One of our favorite traditions at My City Lives, is our once a week meet-up with someone new to throw down ideas and generally just connect. One of the biggest benefits to “Stranger Whiteboards” is that it encourages us to refine or rethink our ideas once we begin discussing them. This week was no different when we were asked by a Stranger about our strategy for Search Engine Optimization (SEO). For those of you unfamiliar, a good SEO means you’re close to the top of Google’s search results and theoretically in a good position for success.

Our answer was fairly standard: we’ve done all the usual things and “SEO is important to us”. That’s kind of a lie. In fact, that’s a lie.

Sure we’ve taken some steps to be SEO friendly but the truth is, we’ve been far more concerned on how we can be Social Media (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, etc.) friendly rather than SEO. Nabeel Hyatt from Conduit Labs just wrote a piece which in many ways encapsulates our thinking, but here are some key reasons why we think more and more people are going to consider going Social over Search:

• Social Networking looks poised to take over Search in overall visits. In December, Facebook had more traffic than all of Google’s properties Combined.
• Not surprising, we read, watch, buy what our friends read, watch and buy. Mainstream news sites are seeing for the first time more hits coming from Facebook than from Google
• Google’s algorithm rewards inherently ranks older links higher than new ones so if I was looking for bars in Toronto, its far more likely that I would be directed to one of Toronto.com’s rudimentary web pages than a far more new and compelling one. Ergo, newer companies are at an immediate disadvantage trying to compete in the search game no matter how great their product or offering is. Unless, of course, you’re willing to pay a lot of money for Ad Sense. A lot.

So more people are visiting and spending time in social networks and are following the information shared with them in there at an increasing rate. Perhaps most important, however, is that the difference between Search and Social is that Search is powered by an algorithm, Social by people. With that in mind, we’ve always felt far more passionate about being great in Social rather than Search as a strategy for growth.

It might be risky, but risk runs strong through the veins of anyone who starts a new business and this is one we’re willing to take.