Business partnerships drive all parties involved to be better. They encourage trust and collaboration. When you partner with another company, you gain new skill sets and the opportunity to mentor others.
Two recent partnerships in the search engine world are affecting the strategies we employ in Search Engine Optimization and social media.
Yahoo and Firefox
In November 2014, Firefox announced it would be ending a 10-year partnership with Google, and Yahoo would become the browser's new default search engine in the U.S. As a result of this partnership, Yahoo has already improved its search user experience with insights from Firefox. The contract mentions "other" joint ventures over the next five years.
Over the past few months, we have watched as Yahoo's traffic on websites we manage has increased. Google traffic hasn't taken as large a hit as one might expect, but there is a noticeable difference.
This partnership has serious ramifications for anyone investing in SEO. Where once the largest focus was on Google rankings, Yahoo has honed in on a larger market share, escalating the need to appear on Yahoo search results. If your organic traffic has been down since the holidays, compare your Google and Yahoo sourced visitors to find out if this new partnership is affecting your web traffic.
Google and Twitter
Twitter announced earlier this month that the social network will partner with Google to bring tweets back into search results. Twitter will give Google access to its feed of data, and Twitter's advertisers will gain more coverage with non-Twitter users via Google. By the way, Twitter already has similar deals in place with Yahoo and Bing to display tweets on their search engines.
So what does this mean for businesses? Real-time information is going to have a more prominent place in search results. We've already seen this with Google+ results and previous social network deals (i.e. Twitter and Google from 2009-2011).
If you are not actively posting on social media, especially Twitter, you are missing an opportunity to reach more potential buyers. You must post strategically and often, choosing keywords carefully to tie into your SEO program.
Why Partnerships Matter
As seen in the two examples above, the way that we do business, market our products and services, and reach our prospects is constantly evolving. Not only do new innovations, technologies and tools change the way we communicate with our customers, but also outside forces alter the way we do business.
Do you need a partner who can help you navigate this constantly-changing environment to keep you in front of your customer base?
To learn more about partnering with OffWhite, contact Bill White or Abby Spung at 800.606.1610.
