Blekko is serious about giving users human-recommended results – so much so that it now lets searchers log in with Facebook to see (and post) Facebook comments related to results to their queries.
The company announced yesterday that it has launched a new feature that integrates Facebook comments into search results. “Now you not only get our trusted web search results, but also the breaking news, opinions, insight and updates of your friends,” it says.
This move blurs the line between search and social results, making social comments part of the results pages. Marketers might take it as their cue that sharing content on Facebook (and other social sites) is a marketing must in order to spark engagement that will promote results among search and social users.
Although major search engines Google and Bing don't currently offer social comments alongside results, it may only be matter of time. Bing already has a search alliance with Facebook, and Brafton has reported that Google is aggressively moving into the social search space under the direction of new CEO Larry Page. (Plus Blekko fields more than one million queries per day, which makes the search site a valuable portal in its own right.)
In addition to boosting search marketing efforts, sharing valuable content on social media could be key to boosting business. As Brafton recently reported, social marketers say that social media offers leads and sales.
