The Constant of Change: Real Time Update

by Tim Kilroy | October 8, 2009 10:24 am

Real time search is a game changer, and marketers must begin to master the art of frequency if they want to remain competitive and visible.

Natural search is always changing. And the past few weeks have been no exception. We’ve seen an essential takeover of Yahoo search by Bing, and we’ve seen Google unfurl a new natural search infrastructure with its preview of Google Caffeine. But the most striking change in search (and this is undoubtedly part of the Caffeine update) is the increased indexing speed and visibility of near real time search. On every Google search, there is a spot on the top left of the page for search options.

When you choose options, a new world of search opens. Gone is the staid old world of authoritative Google search results, and you are welcomed into a world full of choices. These new options include “Recent Results” which has been around for a few months, but the truly exciting change comes from the “Past Hour”. For the first time, you can look into the real time web. Google, with its caffeine update, is now able to index huge swaths of the internet in under an hour. Aside from the outrageous geek kudos Google should get (I am sure that this is a problem that has greater complexity than a moon shot) this update has a profound effect on internet marketers.

You might think that real time (or, to be more accurate, near real time) search is some sort of minor wrinkle in the evolution of search, but it is a complete game changer. Suddenly, the highest visibility search positions are shared amongst the current algorithmic search results (the current results of a search query), all of the “universal” search results (videos, blogs, news, etc.) and now, real-time results. So, exactly how does this change the game for marketers? Fundamentally, it adds an element of frequency of updates for marketers to insure that they are at the top of the real time results…even for branded searches. Adding content frequently can be a huge challenge for marketers.

In order to thrive in the world of real time, marketers must change how they release information. Rather than large pushes of branding information (like, “What’s New for Fall”) that have a long shelf life, the communication will become more incremental (“What’s new Today!”). Managing incremental content updates can be a real challenge for marketers, but in order to stay competitive and visible in real time search, marketers must begin to master the art of frequency.

Some specific ways marketers can stay on top of the frequency curve are:

Blogging and Social Networking: Keeping in touch with your customers through bite size communication (rather than a catalog drop for instance) on a blog or Twitter posting can keep you fresh and relevant not only to your customers, but search engines, too. Rockler does a nice job of keeping their content fresh through their blog and social networking efforts.
Promotions: Launching a promotion is a terrific way to get visibility. Bloomingdale’s is at the top of the real time results at this writing because of a promotion for 25% to 40% off fall fashions.
News Items: While news items are easier for publishers like Forbes because that is their core competency, other marketers can leverage regular press releases to stay at the top of the real time listings.
Customer Forums: SaltWaterFish.com has a vibrant and thriving forum. The constant flow of questions and answers around reef and marine fish keeps SaltWaterFish.com at the very top of the real time results

These kinds of tactics are a switch for many marketers. Real time search is much more about a feed of information rather than a quarterly wave. Frequency is a critical component to staying in the real time eye.

Search is always changing. Consumers are adapting new methods of search, and are looking for new ways to explore and interact and discover new brands. And real time search is just the start…

Tim Kilroy is Vice President of Natural Search at PM Digital.

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