Google has recently unveiled a new feature called “Google Perspectives”. This addition to Google Search is designed to provide a more personalised and human touch to search results, offering a variety of perspectives from different voices.
That’s all well and good, but what does this mean for users and content creators? What does it mean for you? Let’s delve deeper into the implications and opinions surrounding this new feature.
Watch More: A look at what’s next for AI and Google Search | Google I/O 2023
What is ‘Perspectives’?
Google Perspectives is a new feature that will appear as both a filter and a dedicated section in Google Search. It’s designed to provide users with more “lived experience” to their search queries.
That’s our understanding, how about we hear it from the horse’s mouth? Perspectives, according to the company, is a means to:
…"exclusively see long- and short-form videos, images and written posts that people have shared on discussion boards, Q&A sites and social media platforms."
In addition to the Perspectives tab (similar to the ‘Images’ or ‘Maps’ tab already in existence), a carousel of the same results "may" appear in some search results. This will take the form of a standalone module graphically resembling the ‘Top Stories’ carousels we know and love from news-style searches.
Perspectives has been announced in tandem with its new quest to ‘transform’ search with AI via its SGE (search generative experience), but it’s still unclear to what extent AI will have an impact on these results.
Now, this all hinges on whether people will actually click it. Google has previously tried this with ‘News’, and they already have SERP features for Twitter and the like, so remains to be seen if there is any uptake on this at all. As always, we'll keep our eyes peeled and keep you posted.
Why ‘Perspectives’?
It’s likely that Google is feeling the competition from TikTok’s surging popularity as a search engine in its own right.
At the end of 2021, TikTok sailed right by Google and became the most-visited website of the year. Not only that, but in 2022, Google’s own research also showed that nearly half of Gen Z preferred using TikTok when looking for a place to eat rather than Google. Understandably, that had Google more than a little rattled.
But you can’t put it all on Gen Z’s shoulders. Other community websites, like Reddit and Quora, have become so popular that many are googling specific threads on these platforms, using queries like “how to make money online reddit” or “best retinol skncare reddit.”
It’s so common that Google started listing discussions from these forums among other search results back in 2022. So, it seems like Perspectives is a natural evolution of this solution.
How Does It Benefit Content Creators?
Google Perspectives isn’t just a game-changer for users but also for content creators.
With this feature, creators’ content won’t be confined to the platform where they create it. Google can now help further distribute it to its Search users, providing a remarkable opportunity to reach new audiences.
However, this also means that the pool of potential competitors for creators is about to get a lot wider. To stand out, creators should focus on making quality content that shares their unique expertise and experience.
It’s important to note that while this feature adds a new layer of depth to search results, it also raises questions about the credibility and reliability of the information presented. Google has assured users that it will display more details about the creators of the content, such as their name, profile photo, or information about the popularity of their content, to help users discern the credibility of the content.
The “About this result” feature was launched in 2021, and this will extend to “About this Author” soon, allowing users to find out more about the person or organisation behind particular pieces of content for vetting purposes. Schema and building out a robust knowledge graph, including organisation and person schema types, will come into play here.
This also lines up very neatly with the first E in ‘E-E-A-T’, ‘Experience’, as an element and the Helpful content update, both major developments in search over recent years.
In short, strive to create unique, useful, first hand experience-driven content that is written for humans first and you’ll be grand - in essence, more of the same but with additional opportunities to enter the search results and reach users.
How Does Google Perspectives Impact Your SEO Strategy?
Although it's still very early days, there are a few ways that Google Perspectives may play a role in shaping your SEO strategy moving forward:
Quality and Originality
- Due to the helpful content update, this should be something you strive towards already, but Google Perspectives prioritises the quality and originality of content even further.
- This means that content creators will need to focus on producing high-quality, original content that provides unique insights and experiences. Simply rehashing existing content or relying on keyword stuffing will not work. SEO strategies will need to focus more on content quality, building good contextual information via blogging and other channels, and less on traditional keyword-based strategies.
User-Generated Content
- Firstly, Perspectives places a strong emphasis on user-generated content. This means that content from social media platforms, discussion boards, and Q&A sites could potentially rank higher in the SERPs. As a result, businesses and content creators may need to rethink their content strategies to include more user-generated content or to engage more actively on these platforms.
- A good first few steps could be, in tandem with your pre-existing PR & digital marketing strategy, to create a Google My Business listing and drive customer reviews towards it. Reviews in general are probably one of the most time-and-cost-effective ways of collecting UGC.
Personal Experiences and Stories
- Lastly, Google Perspectives emphasises personal experiences and stories. This means that content that tells a story or provides a personal perspective could potentially rank higher in the SERPs.
- Content creators may need to incorporate more storytelling into their content and provide more personal, relatable experiences.
Summary:
In summary, then:
- Google has unveiled a new feature called "Google Perspectives" which aims to add a personalized touch to search results.
- "Google Perspectives" will be available as a filter and a separate section on Google Search, offering long- and short-form videos, images, and written posts from various platforms like discussion boards, Q&A sites, and social media.
- The introduction of this feature may be a response to competition from platforms like TikTok, which surpassed Google as the most visited website in 2021, and Reddit and Quora, which have become popular platforms for search.
- Google Perspectives can benefit content creators by distributing their content to a wider audience through Google Search. However, it also increases competition, urging creators to focus on quality and uniqueness.
- For SEO strategy, Google Perspectives emphasizes quality, originality, user-generated content, and personal experiences. This may result in strategies focusing more on content quality and storytelling rather than traditional keyword-based strategies.
