Seemingly every day a new social media site is launched, adding to the thousands of networks and communities that are spreading across the web. With this proliferation, businesses are increasingly turning to social media and social networking as a crucial part of their search engine optimisation activities. Read More

But, how do you weed out the good from the bad and the valuable from the potentially harmful? Are bookmarking sites as useful as blogs? Should you participate in forums? Do article marketing channels harm your SEO possibilities?

Internet search statistics from the last twelve months may hold the answer to these questions. The data shows that of the top 10 most popular search terms in the UK, four were social media sites.

Facebook topped the list of all search queries which, although of no use from an SEO position standpoint, makes it a very useful site for brand building. The huge volumes of traffic running through the site can be used to build product awareness and client loyalty by providing an interactive space for consumers to engage with the brand.

Behind Facebook in the top 10 were Bebo, MySpace and YouTube, all valuable optimisation properties when suitably leveraged as part of an integrated campaign. Their appearance in the top ten searches is indicative of their rising popularity with internet users, pointing to large proportions of traffic that web site owners can take advantage of.