The next few years will see a large increase in the number of social media posts and messages indexed in the search engines. The indexing of Facebook and Twitter is just the beginning. I expect to see much more relevant data popping up in the search results for specific key phrases in the near future.
Videos are constantly appearing on the first page of Google for competitive keywords. The theory is that the rankings of video depend upon the amount of comments and views, rather than links. It seems Google is attempting to rank the value of a site by the viral nature of the video representative of its comments and page views. This could give us a clue about Google’s upcoming strategies for ranking valuable sites. Focus your efforts on viral videos, blog posts and content that attracts comments and excessive interaction. It may just help you rank well in the search engines.
We know that excessive personal bookmarking of your own website may affect rankings and possibly result in the banning of your account. Consider the effects of an excessive amount of internet users bookmarking your content and adding descriptions and relevant keywords. Sites such as Digg and StumbleUpon allow users to vote and republish articles. Just as YouTube views and comments may influence search rankings, so may the variables associated with social distribution of content such as number of Diggs or votes. If visitors actually bookmark your content, they deem it valuable enough to take their time and Google’s main goal is to offer value to their search participants.
The key term in this entire topic is “value” and “viral”. One does not occur without the other. If Google will reward content based on its viral nature, you need to offer value to your visitors. Create a unique point of view and make a video explaining the concept. Funny or creative videos often perform well in the community. Link the video to your website so people know the origin of the content.
The implications of a successful social media campaign have only just begun. Watch to see the future of social websites as it relates to search rankings. If Google can find a better way to offer value and weed out spammers, they will do it. Your decision is to determine whether or not you are going along for the ride.
