Google has updated its search results, including more information related to a users’ social connections, including Twitter and Facebook, in its search results.
The new changes will apply to anyone who searches when logged into their Google account, and will begin to roll out across all English language Google sites this week.
First launched two years ago, Social Search results used to appear at the bottom of the page but now they will appear anywhere in the search results based on the relevance of the links.
This social circle comprises of social networks like Twitter, Facebook, FriendFeed or LinkedIn along with websites linked in user’s Google Profile, and also the Contacts list in Gmail.
Adding Social Network links and content was already started with Bing and then immediately Google followed the same.
In order to throw more personalised search results, Google has been making changes in its search engine and pretty much everything that is connected to it like the user’s account and location.
Google first introduced some measure of social relevancy in search results in October 2009, when it started keeping track of links and social connections for its Labs program.
Then in January 2010 Google provided social search results for all users and soon after introduced Google Buzz, which lets you communicate or share pictures and video with friends or all.
Social search results at that time appeared at the bottom of the page but now they will be mixed in with the general search results and made more prominent, depending on the relevancy to that user. Google explained in a blog post that search results are not only about factual information but also about relationships, so if a search result is relevant to your social connections, “we’ll bump up that post with a note and a picture.”
A Google spokesman explained further in an emailed statement that “We’ve written algorithms designed to surface social results when relevant to your search”. The spokesman said the social changes have been introduced slowly through Google Labs, then as a beta feature displaying results at the bottom of the test page, to make sure social results show up only when relevant to the search.
This is definitely the way search needed to go. It’s going to reveal highly relevant and up to date search results – from what’s really happening at the moment.
The challenge of course is to keep the search results purposeful from all these mediums – rather than returning chit chat.