Is there proof about social network influence in Google serps? I mean a 10.000 fan facebook site with many "I like" people is consdiered in any way instead one who is not even in facebook at all?
tedster
6:05 pm on Aug 6, 2010 (gmt 0)
There's no doubt that Google watches social media data. How they use it is another story. It's pretty hard to test anything because strong social media popularity usually translates into more do-followed backlinks.
One way I am guessing that Google uses it is in deciding what is a "trusted brand" - something they've mentioned a lot in the past year. The "brand" value of a domain was a ranking factor in last year's Vince update and most likely in this year's Mayday update.
You can probably get some rankings improvement in Google by promoting your site on social networks. I tried to do a little of that last year, but had the feeling of being lost in a jungle, and quickly decided that it was too time-consuming to pursue. My sites do pick up some of these links on their own, and a little traffic, from places like Facebook and Yahoo Answers, although the links are nofollow, and I don't know if there's been any effect on rankings..
tedster
8:01 pm on Aug 6, 2010 (gmt 0)
had the feeling of being lost in a jungle, and quickly decided that it was too time-consuming to pursue.
Exactly - it's a whole other world and cannot be approached like a set of technical website tweaks.
Some forms of SEO involve learning to use the technical tools we have in a better fashion - URL Rewriting, CMS fixes, 302/301 redirects, keyword research and all that. But social media is a different species of marketing. In one sense it's something like traditional "push" marketing and publlic relations. But to be effective, social marketing is relational - and like any relationship, it can take a lot of time and energy. So plan accordingly - this is not just clicking on buttons!
Kickedout
9:59 pm on Aug 6, 2010 (gmt 0)
I agree, personally I feel all social network a big waste of time either in the social aspect and also commercial. I have zero interest in social networks but I understand the whole world is moving into it and can't be aside for long.
Facebook and Yahoo Answers, although the links are nofollow,
Really? I didn't know about it. So the real value of those links are the visitors, but not page rank value for you uh?
Simsi
10:22 pm on Aug 6, 2010 (gmt 0)
I think the impact of social networking is limited right now. But I do believe that like anything web-oriented, getting positioned early provides the best opportunity for long-term gain should that opportunity materialise. Therefore I think its worth weighing what one considers a worthy time investment against the longer-term possibilities.
Everything evolves and the earlybird successful speculators are usually the long-term beneficiaries.
