With the recent changes Google implemented that shows tweets directly within the search results, it is more important than ever that you think about what you tweet. Your tweets now have a chance of showing up when someone searches for your brand, name, product, service, etc., and these tweets show up at the very top of search results. This means they will most likely get clicked and viewed before your web pages and other content. Following are some key points you should consider when tweeting:
Are basic conversations you have on Twitter going to take away from your conversion?
A basic @reply tweet like, “Hey thanks for drinks tonight”, or something similar, may show up in a Google search when potential clients are searching for your brand. Does your brand, service or product have anything to do with going out for drinks? If not, what will your clients and customers think? Is this really the first impression you want to leave them with?
Are links you post sending your potential clients AWAY from you?
Now this is a big one, and one that I am trying to evaluate for myself as well. I post links all the time on Twitter to other resources/websites. These tweets with links now have the potential to show up in the top of Google when searching for your brand/name. Think of what could possibly happen if a user, searching for your brand, see’s your tweets at the top of the search results and clicks on the link you tweeted. You just may lose that client because they now clicked on a link that is associated with your name but actually takes them to a page that has nothing to do with your company.
Are your non-business tweets hurting you?
Again, another one I struggle with, since I tweet both about business related stuff and non-business related stuff. While the non-business related stuff is always clean and friendly, it is not targeted to my brand and I am pretty sure if a potential client searches Google for my brand and sees these types of tweets at the top of the results, they will be completely confused.
Following is a screen shot of a search on one of our brand names that illustrates some of these concerns.
While I have no concerns of my conversation with Kathy and I think she has built a solid Twitter presence for herself, I have to think about how a potential client would respond when seeing this in Google search results for my business. Will they click Kathy’s name and be taken to her Twitter account? That would be great for Kathy, but could the potential client misunderstand that Kathy’s Twitter account is the Go Smart account? Now imagine if a conversation you have with someone who doesn’t have a solid or professional Twitter profile shows up in Google for your brand. Imagine if the potential client clicks on that person’s name and see’s some not-so-appealing stuff.
Now let’s look at the second example. Again, a tweet that I have no concerns of and one that actually links to a very valuable blog post. BUT again, as a business owner, I have to consider how this may confuse a potential client or send them AWAY from our company and services. A potential client will most likely click on this link and be taken to a page that has nothing to do with Go Smart Solutions or our services. Can we say “confusion”?
You have to remember that you and I and whoever else is reading this is probably aware of and understand these latest changes, but your everyday person (clients, consumers) are in a completely different world and have no idea about this stuff. All they know is, all of a sudden, these scrolling results are now sometimes showing at the top of their searches.
See my other posts about similar topics
- Is Real Time Search REALLY a Good Idea?
- Are You Ready For Google Search Changes
- Google Search Sidebar
- Twitter is Important For SEO
- This is for all of those long-tail SEO skeptics
- Have you seen Google’s new search options?
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Go Smart Solutions, LLC |
Great article thanks for sharing....this should change the way people tweet....if they know...
Regards
Rick Goates
Website
Great post. I think I will re-blog it so that more people see this. Spend all that time working on positive money making brand and then mess it with "goof off stuff on tweets". This was my first hesitation to get too involved with it -- when it does mix the business and personal.
Glad you brought this up. I've just begun to tweet.
I knew there was a reason I never took off as a twitter tweeter.
Well I guess I might have to do some tweeting! Good info! Thanks
Thanks for the post!! Really informative! I do not have a twitter account yet, but hope to sometime in the future! Happy Holidays!
Nice tip and I will have to watch myself with this as I get into tweeting more.
I am all over the map on tweets. I mix business with tech comments, fun posts etc. Makes you think!
Misty - I noticed this a few weeks ago when I Googled my own name and saw some of my past AR comments - and then they get tweeted automatically.
It surprised me and tells me that ANYTHING I write may end up in a search result - so I am gun shy about anything personal when tweeting, which I rarely do now.
Now I want to know how you do that? I mean where on Google and where on twitter. Good article
Msity,
Good point, however.........I really think you should always present your "real" self online. If you are presenting a "persona" are you being authentic?
BTW: I have family in SLO!
Maybe its also time to have more than one twitter account so the personal stuff with the kids doesn't get mixed in with the biz.
Being aware what you post on Twitter is highly advisable! Everyone should be Googling themselves on a weekly basis to see what surfaces, my individual tweets don't populate unless you use my twitter handle, but you do get a link to my twitter account when Googlin my name.
Very good advice!
This is very true no matter if you use Twitter, Facebook, etc. Everything that we put online is a reflection of our brand. Thanks for the very important reminder.
Very good post and reminder. I like the google juice...just don't want to get 'juiced' by it!
Thanks for sharing your experience. I have google alerts set so that I am aware of the kind of things google can and will pick up.
Laura I am considering doing that and on my company brand only tweet company news, updates, blog posts and specials. I really don't tweet about kids or family on my Twitter account though. I do however tweet other peoples links.
Hi Dena - What a small world. I have meet a few others here on AR that have family in SLO too. I agree about being authentic but what I worry about is now that your tweets show up in the top of Google organic search for your brand name, someone searching your brand may click a tweet and be taken somewhere that has nothing to do with your brand and be completely confused. Lost business opportunity. This wasn't an issue imo when tweets were not being displayed at the top of Google results because people would have had to go to Twitter to search for tweets around my brand name. If someone is going directly to Twitter they somewhat understand the platform and what they will get. When someone is searching Google, they are looking for information and random tweets that have nothing to do with your brand (the information they are looking for) could confuse the consumer and loose you business. That is where I am struggling with this.
Terri - I love that saying "I like the google juice...just don't want to get 'juiced' by it!". That pretty much sums up exactly how I felt when I wrote this post.
Also to note, it seems AR automatically forwards your blog posts to Twitter...
Thanks so much for the heads up about Twitter and what consumers may see.
I always think it is important what you tweet, blog, comment, etc
have a great day
tony
Yes it is amazing how many tweets I get as Google Alerts.
So like always be careful and tweet what you only want the world to know.
Should help with the monumental " I am at the park", " I just finished my second bowl of lobster stew" edge of your chair tweets.
Misty, while I share your concern with what could show up in Google search from Twitter, the depth at which people may search on you to that extent is probably overblown. We do have to remember it is all out there though.
Gary - not so overblown. We get over 400 unique visits per month from people searching our brand name and hundreds of those uniques are from the exact gosmart4u search. These visits are golden because they are people who are already aware of us and searching Google for more information about our company/brand. I don't want to loose these golden visits to tweets that show up and point to material that is not relevant to our brand. Every brand who gets visits from their name should be aware and concerned about this.
Well my 2 for 1 shots Tweet to a great place in Las Vegas (Don't drink and Tweet!) never showed up on the search results under my site in Google search... if it did... I would just delete the tweet.
:)
The thing is like nuclear energy. It can do great good or great damage depending on how smart you utilize it. It is a huge double edged sword.
Misty, Appreciate both the post and the comments. Going to check what I've already put out on the web and make sure it's giving the impression I want people to see. Of course I want the real me to come through...but the professional side.
Hi Misty,
This is a great post. I did read it before today:) It's important to be aware of the changes being made with Google's integration of real time search. I normally use Twitter now as a business branding platform and my Facebook personal account as more of the conversation/relationship building stuff. Seeing your screenshot....I do retweet and redirect to other posts. I will have to do some thinking moving forward about how I want to do that...how often that is.
** THIS POST IS FEATURED IN THE E-PRO INTERNET MARKETING GROUP**
Hi Rebecca - Yeah I am using FB more for my conversation/relationship building stuff too.
I am customizing an open source url shortener that I am going to install on one of our servers. It shortens urls but will also allow you to have the url (page) wrapped in a frame similar to how hootsuite and digg url shorteners works. I am tweaking it so we can have the frame branded with our company information and call to actions. At least then when we tweet other urls that are not ours, a consumer who clicks on it from a Google search for our brand name will see a page surrounded by our branding. Hopefully this will make things less confusing for consumers looking for us but also allow us to continue tweeting other relevant, helpful links. After I have the tweaks worked out, I can hook you up with one for your branding too. It comes with click tracking and other stats too.
It really is crazy what will pop up on google these days. I'm always thinking twice these days before I post anything. Happy New Year!
Great post! I have been revamping my twitter plan because of the new changes.
Great to know! Thanks for the info.
Amy Donley
I like that AR forwards my postings to Twitter, but I really don't Tweet that much. Thanks for the advice that if I do tweet more---be careful!
Great point. Didn't know Google was doing that...
Wonderful suggestions, especially for those like me who are still in the process of really figuring out the ins and outs of twitter. Thanks for the post!