Google is beta testing a new feature of their search results page inresponse to the recent announcement made by Yahoo/Bing.  On October 16, 2010, Yahoo/Bing announced that they have included within their search engine results pages, a link to the number of users that have shared that particular link, content, or web page with other web users.  In response Google integrated in “social shares” into their main search results today as a beta test. In the image to the right you are able to see a screenshot example of this Google beta test.  Note the “Shared by 20+” link that follows the website link along with the number of related articles.

For now the “shared by” links will only appear on Google’s main search results page. What is interesting is what happens when you click on the “shared by” link.  When you click the link you are brought to Google Updates, where real-time sharing activity reporting is displayed. Google has not disclosed whether or not this will be a permanent feature as of yet.

If you have questions as to how this will impact your law firm search engine optimization, call (769) 218-6099 for a free consultation about Social Media Search Engine Optimization for law firms.