dizzysoft softwareWill Twitter make SEO obsolete?
Previously I mentioned how Twitter has helped me do SEO. But, in addition to link building, another advantage of Twitter for SEO is in the connections I’ve made. I have met a lot of people in my city who are involved in SEO through Twitter. With these connections I have learned a lot, helped a little, and even made a couple friends. The other day I went to an SEO meet-up (that I heard about through Twitter) and met a couple Twitter friends. One asked the other why he didn’t show up at a lunch meeting earlier in the day and I was able to answer the question. It’s not that I am stalking SEOs through Twitter- its just that Twitter keeps me connected with other SEOs.
Even if I am not able to meet another SEO in person Twitter helps me with SEO. As my Twitter profile (@dizzySEO) states, I am using Twitter to ask questions and listen for answers. I have found the Twitter SEO community very willing to help me when I am stumped or want to run a new idea by a couple people.
For example, the other day I noticed a previous SEO firm who had worked on one of my client’s sites had linked to another page with the anchor tags of the keywords they were trying to rank for on the current page (is that a clear explanation?). It didn’t seem right to me. I had heard about the SEO advantages of linking to other good sites but why link elsewhere on your site with the keyword phrase you want that page to rank for? I expressed my question to Twitter and got the confirmation I needed- it was a bad idea.
Ironically this is how Twitter might make SEO obsolete. There was an interesting article in the July 2009 issue of Wired describing Facebook as a search engine. It’s not talking about a search engine like Google, with static information and algorithms to determine whose site is better than the next, like we SEO for. Instead Facebook (and this applies to Twitter as well as any social network, like LinkedIn) is a search engine where you ask a question and get answers from people to trust (follow). Besides, how would you ask a complicated question, like my example above, in a query phrase to Google that would give you a result that remotely answers your question? Will social networks kill SEO? Twitter is beginning to position itself as a search engine (have you looked at the Twitter homepage lately? or used the Twitter search mechanism in your Twitter sidebar?), can it compete with Google-almighty?
What do you think? Will Twitter make SEO obsolete? Will we all need to become “social media experts”?
I personally don’t think so. SEO can inform Twitter and other social media platforms with what it has learned about good content writing and keyword focuses, so people using these networks can find the answers they are looking for. When twitter advertising is done in light of SEO it can be very advantageous (like the SEO advantages one might get from sponsoring FeedTwit).
August 13th, 2009 at 6:03 pm
I’m really enjoying the debate over real time/social search vs. the current Google algorithm. If anything, it will be amazingly fun to watch unfold.
November 23rd, 2009 at 10:40 pm
no twitter will not make seo obsolete. It will enhance the communication
January 17th, 2010 at 4:00 pm
Your Twitter post is good and brings up some valid points, glad I found your post! I believe that social media is going to be the future home for any and all advertising and marketing. With Google’s real-time search and other search engines catching on quickly you will see many SEO Companies becoming Twitter SEO Companies very soon! I wrote a post that you may be interested to read about http://seosport.com/social-media/seo/optimize-twitter-profile/
I am an avid Twitter user and focus on building the value that I add to the rest of my social network, I help to promote any and everyone that asks me for help (as long as they are not loco in la cabessa!). I believe that optimizing your profiles is very important, just as optimizing your website is, but the most important part of any SEO efforts is having quality content. The same goes for Twitter, you need quality content and updates for people to read and link to. If you tweet about the right subjects you will notice more and more incoming links to your twitter profile when your tweets start being republished on other people’s blogs (provides some temporary page rank). Also you can do your own personal “Social Media Press Release” and some good old fashioned article directory link building with your Twitter profile.
Social media is the first step to an “open-source” media and news. My twitter username is @gohewitt for anyone looking to follow. I am excited to see what comes of all of this and feel that we still don’t have a clue what being “Connected” really means just yet!
July 23rd, 2010 at 5:49 pm
[...] it’ll equalize or reverse anytime soon. I also agree with folks like David Zimmerman who understands the threat as a change in the way we search for information online. Social media allows us to bypass the Google machine when we’re seeking information, instead [...]