The Steve Rubel Stream

Insights on emerging technologies and trends.

Google Prioritizes Real-Time Results Over Official Twitter Accounts

It used to be easy to find an official Twitter account. You'd go to Google, type in the name of the company or celebrity or product and the official (or squatted) Twitter account using that proper noun came out on top. Not any more.

As of this writing if you Google up any company name or celebrity - even a dead one - and also include the word Twitter, Google will now prioritize a real-time stream of results over the official presence. This basically bumps anyone down slightly who was hoping to set up a Twitter account for SEO. A gallery of examples follows. 

Oh and it's not just big names either. It applies to me as well.

       
Click here to download:
Google_Prioritizes_Real-Time_R.zip (321 KB)

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Posted 2 months ago
6 comments
Dec 21, 2009
Sam said...
Good post nice know info, amazing when we stop and think about it just how much information is going to be left behind by each and every one of us due to the invention and daily use of social media and Google! Nothing is going to be secret and our kids will be known across the world before they even know how to use a computer!
Dec 21, 2009
Hans Wobbe said...
An interesting insight. Thanks for posting it.
Dec 22, 2009
I think this makes sense. At first I was surprised to read this, so I tried it myself and got similar results. It seems to search for relevant info within the "Twitter realm', as your Rosemary Clooney search confirms, and that is a good thing, especially if it is not just limited to recent posts.

It makes sense because it helps users find the info or content, rather than just the person/brand - and I really like the fact that the search result will reflect the quality and relevance of the content.

Great post Steve - great year of posts in fact, thanks for livening up my inbox every other day! :-) Happy Holidays

Bernard Dahl

Dec 23, 2009
Robyn Hawk said...
Good to know - thanks Steve!
Dec 23, 2009
amolpatil2k said...
This is a mistake. Google is a FAIL in this aspect. Overdependence on keywords is a roadmap thing. Until 90% people revolt, they'll stick to keywords. Because Google is all about ads not search. I am not going to throw any semantic arguments and say Google should change. I am simply proposing some sort of browser plugin which helps us manipulate search results on Google's own page and share it with others. Google would soon get a taste of its own medicine.
Mar 02, 2010
JacobBabcock said...
I enjoy these new real time results. To see what people are currently saying about it is a huge deal and should be prioritized over normal twitter accounts.

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