Websites can reach page one in SERPS through social media searches Source: Websites can reach page one in SERPS through social media searches

The world of online marketing was dominated by social media in 2010 and it seems that social media will still have a big impact on SEO in 2011, this time focusing on how search engines treat information gathered from social media searches.

As Search Engine Watch explains, even if Google and Bing factor the influence of social media into their algorithms, it doesn’t have any effect on the actual rank of SERPs.
Frank Watson commentator for Search Engine Watch, argues that the actual results haven’t changed in any major way when you look at sites that have fully embraced social media. However, it has a significant impact when it comes to searches that include results from people in a social circle. The results are pulled from people connected through social media and the ranking is based on those relationships.
When it comes to an SEO campaign, these social searches could help a website to get on the front page of the SERPs, but it won’t have any impact on the actual listings. This means that by manipulating the way a business releases information through social media, they can be seen on the first page without actually ranking on the first page. It won’t provide any gains in an SEO campaign in the long term, but will make a brand more visible if it’s using social media to share relevant content with their network in a way that maximises being spotted by search engines on networking sites.
This will make the way people manage social media more important in 2011, as the desire to manipulate social search results grows with the influence of these results.


Source: Websites can reach page one in SERPS through social media searches | Search Engine Marketing News