subject: Understanding The Value Of Twitter For Seo [print this page] When it comes to search engine optimization, the value of Twitter is not easy to establish as SEO companies and experts are divided on the issue. For some, it is an essential part of any websites marketing campaign but others see it as a waste of time.
Nofollow and Shortened Links
Some SEO Company claim that the problem with Twitter links are that they are nofollow, meaning that when Google spiders crawl a page containing them, they do not follow them so no link juice is achieved.
Shortened links are also causing concern amongst providers of SEO Services. Link shorteners like bit.ly or goo.gl redirect to your website, which according to some can severely limit link juice. Whats more, some experts do not like the fact that as it redirects, it gives more chance for error. If the link shorteners servers go down, the links are useless for that time for search engine optimization purposes as the Google spider or internet user will not reach your site.
Benefits of Using Twitter for SEO
One of the main benefits of using Twitter to enhance SEO is that it can lead to exposure on other sites as websites are increasingly including Twitter feeds on their homepage. Despite fears that the shortened links on Twitter and feeds from the site are nofollow, many providers of SEO services dismiss it, believing that the SEO link juice is unaffected. According to Matt Cutts who is in charge of Googles Webspam team,
"If we see [a 301 or permanent redirect] then that will pass PageRank to the final destination. So in general, there really shouldnt be any harm to using custom URL shorteners in your SEO. The PageRank will flow through. The anchor text will flow through, and so I wouldnt necessarily worry about that at all."
This statement indicates that in all likelihood, using Twitter and other social media as a part of a balanced Search Engine Optimization campaign can be extremely beneficial. Google and other search engines are always trying to improve to get the best and most relevant pages high in their search results. It appears that they have begun to recognize the value of some nofollow and redirect links and seem to be doing their best to accommodate this.
Many SEO companies who previously denounced the value of Twitter for SEO purposes are now returning to the site and it is likely that the more Google do to address the issues, the more Twitter and other social media will become a permanent part of professional SEO services.
