There is a clear evidence of the value of social marketing and search rankings.  Through a series of interviews recently, Google and Bing have “peeled back the onion” to reveal some of the social related markers (i.e. content, blogs, links, tweets, facebook, etc.) that they consider in their formulas that drive search result ranking.

 The impact for marketers is that link sharing on Twitter and Facebook is evaluated based upon the entity sharing them through a score that Google calls "Author Authority," and Bing calls "Social Authority."  To steal from a Dan Fogelberg song, “twin sons of a different mother”. 

While the blogs I follow don’t agree completely or yet appreciate all the markers, the markers that most likely are tracked by the search engines include:

• Quantity and diversity of sources of social sharing
• Timing ( sharing over time)
• Supporting content accompanying links
• Quantity and engagement Level
• Quantity of friends and followers of an individual or brand
• Authority level and importance of followers
• Level of engagement with followers
• Relevance or patterns of the topic
• Associations (domains) of authors

Over time, I’m sure we will figure out how to focus on the key markers and how they directly impact web rankings.  The goal of which is to drive SEO through social network linking and media.