Social networking success and expert SEO tips

27/01/10 posted by Liz Niland

Australians are making social networking sites their go-to point online - rather than search engines - according to data released by Hitwise. During Christmas week, more Aussies visited websites categorised as “Social Networking and Forums” than those listed as “Search Engines”. Analyst Alan Long writes that although this may have looked like a short term phenomenon, “we are now seeing continued growth of Social Networking and Forums to now sit just 0.4% share behind Search Engines in week ending 16 January 2010.” This result makes it even easier to see which two areas you should be targeting in your online marketing strategy: search engine optimisation and effective social networking.

Speaking of search engine optimisation, SEO expert Danny Sullivan offers an incredibly handy (and witty!) post directed at the richest man in the world: Bill Gates. On the back of Gates’ foray into the world of social media (he now has a Twitter account), Sullivan was mostly horrified at the poor SEO effort seen on The Gates Notes. In his advice for Gates, Sullivan goes through some downright basic SEO tips that anyone can take note of - even if you’d just like to make sure your tweets or blog posts score some extra clicks.

The Apple tablet countdown is on with news expected early in the morning (Australian time). And while it’s nowhere near as small and sleek as what Apple will be unveiling, the Microsoft Surface made its Aussie debut at the Australian Open tennis in Melbourne. Sponsored by ANZ Bank, and filled with their promotional material, the 30-inch table-top screen (tomorrow’s tablet is set to be a 10-inch) responds to multi-touch gestures and enables collaboration between a small group of people.