Facebook vs. Google
Research company Hitwise just reported that Facebook passed Google as the most visited website in the USA last week. Facebook had 7.07% of all visits to the web and Google had 7.03%. The bigger side to this story is that Facebook’s traffic is growing at rapid rates while Google’s traffic has more or less plateaued.
This has enormous implications for online marketing. What this says is that people trust Friend Results more than Google Search Results. This may be obvious to marketers everywhere, but have online marketing companies changed tactics for their clients?
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) seeks to place a website high in Google rankings. This is still valuable. Extremely valuable. You’ve heard the joke, ‘what do you call someone who is #1 in google for a particular keyword?’ – A millionaire.
But SEO is step 1. If there are 30 movies at the movie theater, which one do you see? You see the one your buddy John recommended. Same is happening with websites. Google may point you to the best 30 websites for purchasing a used guitar, but your buddy John, who purchased a guitar last month and had a great experience, will help you weed through the noise.
This is the power of a Facebook network. I see my friends make posts all the time that ask for recommendations for certain products or services. And many people respond with good or bad experiences from specific companies.
Other ways we are seeing recommendations take place are in sites like Angie’s List. Angie’s List allows people to rate contractors. You need a plumber, you search here and see what your neighbors have ranked plumbers in the area. Now, you are not trying to do a Google search to find a random plumber, but you are basing your decision on reputation.
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