We’ve reached an important tipping point in the digital marketing world. More than half of all searches now take place via a mobile device, as does 60 percent of social media activity. It’s essential to understand the relationship between search, social and mobile if you want to build your business.

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Social media has a direct and profound impact on your search engine rankings. Customers use social media extensively as a discovery tool, spending significant amounts of time looking for products and services they’d like to have. Especially important in this discovery process is the recommendations of a user’s friends and acquaintances; social media done well is superior word of mouth marketing.

Every time your brand is mentioned on social media, particularly on image curation sites like Pinterest, there is a positive impact on your website’s ranking. The more influential the person posting about your brand is on social media (and here, influence is measured both in terms of the number of followers they have and the typical reach of their content) the bigger the impact will be.

Google’s search algorithms are being continually refined. The two trends we know are dominant right now are a prioritization of mobile friendly sites and an increased emphasis on social media content, especially relevant to in-bound links. The value of in-bound links has been compromised by quality concerns; the high number of spam or low quality links, as well as the existence of a marketplace where links are bought, sold, or traded.

With that in mind, it’s time for every business owner to think strategically. You need to know what you want your company to be found for and determine the best way to spread that news via social media. Additionally, it’s imperative that customers can transition seamlessly from social media to your website on their mobile device without any disruption of the experience. Making sure your website looks great and functions flawlessly when viewed on a smartphone or tablet needs to be a top priority. The companies that bring their search and social campaigns into alignment are the companies that are going to win in today’s competitive marketplace.