Nowadays, it seems like everyone has a LinkedIn profile or a Facebook account. Both are popular — Facebook claims 500 million active users and is growing by about 600,000 users a day, while LinkedIn has more than 40 million members representing more than 150 different countries.

You might be using these for the networking opportunities. And, you may use the connections and dialogue in work applications.

For those of you whose responsibilities — either directly or indirectly — involve organic Web site optimization, let’s look at how you can get SEO benefits out of social networking.

The most important reasons best blogs are Open Source, free, secure, fast  and very popular. The latter point is notable because that means  the chance of finding developer talent that knows how to customize a CMS system for your needs is pretty high. First lets define what CMS is.

CMS Definition from Wikipedia:

A content management system (CMS) is the collection of procedures used to manage work flow in a collaborative environment. These procedures can be manual or computer-based. The procedures are designed to do the following:

• Allow for a large number of people to contribute to and share stored data
• Control access to data, based on user roles (defining which information users or user groups can view, edit, publish, etc.)
• Aid in easy storage and retrieval of data
• Reduce repetitive duplicate input
• Improve the ease of report writing
• Improve communication between users

As you shift your focus from frantically optimizing holiday campaigns to methodically (hah!) executing 2011 plans, here are ten areas worth thinking about:

1. Local. With all the buzz over Google’s near-acquisition of Groupon, it’s clear the Big G is ready to make a big move in the local space. While it may not be a pure SEM play, finding ways to customize offers to niche audiences and tap the long tail should be on every marketer’s to-do list.

2. Social ads. As Facebook beefs up its Marketplace Ads offering and ads API, social advertising campaigns will begin to look an awful lot like search. From precise audience segmentation to dynamic creative customization to real-time bidding, social ads are taking on core attributes of SEM. Keep in mind, however, that social ads will not perform as well as search from a pure dollar-in, dollar-out standpoint as social networkers are not in the same commercial mindset that searchers are. Be sure to measure the impact social ads have on search activity to capture the full return on your investment.

I was recently contacted by another SEO practitioner who was chagrined by all the folks who question the cost of search engine optimization vs. building a website. Her comment: "Some clients say "If it costs $6,000 to build a website, why do I have to pay more than that for SEO?"

Perhaps this example will help: Several years ago, we took our family to Universal Studios in Orlando. Before going there, a relative told me that when we purchase our tickets, we should look into the "Express Pass," which would enable us to go to the head of the line at any attraction at the park. The pass wasn't cheap - it was $20 then and now it's about $40 more than the cost of the entry ticket.