The social web and search results support each other and are inexorably linked.  It goes beyond a mere passive connection, the two create an active, virtuous cycle growing more powerful daily.  I mocked up a quick version of what I view the cycle as:

The link between search and social media only becomes tighter as the engines and the social web innovate and integrate together in ways which make both more valuable.  From the standpoint of staying relevant and at the edge, the engines and the social web need each other.  They are working together for the benefit of users, but site owners can benefit too by creating a strategy embracing the connection.

The web itself has always been social, and search and social have already reached the convergence point.  The future will see an even closer, symbiotic relationship between the two.

Here are 5 reasons supporting the above graphic, that social is your future SEO strategy:

1.  The engines are continuously getting smarter

Make no doubt about it, the search engines are only getting smarter at interpreting links and user data.  It is evolution right before our eyes as their algorithms advance side-by-side with how we use the web.  The engines already know how to treat different kinds of links and will only get smarter at it.  The value of truly earned organic, editorial links will only continue to increase in value.

2.  Those with a strong social strategy get a growing amount of editorially-earned links daily

If your brand isn’t publishing content to the web and involved in building a thriving community of subscribers, you will forever be positioned behind competitors agile enough to do so.  This is because while you can keep trying to build links arithmetically to static content, your competition will be earning those ultra-valuable organic links daily  as their community will be conditioned to anticipate quality and be ready to share.  Their link growth will be both organic and exponential, not arithmetic.  Don’t handicap your brand on the web by throwing up red tape and making it difficult to publish compelling content.

3.  Fresh content = more hooks in the water for search

Simply point, the more content you have on your site, the more you are going to cover the spread of the long tail related to your niche and snag more traffic from the engines.  Also fresh content keeps your site updated, which gives users a reason to come back.  People don’t want to visit static sites, we’re already too used to sites being social.

4.  The engines like frequently updated sites

Feed those indexes with fresh content and get rewarded with frequent visits by the search spiders.  Keep at it long enough and content from your site should get indexed in just a few hours after publishing.

5.  Social web success brings increasing returns

Popular sites, blogs or brands only get more popular, success is self-reinforcing here.  A positive reputation builds upon itself over time and will cause you to receive links and attention at increasing returns if you stick with it and push through the dip.