Google made updates to its search engine that will allow users to find Facebook comments in their searches.
Facebook told TheDC that it was “pleased” that the new changes Google made would allow its content to be included in search results.
“It’s generally good for the publishers to have more of their content, including comments made on their site, in search engines,” a Facebook spokesperson told TheDC. “We’re pleased that the content from our comments plugins are now included.”
The changes were made possible when Google updated its search algorithm to enable the web code used in comments to be searched and indexed in its results.
Facebook and Google consistently battle between the number one and two spots for traffic on the web, and both companies continue to diversify their offerings to keep users within the confines of their networks. Facebook and Twitter are often places where users turn for up-to-date news passed along socially between friends and colleagues.
NYT blogger Claire Cain Miller wrote, “The new algorithm is a recognition that Google, whose dominance depends on providing the most useful results, is being increasingly challenged by services like Twitter and Facebook, which have trained people to expect constant updates with seconds-old news.”
Eric Schmidt, Google’s executive chairman, testified in an antitrust hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee in September. Senators drilled Schmidt about the company’s search engine practices. Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee, referring to Google’s consistent ranking of its own products in its own search results, said to Schmidt, “You’ve cooked it!”
“Senator,” Schmidt replied, “I can assure you we haven’t cooked anything.”