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vangogh
05-07-2009, 05:54 PM
Sort, but interesting article from Duct Tape Marketing on Using Social Media for SEO (http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/blog/2009/05/05/the-changing-face-of-seo/).

From the article:


The shift is from one of web page optimization and link hounding to content and engagement optimization. In short, search engine optimization and social media are now undeniably intertwined.

The article points to a few things they recommend every business should do. I don't agree your business needs to do all of them, but I do agree with the following statement


Any attempt to garner positive search results for your primary web site must be accompanied by a strategy to optimize your entire web presence through the effective use of social media.

I'd even take the search results part out of the equation and say every business should have a strategy to optimize its web presence and social media should be part of that strategy.

How are you using social media to improve your web presence and your results in search engines?

Dan Furman
05-07-2009, 08:42 PM
well, right now, I twitter (with a link) alerts for my new blog posts

I have my websites on my facebook page

I link to my websites in blog comments (need to do more of this)

and that's about it.

vangogh
05-07-2009, 09:21 PM
I didn't realize you were on Twitter. I just found you and followed you.

There are lots of ways people use social media and sadly too many think it's all about quick traffic and so end up spamming things. I see it more as a way to network with people. The same way you would network with them offline, except you can do it in your pajamas from the couch. You try to contribute to others and help others and in return you build a relationships with people who can help you when you need it.

Another way to see it is that you can maintain a wider presence. People don't have to find your site first or at all. I've had people contact me with a project after reading something I said here for example. Those of us posting here regularly are able to extend the reach of our brand from our own sites to this community. Same thing with other social media sites. Someone might find your Facebook page before they find your site. So why not let them know all about you on Facebook too. You could make a sale before that person reaches your site.

Kind of like the equivalent of having a store, but also having a kiosk at the mall.

In regards to SEO it doesn't take long to realize that links are important and that links from a wide variety of sources are important. You can write the greatest article in the world, but unless you let people know about it's not going to spread and acquire links. Social media can help push your content quickly because of all the connections. It doesn't take long before your article might be in front of hundreds of thousands of peoples. Assuming it's good enough for people to want to spread it.

MH Vishal
06-17-2009, 01:00 AM
Fresh content is king, it always will be in the eyes of Google, The trick to social media is having the word of mouth and the viral spread without giving the recipients the ability to turn it around on you, Much like the skittles fiasco on Twitter earlier this year. thanks for the good read.

vangogh
06-17-2009, 01:40 AM
Glad you liked the article. With social media I think the seo value comes from having a channel to get the word out about your content and then ideally have it spread so that some or many people later link to it.

While social media is connected to seo often, I still think it's main value is outside of seo. It's about networking and brand building and generating buzz and maybe having your message go viral.

Spider
06-17-2009, 09:40 AM
I can understand there would be a benefit from social networking and making one's site URL available to more people for direct access, but I do not see any benefit for search engine positioning in terms of SEO.

I have been "Frederick" and "Spider" on many discussion forum (including SBF, both versions) for many years (back as far as 1998) - and have been one of the top posters on all of them - yet a Google search for "Frederick, Spider" produced not a single forum post in the first ten pages. (And, apart from spider vein doctors in Frederick, Maryland, not a particularly competitive search term, I would have thought!)

vangogh
06-17-2009, 11:18 AM
Well first Frederick and Spider are single words and likely to have a lot of competition among which pages to choose. And while using both may not be highly competitive I wouldn't expect a forum page to rank on the basis of your name and username.

Still the idea isn't necessarily to rank your forum pages. Your profiles can rank on sites like Twitter and Facebook and some of the more popular social sites, though.

The idea as far as seo is concerned is that you probably need links pointing to your content in order for it to rank. Through social media it's possible to have a lot of people see your content and assuming it's good content and a fit for the social audience it's likely to pick up links down the line.

dwiads
07-12-2009, 04:00 AM
Currently my site still depend on search engine and link referral only. because I think my site type is not really suitable for social media like tweeter. but for social bookmarking, I still can use. This is my future plan. but right now focus on SEO..

vangogh
07-12-2009, 12:43 PM
If you think your site isn't suitable for social media then you don't really understand what social media is. You may also have noticed this thread is about using social media for seo, which you seem to like.