Mediarun Search Marketing News

Website optimisation: Social networking can bring 'huge financial benefits'

January 22nd 2010

Social Media Optimisation News

Social networking can bring "huge financial benefits" to website optimisation, according to online experts.

With a worldwide Facebook audience in excess of 350 million users and Twitter growing at a reported rate of 1,382 per cent, search engine optimisation (SEO) specialists at a recent round table discussion in Manchester organised by the website hosting company UKFast admitted that their marketing campaigns now focused heavily on linking content across numerous social networking sites.

Their revelations follow computer maker Dell's recent announcement that it generated $6.5 million (£4 million) through sales of PCs, software applications and accessories using Twitter.

In addition, the furnishing retailer Habitat used messages posted on the Twitter social networking website to promote its furniture sales in June last year.

Speaking to the Financial Times, Manish Mehta, vice-president of social media and community at Dell, described social media outreach as "a natural extension" of the company's interaction with the internet.

The microblogging site was identified as a primary traffic driver to company websites and an "essential form of free, immediate advertising".
With focused and plentiful content still high on the priority list for Search Engine Optimisation in 2010, distributing it across a number of different sites was believed to be vital for improving search engine rankings and creating quality links to company websites.

"The way Google is approaching search at the moment it is all about universal search," said panellist and website marketing specialist Terry Heffernan.

He explained that as search returns now included news and video footage and maps, plus directory and business listings, the first natural SEO listings are often suppressed down the page.

Therefore, it makes sense to optimise across social networking channels to maximise exposure, he said.

Ultimately it was the combination of specialist content and an ongoing stream of visitors enhanced through social networking sites which was believed to be a vital component in lead generation.

Speed was also identified as an important aspect of search engine optimisation in 2010.

Already recognised by Google's Matt Cutts as an increasing focus for search rankings, the panel confirmed that the delivery of content was thought to be as increasingly important as the content itself.