The SEO community has been buzzing about the development of a new kind of search for the last year or so. With the rise of social media sites in popularity, things like real time Twitter search results have had a major influence on the way internet users think of search. This has consequently had an influence on Google and, ultimately, will change the way that search engine optimisation works in the future.

What is real time search?

Real time search is a twist on traditional search. In the past, the main relevance factor in search results has been subject matter. Internet users type in a search query, and the results are listed in order of sites that have the most relevance to that query. Of course, factors like the quality of the site and popularity also play a part, but the main emphasis has been on subject.

Real time search places the emphasis on time as a relevance factor. Whereas before an internet user was presented with the web page that best fitted their search query, with real time search the best page to fit the query also has to have recent information. Or, at least this is the theory. As it is emerging, the more relevant factors at the moment are whether you appear in real time Twitter search results and other social media.

The evolution of real time search

The primary driving factor of real time search has been the social media sites, with things like real time Twitter search results. It began with Facebook, where people could access their friends' status updates to keep in touch. Twitter, the micro-blogging social media site, took that a step further, allowing users to blog their news, which then appeared in real time Twitter search results. In placing an emphasis on real time, Twitter search results allow internet users to access updates within seconds of events happening.

Real time Twitter search results are an extension of the increasing power of the masses when it comes to news. Where once the average person on the street had to access or issue news through the medium of a journalist and newspaper, these days anyone can make the news. Real time Twitter search results are an outcome of this. The average Joe sees something on the street, posts it to his Twitter account, and seconds later it becomes news through real time Twitter search results.

Google realtime search

There was a significant change in late 2009 with Google realtime search. The company had made several attempts to keep up with the desire with variations of lesser Google realtime search, such as instant news updates or the 'recent results' feature which has been around for a while. This new version of Google realtime search, however, is a lot more focussed on social media, paying particular attention to real time Twitter search results and other social media results.

Google realtime search places a real emphasis on social media and news in search. Google partnered up with Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and FriendFeed among others for the new search feature. The company's announcement of the search feature strongly emphasised the ability to search just for social media feeds, an indication that Google thinks that social media is increasing in influence over the internet population.

Google realtime search isn't just about time. It has also presented a chance for the search engine to tackle another challenge, that of mobility. The Google realtime search was designed with iPhone and Android in mind, so that it can be used across the board.

How real time search has caused SEO headaches

Some SEO experts have worried that Google realtime search is going to leave the SEO industry in the shade. This is the cry that goes up after every time the search engine giant makes a significant change to its search behaviour. It is sometimes a valid alarm, but the outcome with Google realtime search is likely to be the same as every other search engine change. Namely, SEO experts are going to have to refine their techniques even further, and sites will ultimately come out better than before the change.

The problem at the moment is that, being so new to the mix, Google realtime search is an unknown factor. The SEO industry was just beginning to grasp the different factors involved in things like real time Twitter search results when Google changed the game. There are some things the SEO industry already knows. Google realtime search appears to involve social media updates as a separate section of the search results, as is logical. It doesn't make much sense to mix the tweet 'Hey I just saw Saw XII' with a movie review from the Times. This means your pages, at least for the moment, are still appearing as they always did.

Real time search takes up yet more room at the top of the page, risking the fact that regular organic results will be pushed down below the fold. This is a needless worry. Internet users who are interested in web pages will scroll down to the organic results just as they have done with video, news and image results.

Google didn't make the change just to annoy the average site owner. It came from an increasing pressure from internet users for real time search. The separateness of real time Twitter search results is a boon for any business already working a Twitter campaign. Having your tweets feature on Google realtime search as well as the real time Twitter search results is a part of a smart business' SEO campaign. It is an addition, not a subtraction.

What should you do about real-time search?

Real time search is yet another extension to traditional search. Traditionally, search was based on an internet user typing in a very simple query into the search engines, which would then go through their database to return the most relevant results to those one or two words. Over time, search got more sophisticated, with quality becoming a more important factor, then the influence of the site being listed, then longer and longer search terms. Then images and videos got introduced to main search results, then news. Real time search is the next step in the evolution. Talk to our consultants at SEO Consult to step into the future of search.