Food for thought excerpted from Search Engine Watch:
“…Right now, Facebook as a search provider is barely a blip, behind the likes of Ask and eBay, according tocomScore. One obvious difference is that Facebook isn’t a search destination — people go to Google to search, people go to Facebook to be social. This number will stay low as long as Facebook isn’t a toolbar option and doesn’t allow searches from users who aren’t logged in.
Another considerable difference between Facebook and a traditional search engine is that links are used in judging credibility as opposed to the possibility of “Likes.” Many sites will never have Like buttons, which is a concern.
Additionally, relying on only “Likes” would leave Facebook with considerably less information about the types of pages unlikely to draw likes. For example, I might read an article about CSS3, but will I Like it? I’m not likely to Like pages that my friends wouldn’t care about. However, I might add a link to the article from a web design blog.
Will sites eventually need to consider “Likebait” as they do linkbait? Perhaps Likebait will include plastering pictures of puppies next to the Like button on all your pages — because who doesn’t like puppies?
However, there’s nothing to stop Facebook from crawling the web and building their own link graphs. The catch, of course, is that it’s easier said than done.
Google has a decade head start on the technical advances it takes to build a search engine. We’ve seen how Microsoft, with tons of cash and software experience, has struggled to turn into a competitor. For now, Bing serves the “web results” for Facebook, which keeps Facebook focused on their strengths.
What may drive more searches for Facebook are the opportunities with their level of personalization. While Google keeps attempting to break into social search and personalized search through a number of efforts, Facebook is squarely in the middle of what you care about, who your friends are, and what your friends like. Why search in Google for events happening this weekend, when Facebook can tell you not only the events, but which people are attending (although event search is pretty disappointing right now).
While Facebook may want their search to become more Google-like, Google may want their search to be more Facebook-like…”
Social search is an amazing tool I have been waiting for Google to officially roll out for some time now. I am so excited to see it in use on a wider level. I think it will truly improve the way people search be offering more relevant and personalized information. I hope to see this kind of customized interaction integrated into more and more services down the road.