I am sure all of you have already noticed the personalized search results that Google offer you when you search for something in Google. Search, plus Your World, as the name suggests is traditional search with your world thrown in it. The logic behind this is that traditional search is no longer enough which shows results from the public domain, this is how it has been for a very long time now. But now when you are signed into Google+ you get personalized search results including your own stuff on the web and stories and photograph that your friends and family has shared on the web. Google says, “We’re transforming Google into a search engine that understands not only content, but also people and relationships.” They also add that it is just the start and Google search will continue to evolve so that the search results are more personalized and relevant for each user.
When you find search results from activities that have been shared by friends or family, the article or thread has more meaning to it than if it had been shared by someone unknown to you. The focus here is to increase the relevance of search results with personalization.
Google has taken a major step forward towards search personalization by introduction of 3 new features namely Personal Results, Profiles in Search, and People and Pages.
Personal Results
When you search for something on the web, Google may now show threads from Google+ posts and photographs that have been shared by your friends. Personal stuff is more meaningful and relevant to someone than something impersonal on the net.
Profiles in Search
Very often you see profiles of people shown with the Google search results and a way to add them to your circle to be able to connect with them quickly. You can search for a friend in Google and it suggests results matching the profile and a quick way to add that person to your circle. This is very much like how people have been finding friends on Facebook for a long time now. However, Google lets you do this directly from Google search now.
People & Pages
When you search for something that interests you, you might see prominent people who frequently discuss this topic on Google+ appearing on the right side of the search page. This is a way for you to connect with their community on Google+.
So it is evident that Google is changing and has made drastic changes to how and what results are presented to its audience. The focus is to bring more relevance and personalization to the end user. This will also have implications on how businesses market their products or services to its users. The power of Google search to businesses is not unknown and therefore, businesses that are on top of the search results today will also have to evolve with time. Otherwise, there is a big probability that with time they will slowly be replaced with more relevant ones in the search results. Businesses will have to embrace social media as a marketing tool to stay up with the times.
