Google has announced an upgrade to its social search features. A feature has been available for some time that shows links related to your search at the bottom of the results page that have been shared by your contacts on social networks.

Now Google will be further integrating this feature by moving the social results higher up in the rankings. This feature is only available to users signed into a Google account that is attached to social networking accounts.

What does this mean for people optimising their websites for promotion on Google? It seems clear that a strong social networking presence is becoming a increasingly important component of an effective online promotion campaign.