What have you resolved to do in 2012 to push more traffic to your company’s website? As we have noted about search engine optimization, there is no single, magic wand maneuver that gets you to number one on the SERP’s overnight, but rather a multitude of smaller link-building tactics that when used patiently and strategically, can deliver relevant traffic and organic rankings that stick. However, just as the algorithm of Google and other search engines changes to filter results more accurately, the impact of these individual tactics can fluctuate, as a recent study by Pew Internet and American Life Foundation shows us.

In addition to studying the constantly changing indexing standards and practices of Google, my Los Angeles website design team and I also determine which SEO techniques best suit a client's ideal campaign and distribute our efforts accordingly. After all, a business targeting a nationwide clientele through an e-commerce site will have different needs than one aimed a statewide or even more local audience. This is why the Pew study's look at which types of marketing get the most exposure for which types of companies offers such valuable insight.

The study interviewed over 1,000 adult subjects in January 2011 on where they get information about local products and services. An overall 51% search online. For restaurants, clubs, and bars, 38% said they go through search engines, while 17% said they use specialty sites like Yelp or City Search). The rest used offline resources like newspapers, word of mouth, and even local television. For general local businesses, 36% used search engines and 16% went through specialty websites. Least frequently used for search purposes were social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.

Does this mean that Facebook, Twitter, and similar sites don’t help SEO? Absolutely not. They simply should not be the all-consuming focus of a campaign's efforts because social media is not really used for search purposes as much as it is brand-building; it can positively impact SEO through comments, shares, reTweets, etc., but search engines and local directories are where people are go when they know what they want but no brand immediately comes to mind. This is where they discover you and deliver those clicks and lengthy, intrigued browsing sessions that drive you to the top of the first page.

Thanks for reading. Jason.
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