Twitter deal with search company will increase exposure of the content posted by its users as the company strives to kickstart growth.
Tweets will start appear in Google search results for the first time since 2011, as the social network looks to fight flagging growth and newer competitors such as Instagram and WhatsApp.
Under the new deal, Google will make tweets visible as soon as they are posted.
The microblogging company had a similar arrangement with the search company in 2009, but the arrangement lapsed two years later.
Back then, Google then had to crawl Twitter’s site, which takes more time, but the new deal means that the 140 character messages from Twitter’s 284m users will appear as soon as they are posted.
The data will come from an automatic data feed that Google is expected to pay Twitter an undisclosed sum for.
Tweets are already visible in Yahoo and Bing search results, but getting back on the biggest search engine in the world could prove a boost for the flagging social network.
Exposing its advertising to a wider audience could significantly boost revenue for Twitter. It made just $1.13 in advertising revenue per active user in the third quarter, compared with Facebook’s $2.22.
Joanna Parnell, Director of Planning at Unique Digital, a global digital media agency, commented on the move:
“This could mean a great deal for brands. The good, the bad and the ugly will have a greater audience base and be more ‘naked’ for everyone to see. This will undoubtedly shine a brighter light on what is communicated and responded to on Twitter.
“Clever brands will ensure they’ve fully invested in real time planning frameworks, to capitalise on key conversations happening with consumer and to show their personality at all times to a wider audience.
“Twitter will certainly increase its reach and profile by partnering with the behemoth that’s Google, expanding outside of the platform itself, just as Facebook connect has done, developing one of the richest evolving datasets online.”