Not too long ago Facebook launched the Facebook connect, as systems that would allow facebook users to use only one password and username in order to login to the different accounts affiliated to Facebook, which means that you don’t have to memorise a lot of usernames and passwords anymore. It is because of this feature that Yahoo have now forged a tie with Facebook in order to have their features to be displayed on the social media network. This full support to Facebook connect by Yahoo is said to commence early next year. This will then prove once and for all the importance of social media networks in the field of search or in the internet as a whole.

As a pilot project, Yahoo have integrated a system that will allow users to look at or preview their messages in Facebook from their own Yahoo home page, a move which is related to the revamping of Yahoo’s home page. With the forging of stronger ties between Yahoo and Facebook it is believed that it has opened an avenue for both companies to exhibit or intensify their features sharing, it can be that Facebook news feeds will then be available for Yahoo users while photo sharing through Flickr will then be available for Facebook users. With this features sharing system between the two companies it is hoped that traffic towards Facebook will be shared with Yahoo or vice versa.

What does this mean for SEO companies and SEO consultants? A lot, because this means that the power of social media networks are being recognised by search engine companies as one source of traffic and other features, this therefore means further that SEO companies and SEO consultants must also recognise this fact. Recognising the power of social media network would mean that SEO’s must devise ways on how to exploit or use the power of social media networks to their advantage.

Content is considered to be the foremost ingredient that would help increase of  decrease the search engine results page ranking of a target website. According to research and observations the reason why content has become one of the foremost criteria is because of the fact that contents are those that gives information to internet users, and studies have shown that internet users’ main reason for searching in the internet is because they are trying to search for information. Content is then viewed as the make or break factor in terms of keeping your clients loyalty to your website, it is because of the fact that when your content gives the internet users what they are looking for then they will definitely return to your site craving for more, but if your content does not give any relevant information at all well it is time to say goodbye to that website.

To put into context, content is not only those that pertains to text but also to the different information contained in your website, they may also be images, audio and videos, but of course the most common content that everyone is aware of is the text content. The main thrust or goal for a content to be effective is that it should be original and fresh. Original content means that such must not just be a product of someone else’s work, not copied from another website and pasting into yours, search engine algorithms have been embedded with codes that would enable it to detect copied contents most especially for text-contents. The freshness of the content is determined by how often it is being updated, for blog sites a daily update would be recommended while for standard websites the updates should also be evident although it is not advisable to change the content daily.

Contents were designed to give websites the power to inform their users and it is therefore supposed to be used for that purpose and not for other purposes such as spamming,  the presence of a good, original and fresh content is one of the best practice that you can do in your quest to establishing an effective SEO campaign.

The field of search engine optimisation is evolving, form its beginnings as a meta tag centered algorithm to Google’s link centered algorithm. The evolution of the search engine algorithm is brought about by first, a rapid change in technology to the rapid adaptation of spammers. It is because of the second reason that search engines deemed it necessary to keep the algorithm a secret and to keep updating such search engine algorithm in order to avoid abuse by the different website owners or any by black hat SEO agents. Today, that change in the algorithm is not likely seen to happen immediately but several indicators have shown that there are going to be several factors or criteria that are going to be added to the search engine algorithm.

The first criteria that are possibly going to be added are the amount of Click data. It has been noted that Google news does not use links as a ranking factor rather it uses clicks or the amount of clicks as a ranking factor.
Second Criteria is web referencing, a web reference is not a link but rather a mention of the target website in an external website. This means that the mere mention of your website from another website which you do not own is already considered as a ranking factor, not just by links anymore.

A third criterion is the presence of your website in social media networks. Social media is now considered to be the latest craze among different walks of life and the popularity of your website in a social media community will contribute greatly to your ranking.

Finally, page loading time is also going to become a factor nowadays that is why website design and web development will play an important role in the field of SEO. The rationale behind using page loading time as a ranking factor is the fact that fast page loading time improves user experience.

With this four criteria that would help revolutionise search engine algorithm, we might see another shift in terms of the SEO approaches being done by different SEO companies and SEO consultants.

Search engine optimization’s evolution came when the social media networks were developed, as part of the whole SEO process and the many SEO companies and SEO consultants have tried to exploit the new technology. Social media optimization however is different from the normal or conventional search engine optimisation process, this is because of the fact that the normal on-site optimisation is not the focus but rather you will have to create an belong to a community and build online relationships. This is a different approach because you have to work your way into convincing people rather than following the criteria of the search engine algorithm.

Since its inception there were several suggested processes that you could follow in order to start your Social Media Optimisation off the ground. One of which is by making your contents interesting, visitors of your website are not only the spiders but most of all they are human beings who craves for interesting information. You will increase your linkability by making your website interesting which would then make your readers or site visitors recommend your site to the community. When people do include your site as a link to their website you should take effort to thank the person who included your site remember you are forming relationships more than links.

When you belong to a community take effort and time to participate in the discussion, but do not just post in order to place a link to your site, rather post relevant discussions and not those that are irrelevant, when you do post your link make sure it is appropriate otherwise you will run the risk of getting banned in that community.

When you join a community you have to take time to find a community whose members are your target audiences, this is in order to avoid conveying the wrong message because you are promoting your site to the wrong people. Avoid that mistake by researching the community that you are going to join, it is the same as feeling the community first before you join in.

Several other techniques or suggested guidelines emerged since the development of social media network stay tuned for other tips and guidelines.