Google Perspectives, a search filter unveiled at Google I/O that displays content with viewpoints about your query is now available on mobile.
Our Perspectives filter is now available on mobile web & the Google app for searches (US/English for now) where it might be helpful to hear from other people. It lets you find videos, images & posts people have shared on forum sites and social media communities. Learn more:… pic.twitter.com/LNZJ5K4flr
— Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) June 26, 2023
The Perspectives filter provides search users with an alternative approach to gathering the information necessary to make an informed decision.
This article explores the top types of content in Google Perspectives, the search filter’s effectiveness at delivering timely content, and how to appear in filtered results.
How Perspectives Results Differ From Standard SERPs
Unlike standard SERPs, Perspectives combines video, social media posts, news, Q&A, and forum discussions from select sources to create a compilation of authentic viewpoints on a queried topic.
Interestingly, after years of debate about whether social signals are a ranking factor, Google includes the number of video views, comments, and likes for social content in Perspectives search results.
Top Content Types In Google Perspectives
The following are the types of content search users will see when they switch to the Perspectives filter and how useful each type of content is in satisfying a query.
YouTube Videos
YouTube videos by product reviewers, customers, and brands alike frequently appear in Perspectives. Search results often show the video’s views, length, and age, giving search users an idea of how popular, in-depth, and current it is.
Screenshot from Google, June 2023TikTok Videos
While not as often as YouTube, Google mixes TikTok videos, with age and view count, in Perspectives results. In one example, Google even included a TikTok video from its account about a viral trend.
Screenshot from Google, June 2023Reddit Posts
Reddit provides Perspectives for many Google search queries. Users can quickly see the age of the Reddit post and the number of comments in most cases, assuming it’s still publicly accessible.
Screenshot from Google, June 2023Quora Posts
Posts from Quora, a well-known Q&A platform, appear in Perspectives with the age of the post.
Screenshot from Google, June 2023StackOverflow Answers
In addition to Reddit and Quora posts, Perspectives shows StackOverflow answers with their age for some technical searches. This can be especially useful if the user needs the most recent information, as they can choose posts from three weeks or 13 years ago.
Screenshot from Google, June 2023Tweets
Tweets about a search query may appear in Perspectives-filtered search results, often with the age of the Tweet and the number of likes it received.
Screenshot from Google, June 2023Instagram Posts
Instagram posts, like Tweets, are shown in Perspectives, along with the number of Instagram likes and age.
Screenshot from Google, June 2023Forum Discussions
Google sometimes offers Perspectives in the form of outdated forum posts for search queries.
Screenshot from Google, June 2023Blog Posts & News Articles
While Google Discover brings the most up-to-date news to search users, Google Perspectives brings slightly dated results for queries that could use the most recent information possible.
Screenshot from Google, June 2023How To Rank In Google Perspectives
Do you want your content to appear in Google Perspectives when someone searches for your business, products, services, and target keywords?
- Make sure you publish content on the platforms most likely to appear in search results with Perspectives-filtering like YouTube, Reddit, Twitter, and others shown in the example above.
- Aim to include optimized images and videos in most of your social media posts, news articles, etc., as both typically generate the best social media engagement and stand out most in Perspectives results.
- Promote content to drive the social signals that Google Perspectives displays with results, including video views, likes, and comments.
- Consider adding a forum/discussion board to your website to build valuable user-generated content and answer frequently asked questions about your products and services.
As seen in the examples above, Google Perspectives results can range from a few days to almost two decades old, so you may want to optimize your existing content for it in the following ways.
- Confirm that the keyword(s) targeted are still best for traffic and conversions.
- Add optimized images and videos to existing blog posts, forum discussions, and other editable website content, offering diverse perspectives on your products or services.
- Edit and optimize existing YouTube videos’ titles, descriptions, thumbnails, and visibility.
- Edit and optimize existing answers on Quora.
To gain visibility in Google Perspectives, create valuable content for your ideal audience and optimize it like the examples above. Once published, don’t stop working with your content until it achieves as much social engagement as possible.
Featured image: Zamrznuti tonovi/Shutterstock
