The Drum Awards for Marketing - Extended Deadline

-d -h -min -sec

Google Social Media Search

Facebook pilots mobile search with ‘Add a Link’ system

Author

By John McCarthy, Opinion Editor

May 11, 2015 | 2 min read

Facebook is trialling a new share button which enables users to find content and articles using keywords in the app.

Facebook

A limited number of US iOS users can access the new ‘add a link’ feature, bypassing the need to search externally, often via Google, for content. Instead, Facebook will culminate results based on how often they have been shared – in addition to age.

The social network told TechCrunch that Facebook users will no longer be reliant upon copy-pasting. A total of one trillion posts have been indexed for sharing on the site in a move which could keep users from Google or trawling the homepage.

Abbey Torrance, digital account manager at global media agency Carat, said: “This move truly proves that Facebook continues to be a ‘mobile first’ company and that it has understood that its users want to access and share content easily, wherever they are and whenever they want.

"The “Add a Link” option is something that will not only enhance the user journey, but it will also enable the social media network to keep its audience within the Facebook ecosystem, so people will not have to drop out of the Facebook app environment or out of the mobile browser.

"For publishers, this is really another reminder that they need to be looking to syndicate content across Facebook in order to reach and engage massive audiences, especially millennials. Users expect news to be brought to them – if they don’t see it in their feed, they probably don’t feel it is worth knowing about."

The feature is likely to expand session times on the site if widely initiated – meaning that users will spend more time exposed to the ads.

Google Social Media Search

Content created with:

Meta

Our products empower more than 3 billion people around the world to share ideas, offer support and make a difference.

Find out more

More from Google

View all

Trending

Industry insights

View all
Add your own content +