more people are bypassing keyword searches to find updates on products and services via social media pages instead. It’s simply not enough to have your name listed there. Your site needs to be active and valuable to consumers. Otherwise, you may find yourself left in the dust. Contact Mod Girl Marketing to ramp up your social media and search engine presence.

Tags: bing, Facebook, facebook search, Google, Google Search, graph search, index search, keyword search, Seo, Social Media, social media search, Social Search, yahoo