10 Google Social Search Optimization Techniques

Two very colorful green and blue birds (tanagers) share food. Most probably one is feeding the other.

The new by default personalized search by Google is a big paradigm shift in SEO.  I’ve already written about the changes personalized search mean for

  • blogging
  • social media
  • search

engine optimization etc. I prefer to call it social search as “personalized” is such a cumbersome word.


Personalized Search Has Been Creeping in

Of course personalized search is nothing new. It has been added step by step over the years. At first search results have been localized.

Thus depending on where you live or from where you search from you’ll get different results. Then Google started to look at your search history to provide similar results.

At last Google started to take notice what you like on social media and thus adjusted your search results to favor these things.

Most people didn’t even notice until they realized that their family members can’t see the same results they see.

We don’t have to change everything but just to focus on things we’ve already done in the past.

These personalized blogging, social media and search techniques must become standard for everybody dealing with the new challenge of social search SEO.

There are no objective rankings anymore. Things can be in the top for me that aren’t even visible for you. Let’s take a closer look.


This is Nothing Spectacular

Most of the tactics listed below aren’t revolutionary. You just have to step up efforts in these common sense directions.

Overall personal search means sites being subjectively regarded as authority sites will win.

At the end of the day you mostly need to make sure your site is viewed by as many people as possible as an authority site.


What Can You Do Exactly?

These people will then click on your search results because they know and trust you already.

This way they will basically implicitly subscribe to your Google results. Google most probably uses clicks on search results for their ranking algorithm by now.

What does it mean? It means that when people click your results and hit your back button it looks as if your site does not deliver to the AI.

1. Link to search results. You can actually link to those Google results you rank at #1 with a page that makes sense. It’s just another Web address.

Don’t make it useless though. Blog about Google search rankings for a particular query for instance.

2. Ask people to search for you on Google. There is nothing wrong to ask your supporters to support you on another platform or in a new environment.

You ask them to follow you on Twitter, ask them to like your site as well. Please search for [seo 2.0] on Google and click on this blog when you are logged in to your Google account.

3. Optimize for subscribers and returning visitors to gain trust and thus for people to click your search results because they trust you.

How to optimize for regular visitors not the causal search and social media visitor?

Add more substance and fewer clickbait headlines, more follow ups and in depth articles.

4. Combine your online activities. Instead of setting up a network of blogs invest time and money into one single flagship blog with one URL and brand.

5. Establish a presence on highly authoritative UGC sites, where people usually click but make sure for them not to outrank you.

Be wary of Wikipedia e.g.

They may outrank you and then some autistic Wikipedia geek might rewrite the item to fit the 90% white, male, nerd agenda.

6. Work together with peers to create Wikis, group blogs, communities and other online social circles that can compete with renowned brands, professional blogs and media outlets for attention through it’s sheer people power.

7. Cut down on provocations. Sadly people love the lowest common denominator. In case you disagree with the status quo they will cease to trust you.

People won’t click on your weirdo website again while searching. A dose of healthy opportunism secures your success on personal search.

8. Write for mass appeal not solely a niche. Advanced SEO is great but most people don’t even get basic SEO let alone know the meaning of the acronym.

Attract larger audiences by content and postings with mass appeal.

That is don’t sell out b posting cat images but rely on niche relevant mainstream topics. Don’t write solely about SEO

9. Join larger business platforms like Linkedin, Ebay or Etsy. It’s a good idea but never forget that you can’t rely on those. Build your brand and reroute your customers to your own online real estate.

10. Don’t use generic names or keywords like another-no-name-seo-blog to get some cheap long tail SEO traffic but rely on personal and other name branding.

My name for instance is difficult to read and remember, thus I came up with onreact, SEO 2.0, Tad Chef as terms you can find me at.


Real Time Search Results

At the same time Google gets personal it also rolled out real time search results. In short you have to

  • be blogging timely
  • get mentioned on Twitter
  • ideally show up in Google News

etc. to circumvent the need to rank as an authority site in personal search.

Either you get through as an authority or as widely referred to site.

The second way may be easier as people refer to crap as well just to point out how bad it is or how much they disagree.

Still in case you’re into long term sustainable SEO 2.0 you probably will prefer the techniques mentioned above.