Since late 2009 when Google introduced real time search, the concept has gained a lot of attention.
Today, real time search is at the top of the priority lists for all the major search engines – Google, Bing and Yahoo!.
As part of the new technology, Google is combining live updates from sites like Twitter with the latest news headlines and blog posts in search results.
For web searchers, real time search means the ability to discover breaking news the minute it’s happening.
For marketers, it presents a whole host of opportunities to increase online visibility. Here, we’ve provided five ways to leverage real time search in your online marketing efforts.
1. Develop the type of content that supports real time SEO
With real time search, frequently publishing online content becomes a must. Try incorporating these three types of content to support both traditional and real time SEO programs:
- Tweets and Facebook fan page updates: Micro content from social sites now has the ability to appear in search results. It’s quick and easy to frequently post Tweets and Facebook fan pages updates, so both should play a big role in your real time SEO content strategy.
- Blog posts: Blogging presents the opportunity to help your content rank and show thought leadership at the same time – since blog posts can offer more valuable information than micro content.
- Optimized press releases: By optimizing press releases and submitting them through authoritative newswires, you can help your content achieve high rankings.
2. Mobilize your fan base
Creating a core group of brand advocates is important for a number of reasons. They recommend your products and services to their friends and family, defend your reputation in times of trouble and are more likely to adopt future products and services you introduce.
Now add one more benefit to the list: Brand advocates – particularly authoritative ones – can link to your content to help keep in the real time stream.
In addition, brand advocates who are active on social sites like Twitter can create their own content about your company that can appear in real time search results.
3. Know what’s hot in the news
With real time search, it’s important to recognize both what users are searching for online and what they’re discussing via social channels – at this very minute. Create frequently updated content that speaks to the latest topics and trends, and is optimized for the latest search terms.
A variety of tools exist to help monitor search and conversation trends:
- Google Trends: Use this free tool to find the hottest topics and hottest searches in Google
- Social Mention: Determine the strength, sentiment and reach for terms used throughout the social web, including blogs, microblogs, social networks, video sites and news sites
- BlogPulse: Find the top blog posts, key phrases, new stories and more from across the search universe or related a specific topic
- Delicious: See the types of content that goes wild across the social web
- Trendistic: Learn trending topics in Twitter over the last 24 hours, week, month or more (see image below)
Trendistic shows “online marketing” trends over the past 30 days.
4. Time your content promotion efforts wisely
Give your content an extra boost by monitoring when blog posts, articles and other online content are indexes in Google News or Google Blog Search. Then ensure tweets, Facebook fan page updates and other social content promotions are timed right after the content is indexed. Doing so will help you take advantage of every opportunity to appear in real time search results.
5. Optimize your web site and online content for mobile technologies
Real time search is relevant on many mobile devices, including Android and iPhone devices. So Web site optimization for mobile technologies becomes even more important.
Consider these few mobile SEO tips:
- Limit the use of images
- Keep the design simple and clean
- Test to ensure your site appears as it should across various mobile devices
The bottom line is, it’s crucial to take advantage of every real time search opportunity that comes around. Remember that these opportunities won’t stick around for long – presenting themselves quickly and then disappearing. It is real time, after all.
Have you implemented real time SEO into your online marketing mix? Tell us what best practices you’ve found so far.
