Robert_Charlton - 6:50 pm on Sep 2, 2010 (gmt 0)

Seoering - Just for reference, here's the link to your other thread... [webmasterworld.com...]

The sites you mentioned there are social video upload sites. Can I assume that all of the sites you're describing above are similar in that respect?

I ask because I've been hearing a number of reports that some video upload sites are doing extremely well on competitive keywords. I'm beginning to believe that this has to do with a social component in the algorithm, also hinted at by drall in this discussion...

Mayday-style long-tail update happening again?
http://www.webmasterworld.com/google/4193036.htm [webmasterworld.com]

I'm not clear whether this is due to time on sites and return visits, and/or whether there's a "branding" effect.

I've recently been seeing "branding" effects showing up in unexpected ways... and, if nothing else, keyword-rich social domains are brands and are discussed on the web beyond the inbound links they're receiving. It's likely, of course, that they receive a lot of buzz, as there are online communities involved with them.

I'm curious to hear what you come up with about timing of when these domains started rising. At the moment, I'm straining to connect the dots, or at least to establish whether there is a connection.