Twitter Versus Google - for Search

Google is the 'old friend' most of us fall back on when we need to find something on the web. Yet Google tends to turn up the same tired old content, over and over again. Whatever it is that you're searching for, you'll tend to see the same old sites appear on page one.

If you're looking for some thing new, Google's results tends to be predictable and dull. I can't even remember the last time Google surprised me.

The same can't be said of the search tool in Twitter. In case you think Twitter contains nothing more than short inanities, it's worth knowing many people use Twitter to link to topical content. In a way, Twitter has grown into an entirely new form of content directory.

Twitter's search engine is nowhere near as sophisticated as Google's, and it's that very fact that throws a metaphorical spanner into the works. I can be sure of finding exciting new content in Twitter. Here's why...

Google uses a set of formulas to decide how to rank pages in its index. Over time, SEO experts have reverse-engineered Google's approach and found out what they need to do to get their clients onto page one.

Once a site has reached page one, it's very hard to unseat it. Those sites that do, tend to be even harder to unseat. For example, over the course of a month I've seen only one change in the page one result for 'lead generation'.

This forces the search engine user to get more creative in his/her searching. In other words, Google requires that you and I do all the work to find what we're looking for - exciting new content.

Twitter is keyword based, and displays its results from newest to oldest. This ensures there's always something new at the top of a Twitter search. Anybody using Twitter to find content is virtually guaranteed to find several things they've never seen before.

Twitter works as a search engine when you're looking for a specific topic with a clearly defined keywords. Twitter doesn't work as a search engine when you're looking for a topic that intersects with regular 'tweets'. For example, if I'm searching for information about SEO or lead generation I'll get good results from Twitter. If I'm searching for information about Doctors, I'll probably intersect with regular 'tweets' such as 'Went to the doctor today'.

I've found Twitter to be a great way to discover new sites and information about such diverse topics as 'cooking tips' and 'heritage buildings'. Try that in Google, and you'll quickly get bored with the repetition.