Google has acquired PostRank, a service that helps users find, read, and measure online social engagement with news and articles. The amount has not been disclosed.
The company offers data services (APIs that enable real-time content and engagement for media monitoring,analysis, and aggregation), analytics, consumer-oriented tools, an da service called Connect, which connects brands and agencies with influential online publishers.
@PostRank
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An announcement on the PostRank blog says:
From the seed of an idea in late 2006, to the launch of PostRank in mid 2007, and an incredible four years of continuous learning, iteration, and developing and launching new products—what an amazing experience it has been. And yet, the best is still yet to come.Today, we are excited to announce that PostRank has been acquired by Google!
We know that making sense of social engagement data is important for online businesses, which is why we have worked hard to monitor where and when content generates meaningful interactions across the web. Indeed, conversations online are an important signal for advertisers, publishers, developers and consumers—but today’s tools only skim the surface of what we think is possible.
We are extremely excited to join Google. We believe there is simply no better company on the web today that both understands the value of the engagement data we have been focusing on, and has the platform and reach to bring its benefits to the untold millions of daily, active Internet users. Stay tuned, we’ll be sure to share details on our progress in the coming months!
Of course, we wouldn’t be where we are today if it wasn’t for all the help, feedback, and support we’ve received from our community over the past four years—thank you all, you know who you are, and we truly couldn’t have done it without you!
PostRank says, “conversations online are an important signal for advertisers, publishers, developers and consumers.” Obviously, they’re an important signal for search as well, and while we don’t know exactly what Google’s plans are for PostRank, it’s clear that Google is putting a lot more stock into social search of late. Google did give TechCrunch the following statement:
“We’re always looking for new ways to measure and analyze data, and as social analytics become increasingly important for online businesses, we’re excited to work with the PostRank team to make this data more actionable and accountable. They have developed an innovative approach to measuring web engagement, and we think they can help us improve our products for our users and advertisers.”
The company also notes that its team will be moving to Google’s Mountain View offices.