In early February, it came to light that Google and Twitter had reached an agreement; following this announcement, nothing further was heard from either Google or Twitter regarding the content of this agreement. This radio silence has now been broken.
In early May, it was revealed that Google and Twitter would be conducting a small experiment; that “small experiment” is now live. During this experiment, Google is displaying Tweets in its mobile search results.
Why are the two internet giants joining forces?
Twitter hopes to benefit from the collaboration from the more than 500 million people who visit the social network each month without logging in. The company is struggling to retain visitors, expand its user database, and thus satisfy investors. With this partnership, their visitor numbers will increase.
For Google, this collaboration is no less important. Google uses a highly advanced algorithm to determine which website occupies which position within the search results. Google indicates that this depends on more than 200 “attributes,” such as website speed, user-friendliness, and content relevance to the search term. Because Google now has access to Twitter’s data feed, they can benefit from even more information (attributes). For instance, Google can track the volume of Tweets and observe user interaction on specific search terms. With this information, Google can determine, among other things:
– Which search terms are popular (# hashtag usage)
– Value of a Tweet (How many people view and interact with a Tweet?)
– Which Twitter users have a lot of influence
– Measuring links and page strength (Links that go to a specific page or links within Twitter itself)
Google can use this data to immediately respond to trending topics and thus provide its users with an optimal search experience!
What does this collaboration mean for us?
At the moment, it is nothing more than an experiment and only available on mobile in America, but it has already been announced that the experiment will also be tested on computers. Personally, I think it won't be long before Twitter messages are fully integrated into search results, as both parties can benefit greatly from this collaboration.
When Twitter messages are fully integrated into search results, I think that would be interesting for entrepreneurs! What entrepreneur wouldn't want to see in real time what resonates with their target audience, interact with them, and respond to this by, for example, running advertisements on trending topics? After all, creating a connection between business and consumer is essential in online marketing, and this collaboration takes a major step forward in the ability to convey “the right message at the right time.”
