[01.12.10]

If you write on Twitter, Facebook or MySpace, do your prospective customers see it? Unless they "follow" you or become a "fan," chances are they don't. Google only recently announced that it will be adding social media content to its search engines results.

Yahoo and Bing are already doing this to some degree. Mobile searches and Real Time search are just some of the new ways search engines are finding online content.

What does this mean for businesses and their marketing efforts? More people will see what you write and post online because this content can show up when someone Googles you. Potentially this can have some very positive impact. Your tweet about a product or company could outrank some very strong websites in the Google results.

The flip side is that your harmless tweet about a person or company could backfire for you. Be more aware of what you say. Use this new powerful feature of the Internet for generating positive feedback, rather than for slamming a company or venting.