Google has been testing a new user interface, which basically adds social ranking with in organic search. You can think of it as a DIGG style buttons next to each search result.

What this means is that one you do an organic search you can rate each result.

In future, your results will be based upon your own voting.

Naturally other peoples rankings also appear by the results, so you can see what is popular.

You can even then look at these other voters profiles and I suspect like GSL (as supported by our own Brain2TSV search feed utility) , you will be able to say whose opinions you TRUST and then their “reviews” will affect the results you see in your organic search.

Oh you can add comments too, so yes it really is “reviews” for each search result, much like StumbleUpon or Digg.

What does social for organic search mean?

For longer than we have realised, Google have been profiling us and, if you are logged in as your Google identity, have been supplying us with PERSONALISED sets of results based on our previous behaviours (click thrus).

So my usage of the word “duck” might include duck sound effects (as I do a lot of audio) where as someone else might be for pictures (as they are a graphic designer). Some else might get a building related result (an interpreted misspelling of duct) as they are a builder. And someone else may actually get the animal the duck, as they are an animal lover sort of person, in terms of their search profile.

Adwords adverts have ALWAYS been “user” “profiled” so the ad YOU see, is not necessarily the same advert that somebody else sees. Naturally they did this for commercial reasons, because they sell click thru’s, NOT impressions.

Organic search was the same, perhaps to a lesser degree.

Now the anti has been raised, and the users are back in control, providing direct feedback of what they like and dislike, so their future results will be the most relevant.

Members of Buick Secrets will know what the network is doing about this.

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The future for independents:

What this means though, is that fringe social bookmarking sites, which were used to SUPPLEMENT organic search and provide “taste hubs” wil becoem far less necessar, as your taste, and teh taste of those you TRUST AND FOLLOW wil be incorporated DIRECTLY on the search page.

There’s only 6 ways I can think of (as listed in Buick Secrets) to come up to defeat Google’s future reign on this.

No wonder Google haven’t bothered to buy or react to social bookmarking sites. ROFL.

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Couple this with Yahoo’s news of BOSS customised search engines, and you should soon realise that the future of Organic search is no longer GLOBAL.
Global organic search is dead. “Personalised profile” search is born!

Now go try and get to the number 1 slot in that Gurus!

Do you get it yet?

The results will be different for everybody, for each individual! There is no longer 1 number1 slot. It is like the Billboard music charts. There is one for each genre. but each genre and taste of search is MASSIVE.

This is why early adoption of things like Brain2TSV to prvide TRUSTED CUSTOM SEARCH are the way it is going. Search itself is going micro niche -> Person Niche (aka profiling).

In CornerShop2 our tactics circumvent most of this entire issue.