Ok… so in light of Google Buzz and Real-Time Search, where does Twitter and Facebook really fit into the Google mix?

Not from is Twitter and Facebook competition to the Google empire,(another whole conversation that’s been beat to death) but does Facebook and Twitter actually help your Google Search rankings?

And, for discussion here, we’re going to table Real-Time search results for a different conversation.

So, from a pure SEO play…

You’re sitting there wondering…

Do links from Facebook and Twitter increase your Google ranking?

After all, Twitter and Facebook, next to Google and YouTube are the top sites online. You’ve heard that links from top sites into your local website helps boost your Google rankings. Increased Google rankings mean better chances for your website to show up for your key search terms on Page 1 of Google. Showing up on Page 1 of Google translates into more visitors to your website, more phone calls to your local business, and ultimately, more sales and money in your pocket. Yep, that’s how you’d like to see it work for your business.

Since you’ve heard so much about Twitter and Facebook, and they’re both Free Sites, you’ve decided to build Profiles and Pages, and are attracting  Friends and Followers. You’re posting to your Facebook Fan Page and Wall, and sending out Tweets with links back to your website.

All this activity… but is it working?

Is it helping to increase your Google ranking and begin the “Happy Cycle” that leads to sales in your local business?

Let’s get the answer straight from Google. Here’s Matt Cutts, a Google software engineer and head of Google’s Webspam team.

Ok, so what is Matt telling us here?

1. Links from Twitter and Facebook are treated the same as any other site. Google does not distinguish them.

2. Lots of Facebook Personal Profiles are set to “Private”. If set to “Private” for Friends viewing only, the Google bots can not crawl your Facebook Profile and pick up the links.

3. Facebook Fan Pages are Public and are DO Follow links vs. NO Follow. As DO Follow, they will help increase your Google rankings if you have links from your Facebook Fan Page pointing back to your website or blog. I’m seeing comments on different sites that question if this is really true. Here’s a tool to check DO Follow/ NO Follow links if you use the Firefox Browser.

4. Twitter links in Tweets are NO Follow, but the link in your Twitter Profile is DO Follow (as are links in your Personal Profile on most all Social Marketing sites such as Digg, StumbleUpon, Mixx, Yahoo Buzz, LinkedIn, etc.) This is a good reason to go out and create Profiles at as many of the Social Marketing sites as possible and include a link back to your website or blog.

5. Links on Tweets to your site are NO Follow, but remember, keywords you use in your Tweets now show up in Google’s Real-Time search results.

(In case you’re wondering DO Follow=Good, passes link juice on to your site. NO Follow= Not necessarily bad, but you get no link juice benefits. NO Follow is used on sites like Twitter to discourage SPAM commenting)

Your Three BIG take-aways here to increase your Google rankings from Twitter and Facebook:

ONE: Turn your Facebook Personal Profile “Public” if you have links to your site and want them to help you.

TWO: Set-Up a Facebook Fan Page for your business. Update it often with links back to your site. Check these links from time to time to make sure they are DO Follow. ( Somehow, I don’t think Facebook will announce this…)

THREE: Include a link in your Twitter Profile and all your Social Marketing Profiles. Get active on Social Marketing sites that fit your business. Build followers. AS you build followers, your Social Marketing Profile page increases in Google rank and passes more link value back to help increase your Google ranking.

Now, is this alone going to rocket you up the rankings for competitive keywords?

No.

But, if Facebook and Twitter are tactics and tools you’re using in your social media marketing strategy to build relationships with prospects and clients, why not get the most leverage out of them?

Because with On-line marketing, like many Off-line marketing tactics it’s not any ONE thing you do, it’s a combination of many things and how they fit into your overall marketing strategy.

So, you see, when you increase your Google ranking…

You start the “Happy Cycle”:

Your site shows up on Page 1 of Google, first for less competitive keywords, and eventually you start “owning” keywords in your sweet-spot.

You begin to see more visitors at your website.

These website visitors call you, fill out a site inquiry/lead form, print out a coupon…

Then these website visitors show up at your business with a coupon in hand, or you’ve set an appointment to see them.

They like what you do, how you do it, and hire you to solve their wants and desires, problems and challenges.

They give you cash, check, or a credit-card. They pay you.

Bottom-Line: More sales and more money in your pocket.

Flickr Photo Credt: Lall

Related Facebook, Twitter, and Social Media Articles:

• Google News Tries Sharing With Facebook, But Where’s The Buzz Button? (techcrunch.com)
• Want to Friend Me on Facebook? Please Use My Public Page or LinkedIn Instead (techipedia.com)
• Social Selling (thecustomercollective.com)
• Just How Popular Are You? – How To Check Right Now (thenextweb.com)

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