Real Time Search Doesn’t Validate Social Media

As I mention in the beginning of all my Internet Marketing classes, Search Engine Marketing (both SEO and PPC) is a completely different form of marketing.  It’s different than most anything we’ve ever known.

Other forms of marketing and advertising tend to interrupt.  Television, radio, magazines, newspapers, and billboards all interrupt in one way or another.  They all blast their message at you, whether you want it or not.

Search engines are different.

With Search Engine Marketing (SEM), the customer blasts us.  They tell us what they want.  It is reverse broadcast marketing.  We just need to be at the right place at the right time.

To illustrate, Search Engine Marketing is more like farming than hunting.  If you build good sites and links, your customers will come to you.  You don’t need to find them and hunt them down any more.

What about Social Media?

It’s different.  It’s more…  well…  social!  Many compare it to being at a party.  People may mention that they are wanting something.  They may even ask others for advice.  But that is just a small part of what they are saying.  They don’t expect to be directly sold on something.

Along comes real time search!

So now, Google is taking content from Twitter, Facebook, Blogs, and putting these comments into search results.  Does that mean that if you want to do well with Search Engine Marketing, you need to be all over social media?  It may seem so.

But not so fast.  Let’s think about this.

For WHICH results is Google showing social media results?  If you type in direct queries for services or products, what will Google show?  Typically, they will show their paid and natural listings.  Sometimes they show local or news results.

But for services and products, they will seldom show real time (social media) results.

When do they show up?

They only show up for subjects that are being talked about a lot.  Don’t believe me?  Over the past few weeks, real time results show up for “Tiger Woods Mistress” and “Google Nexus One Phone”.  They typically won’t show up for “Charlotte Dentist” or “Wii game” or “Internet Marketing Training”.

Sorry Social Media Experts…

I believe in using social media.  After all, I teach a two-day class with Brandon Uttley on it.  But Google’s real time search does not validate the value and need to do social media.

Use social media to network, build awareness, and communicate.

But don’t expect Google to send potential customers to Twitter or Facebook.  They’d rather have your customers click on the Google listings (especially the paid ones).

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