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Social media has created a new SEO: the need for bloggers and website publishers to build an online community with valuable content in order to achieve high rankings in Google, Yahoo! and Bing. Old search engine optimization (SEO) techniques – keyword density, internal and external website linking, and optimizing on-page content – have given way to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, WordPress, and other forms of online community building. In other words, ‘conversation’ is the currency that will buy a website or blog better rankings in Google, Yahoo!, Bing, or other Internet search engines. And, the reality is, the conversation doesn’t really have to be DIRECTLY linked or relevant to a website’s URL: still an important factor determining a website’s value to a search engine. This is true if a blog or website engages (not just informs) and empowers a visitor to do something: add a profile, enrol in a course, register for a service. A blog or website’s Google PageRank depends on it’s ability to foster an online community – period. The AnalyticBridge online analytics community professionals is an excellent example of how new SEO practices must be used to foster community and build a website’s rank in Google.

Social Media and Search Algorithms
Social media’s popularity is why Google has altered search algorithms that determine website rankings on a search engine results page (SERP). A website publisher or blogger now build an online community to rank high – and remain highly ranked – in Google, Yahoo!, Bing, and other search engines. According to a November 2011 Google press release, Google’s Caffeine web indexing system algorithm will impact about 35% of Internet searches according to Google. It will also help Google compete with the growing popularity of social media as a source of online information versus keyword seaches. Google’s algorithm change is a prime example of how social media – and community-building – has impacted the field of search engine optimization (SEO).

The Old SEO
Traditional SEO techniques are not as effective: at one point, a website or blog’s high rank in Google, Yahoo! and Bing required that it have important keywords in metadata, page headings, titles, and body content. Maximizing keyword density might be achieved with the help of free web analytics tools. Search algorithms now place less importance on keyword density due to abusive keyword stuffing and spamming practices. A website or blog should still contain important keywords in the URL, but this is not a source of competitive advantage. Internal and external blog or website links must still contain important keywords (eg. marketing analytics). Every website publisher should also seek as many back links from related, authoritative (eg. high Google PageRank) websites. Standard SEO practice involves placing a website URL in as many directories (eg. Yahoo!’s Open Directory Project) as possible. However, a competing SEO professional may easily replicate this and other techniques using the Firefox SEO Toolbar. Traditional SEO is becoming less important for ensuring a website’s ranking.

Social Media Online Communities
The mechanical process of ‘optimizing a website’ is being replaced by the social experience of ‘creating an online community’. Sharing online content via social networking sites – StumbleUpon, Twitter, Facebook – is quickly becoming the most important SEO technique. A website’s influence across social media channels will impact its ranking in Google, Yahoo! and Bing. And it is a more reliable source of competitive SEO-advantage: more time and investment is required to create an online community than to optimize a website. WordPress and other blogging technology have added to this trend by transforming the overall purpose of a website: from being a source of content to fostering a sense of community. And, the more active a website community is – via shared comments, link exchanges and other activities – the higher its Google, Yahoo! and Bing rank will be. Website traffic generated via Twitter, Facebook, StumbleUpon and other social networking sites translate into better search engine result page (SERP) rankings: and higher authority scores generated by Klout.com and other services.

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