Earlier this week, Brafton reported that Matt Cutts advised internet marketers to move away from article marketing and toward social media. Another recent tip from Cutts supports the idea that social media marketing should be a top SEO priority this year.

Earlier this week, Brafton reported that Matt Cutts advised internet marketers to move away from article marketing and toward social media. Another recent tip from Cutts supports the idea that social media marketing should be a top SEO priority this year.

When asked what he would “make sure to include in [his] 2011 [SEO] strategy,” one of Cutts' top three recommendations was to use social media to broadcast quality content. He explained that social media marketing helps get content shared, and this can ultimately boost SEO.

He said:

A lot of times people think SEO versus social media marketing, and a lot of the times it makes sense to keep a holistic view. First you have to have great content … then you need to tell people about it, and social media marketing can be a great way to do that.

Cutts is not alone in this theory. As Brafton reported, discussions about SEO at SMX West often revolved around quality content and social media. Though Google's most recent social search updates don't give sites preferential ranking for generating top Tweets, social links are known to keep giving.

As Brafton has reported, 23 percent of social users are “creators” and almost one in 10 are “megaphones.” Both of these categories of users generate web content surrounding brand info found on social sites, and they're likely to link to valuable resources.

In addition to social media, Cutts emphasized site speed optimization as key to SEO this year. (For more on this, check out Brafton's blogs on picking the right web host and selecting server software to boost site speed.)

Katherine Griwert is Brafton's Marketing Director. She's practiced content marketing, SEO and social marketing for over five years, and her enthusiasm for new media has even deeper roots. Katherine holds a degree in American Studies from Boston College, and her writing is featured in a number of web publications.