Google has transcended its origins as merely a search engine. It’s now integrating social cues significantly influencing content exposure across various Google platforms, such as Search, News, and YouTube.

This transformation demands brands to reimagine the essence of SEO in the present and future landscapes. The article delves into Google’s expansion into an ecosystem of surfaces and the importance of followership for enhanced visibility. Additionally, it offers preliminary insights for brands seeking to augment their followership on Google.

Google’s Evolution: Embracing Discovery Over Search

Over the past four years, Google has undergone a significant metamorphosis:

It has shifted from providing mere answers to guiding users through comprehensive journeys.

From focusing solely on search queries to facilitating searches without explicit queries.

Transitioning from text-based results to prioritizing visual content.

This transformation marks Google’s transition from a mere search engine to a complex surface ecosystem dedicated to predicting and fulfilling user needs. This evolution allows Google to engage and influence individuals even before they initiate a search. Consider the many influential surfaces extending beyond the traditional Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). Google now encompasses:

E-commerce functionalities via Google Lens, Shopping, and Buy on Google features.

A robust business directory through Google Maps.

Aggregation services across various industries are seen in Google News, Google for Jobs, and Google Travel.

A personal assistant, particularly with the anticipated integration of Bard into Google Assistant.

However, Google’s latent social networking feature is the pivotal functionality that holds immense potential to profoundly impact every brand and shape future visibility across all surfaces.

Google’s Ascending Social Network Realm

While the Perspectives tab in search may spotlight content akin to social networks, I suspect Google has grander aspirations beyond this.

Despite Google+’s demise, I’m convinced Google still harbors ambitions to establish itself as a premier social network.

Consider this: Google already encompasses every hallmark feature of its social media rivals:

• Vertical video via YouTube Shorts.
• Embracing stories on the broader web.
• A For You Page (FYP) within Google Discover, treating webpages akin to social posts.
• Engagement metrics like likes via the heart button within Google Discover.
• Comments facilitated by the new Notes feature in Search Labs.
• Sharing capabilities integrated into Google Chrome.
• Personalization algorithms hinged on topical engagement, especially with the recent inclusion of website visit frequency ranking, akin to entrusting the algorithm to guide repeated visits.
• Details about creators, including social handles, follower counts, content popularity in search results, and recent avatar guidance.
• Conversational capabilities, albeit with AI, via Bard and the converse feature in SGE. However, Google’s primary social asset is Discover.

Regarding monthly active users (MAUs), YouTube’s 2.7 billion trails are only behind Facebook’s 3 billion. With Discover’s last MAU report in 2018 at 800 million, it likely rivals TikTok’s 1.1 billion or Instagram’s 2.3 billion, surpassing X’s 528 million and LinkedIn’s 310 million.

Furthermore, Discover offers immense brand value. Discover isn’t a realm for endless scrolling or amassing clicks, unlike many social platforms. Instead, it presents a limited number of highly personalized posts that prompt users to delve deeper.

This, precisely, is Discover’s forte—delivering concentrated and targeted value. Hence, being featured in Google Discover can wield a substantial and laser-focused impact.

Google champions optimization for Discover and advocates diverse experiences to amass surface followership.

Embracing Google Followership: Charting New Territories

Google has initiated the rollout of the Follow button within search results, enabling users to subscribe to topics directly within their Google profile. This action amplifies the chances of encountering related content across various Google domains, including Discover and search results. Additionally, users might receive pertinent push notifications via the Google app.

However, this is merely one facet of the various features available across Google’s diverse surfaces:

Google News: Employing the following star in Google News triggers visibility in the sources box, the revamped Google News following tab, and the “From publishers you follow” feature on SERPs.

Google Shopping: Favoriting a brand in Google Shopping enhances visibility for that brand’s offerings.

Google Maps: Following brands and local guides on Google Maps yields updates within the maps in the following tab.

Google Chrome: The Chrome Browser’s follow button enables following websites, influencing the content within the following tab through compatible RSS feeds.

Google Mobile App: Following favorite sports teams on the mobile app results in game reminders and updates impacting Discover’s personalization.

Knowledge Panel on SERPs: Following an entity via the bell icon on its Knowledge Panel influences Discover and other surfaces.

Consolidation seems imperative for Google. Nevertheless, the company encourages users to follow content across its surfaces, hinting at further developments. Chrome flags offer enhancements for the Following and the New tab pages, signifying an evolution in Google’s desktop homepage after two decades.

It won’t remain a mere search box against a white backdrop; it will encompass Discover and other cards, transforming into a hub for search or discovery journeys akin to its mobile counterpart.

To secure a presence on this forthcoming Google homepage (both mobile and desktop), fostering audience engagement and cultivating robust followership on Google surfaces will be pivotal.

As Google amplifies its followership, potential outcomes might include:

Increased emphasis on content visibility from followed brands across all Google surfaces.

Employing followership as a broader visibility signal to bolster the algorithm’s grasp of E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness).

After all, followership plays a role in numerous existing social algorithms.

Maximizing Visibility Across Google’s Diverse Landscape

Google’s evolution stretches beyond conventional search, branching into content discovery and social media capabilities.

It’s crucial to shift perceptions of Google from solely a search engine to recognizing it as a robust network interlinking surfaces like YouTube, Maps, News, Discover, and beyond.

Brands must recalibrate strategies, extending beyond search traffic optimization and embracing visibility and followership across Google’s multifaceted product ecosystem.

The once-clear boundaries between search and social media are fading rapidly. Embrace this shift and pioneer the optimization of followership within Google’s sphere. Now’s the time to act and navigate this emerging landscape.

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