A rise in social search activity was noted by research firm Info-Tech's at the company's latest technology conference. 

Davin Juusola, vice-president of research and development for Info-Tech, noted that in 2008, indexed search engines such as Google has a 90 per cent share of all Web-based searches. By 2011, that had dropped to 50 per cent, and is expected to drop to less than 10 per cent by 2016.

It's important to note that these remarks reflect on overall search activity as a percentage of searches, rather than total search volume. But - the implication is clear. People are no longer turning exclusively to search engines to find things. They're turning to a variety of social sites for search as well. 

So, how does your SEO and Social Content optimization strategy stack up?

How does social media help search engine optimization? Why should SEO professionals build social skills in their practice? This week, Search Engine Journal posted a great piece about the imporance of social media skills for SEO professionals, emphasizing that you can boost your SEO efforts through solid social media tactics:

The SEO skill set has evolved (and continues to). While being a great link builder, knowing how to write content for SEO and understanding best practices for optimizing a website are still incredibly important, they are not the only things we as SEO professionals need to understand in order to do our jobs well and produce real results for our clients. In today’s online world, having a solid understanding of how social media works and how it can be leveraged for SEO is critical to developing long lasting and quality SEO campaigns.

According to the article, there are several social media components that SEO pros need to be aware of, including: 

• Understanding the Differences Between Social Networks
• How to Automate Tasks
• Leveraging Social Media as a Promotional Tool
• Understanding Social Signals

I'd also add that there is a lot of research and creative insight you can learn from using social media that can help your SEO efforts, like what content types work to build social momentum and gain more views - and inbound links, and more. 

Check out this article to learn more. 

And, if you're interested in the overlap of SEO and Social Media, please check out our SXSW Panel Picker proposal: Humans+Robots: How to Create SEO+Social Friendly Content!

We'd appreciate your consideration, comments, and help spreading the word about this idea! Check out the Twitter hashtag #humansvrobots to join the conversation! 

Today, panelist Jenn Pedde shares her thoughs on the humans v. robots debate. Is Jenn #teamhumans or #teamrobots? You'll have to read her post to find out! The good news is, she shares some great insights, so it's worth your time! Here's a sneak peek at what Jenn had to say. 

When I started community managing it was great - all social, all the time.  Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, blogging... I created content, I built relationships,  I didn't have a real care in the world except that all the numbers on all the sites had to keep going up,  sentiment was positive, customers were happy, and job well done.  I would say that's entry level community at it's best.  But, as things are oft to do they grow and expand and of course they have to become justifiable.  Not only that, but you begin to the push the boundaries and see what you can do with all of these social tools and where it can bleed into for other departments.  That's where SEO entered my life.

Check out the rest on her blog!

Oh, and if you're interested in hearing Jenn speak about this topic at SXSW next year, check out this idea on Panel Picker. 

[Via: Single Grain]