Since they say it is part of the calculation of the serps now. Has anyone seen how it has affected their site in anyway?
Its a normal logic for Social networking websites. If you are popular in Social Networking websites, you get more user traffic on your website and you get more user trafic than some effects on your websites SERP. Because search engine always say create user friendly website.
I think it is a little more difficult for us to be "popular" on FB types sites. But somone put a link for us in a japanese blog the other day causing over 7000 hits in a day directed from that blog. Although it had a bounce rate of like 90some%. I am wondering on how powerful these Blog/Social sites can actually be in hurting, or helping your site.I understand yes the more popular you are you get more hits, but in this business hits from FB are not very good usually. We are starting some prenatal disease testing which may be a little easier "sell" on these types of sites.
Social Networking is helpful for instant traffic generation for a website, when all the fan group are niche to your business. if people coming for related search and those belongs to niche of business then those are relevant searches and Google tracks the visitors where to come and how to come.