Google Vs. Facebook – Who are you building for?

Ever since Al Gore invented the internet (tee hee) search engines have been our primary source for finding information online.  They are after all the focal point of everything we do.  While there are plenty of folk who wouldn’t agree with me, it’s possible that the age of the search engines may be coming to a screaming halt.

Well, I suppose that’s a little dramatic.  They are certainly up for their share of competition.  In December of 2009, Facebook had recorded more traffic than the entire Google network of properties – combined.  It’s also been released that popular news media sites are witnessing more traffic actually coming from social media (like Facebook) than from Google.

While it’s a bit much to say that Google is about to be trumped by a social networking platform, it goes without saying that they have their work cut out for them if Facebook takes the ball at this point and runs with it like Adam Sandler from The Waterboy.

Considering yourself “downstream” of Google would never be taken as contentious, or at least shouldn’t be – you have to craft a web page and in doing so you must show up on the major search engines.  That’s how people find things on the internet.  On the other hand, being “downstream” in regards to Facebook comes with a bit more weight and consideration.  With Facebook, you start to get comments that you just don’t encounter when it comes to general “web talk”.  Things like “oh..well, this group is just for major companies” or there’s the entire concept of “Social Network Fatigue”.

Like there has ever been any kind of “Web Fatigue” to note.

It’s important to mention that everything we used to do two and three years ago have been wiped from the task board and have been redrafted several times to maintain form and function in marketing.  That’s normal though for the market to evolve, but there needs to be some changes this year (for the better!) because it’s getting near-impossible for upstarts to rank organically in Google.  Due to the way Google places value on links, and massive sites networking with one another, the “incumbents” have a distinct advantage over the little guy.  Likewise, thanks to all the keyword dealers (that almost sounds “underground”) Adwords is moving away from the low-cost channel it once was.

So with the growing giant on one side (Facebook) and Google on the other contending for…well we don’t know what they’re contending for yet…  Let’s look at the difference between developing for Google (search results) and developing for Facebook (social networking)

If you’re geared toward Facebook

• Acquisition – Facebook ads offer a loss-expensive alternative to other ad placement and according to the new numbers you could be seen by quite a bit more visitors than traditional ad placement with Google.

• Activation – With facebook integration through widgets and Facebook Connect, activation can jump by as much as 4 times the standard rate when integrated in high traffic areas

• Viral/Organic – Feed & invite optimization is key here.  It parallels SEO to a point but gives a lot more control to the product builder.  Possibility of trumping SEO when you consider the nature of all things viral

• Retention – There’s not much there right now but the possibility is “Ginormous”.  With limited internal bookmarking, and a few things to keep their attention via dashboard (games, videos, notes) there’s a few things to maintain traffic and subsequent interest

If you design with Google in mind

• Customer Acquisition – Google Adwords: It’s heavily saturated and extremely competitive.  Certainly not an easy market.

• Activation (finding a unique user) – Can be like pulling teeth in any given situation where you don’t have a top listing or a bombshell networking campaign feeding you traffic with a massive coal shovel.

• Viral/Organic – You’re essentially limited to SEO, and with constant changes in algorithms and tactics it requires a lot of front end labor and monitoring.  A lot to do for potential organic growth.  Difficult, but the pay off has always been better than other methods thus far.

• Retention – Whatever you can dish out through your SEO to keep the eyeballs on you

Regardless of your platform, there are a number of targets that will work no matter who you build for.  Contact info can come through facebook or your website, and you can take PayPal or credit cards with or without a checkout.

Whether or not you come out on top will always have more to do with your product, service and whether or not people want to deal with you or dub you a smelly pirate trader as they send you off to die in some obscure corner of the internet.

Related posts:

1. Staying off the Google Radar
2. 11 Reasons why your Business Needs Facebook
3. Link-Building Strategies for Online Marketing
4. Building Links through Guest Blogging
5. Controlling your PPC Campaign