Recently Hitwise reported that social media was on the rise in Australia, and they were predicting that social media would overtake search engines in visits by Christmas 09. This did in fact happen, and although this was not sustained as highlighted in the graph below, it certainly highlights the impact social media is having on search.
Facebook and Youtube seem to be providing a large amount of the growth, but sites such as twitter will have a huge impact in 2010. Other markets such as the UK will see big increases themselves this year forcing both SME’s and big brands to gain a greater understanding of social media, and how it impacts their business.
Corporates have been suggesting that social traffic is a cost and does not provide a lasting benefit, but this can depend on what your are measuring. If you are looking for instant returns on a first visit then you will be disappointed. Social traffic generates links into sites which impacts search rankings that then in turn generate visits from search engines. Secondary benefit is creating brand awareness which will increase returning visitors to the site.
A greater understanding of social media and the type of traffic it delivers will only benefit businesses moving forward.