Tweets Appearing in Google for Brand and Personal Search

James Debono

Tweets appearing in Google for Brand and Personal Search.

It seems that the deal that Google struck with Twitter back in February this year, to make it easier to show Tweets on search is finally coming to fruition here in the UK.

On Friday, search results were altered as new additions were being added. Recent tweets were being added to search for Businesses/Brands, individuals and for popular #hashtags. So now not only is your Twitter handle on display, but what you said, and how long ago you said it.

Business / Brand Name Search

Searches for Individuals

Search for Hashtags

Why is this happening?

Google wants to present current search results.

Users want instant results and information about what is happening now and the integration between Google and Twitter means that Google’s search results can display up to date results.

Twitter wants more users on the platform.

From Twitter’s point of view, this will mean that more people will sign up for the micro-blogging platform as people will find links to twitter in more and more places on the web.

What are the benefits to businesses and brands?

Provides additional exposure to companies that have invested in building out their social platforms and developing their audience.

It also means that those that businesses that invest in sponsored tweets will get greater exposure. By Sponsored Tweets I mean paying Twitter for their Tweets to appear in other users timelines but also companies that pay celebrities and other power users to talk about their brand.

This update also has reputation management implications for brands businesses and business leaders as everyone knows how important it is to stay on top of social media. Now your latest twitter conversations are on display if anyone searches for you.

What should you do about it?

In order for this to benefit you, it would be important to keep your social profiles up to date. If the last information that was posted was 12 months ago then it might cause the potential client to ask the question why are they not keeping their information up to date. Can they be trusted to stay on top of my business?

Of course, there is also the fact that negative opinion from current users of your brand can be highlighted to anyone that searches for you.

From an online reputation management point of view the new twitter box takes up a larger amount of space on the search results page meaning that if it can be kept up to date and positive it could be used to great effect to displace any other negative listings that are displayed in search results.

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