We’ve written extensively on this blog about the inclusion of social-media content in search engine results — we even produced a special report for our free SmartBrief on Social Media daily newsletter that focused exclusively on the topic.
But another piece of the social-search puzzle is starting to emerge, as a recent study noted that Facebook is now the top traffic driver to major Web portals and comes in second place in many other categories.
Some experts have posited that social networks are the future of finding content because social sites are simply more enticing that a search bar could ever be. We reach for Google only when we need something — but we look forward to those little trips to Facebook, Twitter and other social destinations. There’s a much higher chance of serendipity with a social platform, as users can stumble upon content that interests them in wholly organic ways.
The question is: How will businesses, nonprofits and other organizations be able to use this trend to make their content more desirable, findable and sharable?
How are you planning to meet the challenge of social search? Does the rise of social search change our relationships with traditional search engines? Do you see the two fields eventually combining somehow?
Image credit, AndrewJohnson, via iStock