The emergence of the social networking tool Twitter, which enables users to post snippets of up to 160 characters per post (tweet), has raised some questions on its impact on the SEO industry. Frankly, I think this is the wrong question to ask. Twitter has only a distant and indirect relation to SEO.
However, it has a HUGE impact to the overall web marketing picture.
On one hand you can develop a following of interested, lurking, and completely useless followers. Some may be induced to visit your web site through your tweets, some may even link to you. That’s the indirect benefit to your SEO endeavors. But given the nature of Twitter, this type of tactic doesn’t fit within the ethos of network. Let me explain.
Twitter works just as any network works–those who are interesting and have value to add are worthy to pay attention to. If you simply spout out API driven ads or self-promote non-stop, you do not have a value to add and thus your followers list will reflect that same quality.
However, if you are truly contributing to your industry, you have interesting and not-self promoting tweets, you may find yourself developing a list of followers who are like-minded and more prone to RT (re-tweet) and pay attention to your content.
Twitter enables users to create a new network where they couldn’t, to connect with individuals they never would have without the outlet. But just like any other network, you have to use it properly. You’ll find that if you stay within the grounds of offering value to potential followers, use some beneficial Twitter lingo (like hash tags which is a type of filing system that help users find the latest trends around a topic or area), and you may be able to capitalize on the Twitter train.