Want higher rankings in Google & Bing? Use social media!

• I'm still not sold on social media. I just don't get it. Why should I spend time building profiles on Facebook or Twitter or claiming my business on geo-location sites like FourSquare when these appear to not help my search rankings. Aren't all these sites nofollow anyway?

Answer: You would be shocked at how OFTEN we get this same question in SEO support or from our own clients who still believe that a Facebook Fan Page or a Twitter account is just not for them.

As you stated in your question, the most oft-repeated complaint about social media has always been that there appeared to be few, if any, search engine ranking benefits to using it regularly.

Yet it's ALWAYS been our contention here at Search Engine News that social media signals (be it in the form of Tweets, Stumbles, Facebook Likes, or Check-ins) add incredible value to the average site or blog. Simply stated:

"Social media is INVALUABLE at attracting links and traffic. BOTH of which are necessary to get better, higher, organic rankings in Google and Bing."

The above was what we had been telling our clients regularly for quite awhile. So imagine our not-so-surprised faces when early last month Danny Sullivan of Search Engine Land published a ...