As the interest in social media continues to grow, it’s fascinating to see how it intersects with search. WebProNews recently spoke with Stephan Spencer of Covario who brought up some reflective points about this topic.

Although most social media sites do not pass PageRank, they are still beneficial in search. As Spencer explains, social media is a way for companies to get publicity and juice from bloggers and journalists. He says social is not a direct benefit for search, but instead, an indirect benefit.

Social media builds relationships and communities. If businesses are actively involved in social media, they have the ability to use intervention and persuasion when they need to.

Incidentally, Covario has a new tool called Social Media Insight that is part of the company’s CMO Dashboard. It not only helps advertising efforts, but it also tracks social networks.

Spencer also co-authored a new book entitled, The Art of SEO: Mastering Search Engine Optimization. Although the book was released last year, Spencer says it is still very relevant to what is happening today in SEO.