The Google-Twitter Deal Goes Live, Giving Tweets Prominent Placement In Google’s Results

Tweets now appear for trending topics in a new carousel format. Twitter doesn't earn directly off display but will gain new traffic.

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The deal between Google and Twitter to bring more tweets into Google’s search results announced earlier this year is finally delivering on its promise. Google is now showing tweets in a new and more graphical way on mobile devices, with desktop promised soon.

Tweets In Carousel, With Images

Both Twitter and Google shared the news in blog posts today, with examples. Below, here’s our own example of how it looks for a search on #iZombie. There’s a “carousel” of tweets at the top of the page, where many of them show large images:

izombie

You can slide through the carousel to see other tweets, as shown below:

tweets in google

When, Where & Why Tweets Appear Uncertain

Tweets don’t always appear at the top of the page. Sometimes they might be elsewhere, such as the middle of the page, as this example for “MacBook Pro” shows:

macbook tweets on google

Sometimes, tweets might not appear at all. We asked Google about why tweets might show, what controls exactly where they show, if they’re showing all tweets for a query in chronological order or filtering in some way such as to block obscenity or to surface more popular tweets. The company wouldn’t answer any of those questions.

Google’s blog post on the deal does say:

It’s a great way to get real-time info when something is happening. And it’s another way for organizations and people on Twitter to reach a global audience at the most relevant moments.

So presumably, you’re more likely to see tweets in Google when a hashtag, topic, person or organization appears to be trending or is newsworthy.

For Twitter, Traffic

Twitter tells us that there’s no direct monetization involved. IE, no clicks on tweets at Google will earn Twitter any direct money. So what’s Twitter getting out of this, assuming it’s not being paid a large licensing fee from Google? Traffic.

For example, as shown below, clicking on the “More Tweets” link associated with the new Twitter carousel at Google will launch Twitter on someone’s browser, where they can get see more tweets, see ads from Twitter and be encouraged to download the app or sign-up:

google to twitter

If you do have the app installed, and you’ve set it to handle links from Twitter, then that launches right into the Twitter app experience:

google tweets into app

When Twitter accounts are listed, those are also links that lead back to Twitter, as with this example for Taylor Swift:

google twitter taylor swift

Clicking on individual tweets also will launch Twitter from Google’s results.

It’s important to note that this is NOT tweets coming into Google for the first time, or the first time since the last formal deal ended. Tweets have continued to be in Google since that last deal. The new deal just allows for more of the and with deeper integration. Our past post explains more about this: FAQ: How Twitter’s New Deal To Bring Tweets To Google Search Works.

Mobile For Now, Desktop Promised

Right now, the new implementation will only be offered for those searching in the US, in English, using either their browser in iOS or Android or the Google Search App. Twitter promises support for desktop and other languages in the coming months.

For even more examples of how the new integration is working, see our companion story, 14 Examples Of The New Tweets Showing Up In Google Search.


Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.


About the author

Danny Sullivan
Contributor
Danny Sullivan was a journalist and analyst who covered the digital and search marketing space from 1996 through 2017. He was also a cofounder of Third Door Media, which publishes Search Engine Land and MarTech, and produces the SMX: Search Marketing Expo and MarTech events. He retired from journalism and Third Door Media in June 2017. You can learn more about him on his personal site & blog He can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.

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