Is Social Search Really Better?
By Kurt Steinbrueck
June 15, 2011 
4 Comments
Frank Reed has a great article over at WebProWorld about social search. In it he asks the question of how helpful social search really is if the social signals are coming from Facebook friends you barely know, Twitters you have never met, or even random people with whom you aren’t actually friends or a follower.
Frank thinks it’s a matter of trust and suggests that the way social search is evolving it does not really get signals from people we trust, as with the scenario described above. So, he concludes:
“I don’t hold out much hope for social search for someone like me. It may be fun and it might make me see things a bit differently in a particular instance, but it’s not something I will dive into.”
Personally, I think it all depends how it’s done. Afterall, if Bing or Google show who liked a page, then I can determine how much I trust that signal. If the person (or people) who liked the page is someone I’m really only a vague acquaintance of, then I may not place much value in it, but if it was liked by a close friend or someone I know has particular knowledge of the subject, then I would place great value on the “like”. Either way, if social signals are going to effect search signals, then as an SEO, I care.
You can read Frank’s article at:
http://www.webpronews.com/social-search-2011-05
What do you think?
Do social signals help search results?
Kind of like you said, Kurt. If a person you know well–and respect and agree with on the subject–likes the page, then yes, it could very well help.
On the other hand, I would pay no attention whatsoever to a "like" from someone I hardly knew or someone that I disagree with regarding the topic at hand. And as a person running my own business I am connected with lots of folks on FB, Twitter and LI, some of whom I don't know at all or know only through a business relationship.
It will be interesting, especially if it starts affecting SEO, that's for sure.
I agree completely, Pam.
Would it effect your decision if a lot of people you didn't know liked or tweeted about a page? For example, if the info didn't indicate that anyone you know liked / tweeted about the page, but 100,000 other people did?
I apologize for never getting back here and responding. Actually, this came up just now in a search I did!
To answer your long-ago-asked question, Kurt, the number of folks liking something doesn't really affect my decision. With 100,000 there would obviously be a ton that actually liked it., but in a smaller figure, how many are friends/coworkers/neighbors/family members, etc., of the page's owner or author and liking it only for that reason? (And then there's reciprocal liking.) And I have no idea with strangers how their likes, interests, beliefs, etc., are compared to mine. And as for people I know, some family members liking something would make me dislike it…LOL!
I have a few very close friends for whom I know their interests, likes, beliefs, etc. For them, I would take a serious look at anything they liked, but it would never be an automatic like for me.
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