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Back in July I wrote on SEO Theory that you can use your SEO resources to help worthy non-profits. Here on Best SEO Blog that same week I asked readers to help your local charity during hard times.

Truth be told, I sometimes do absolutely nothing to help charities and people in need. Most of us are like that and we don’t condemn each other for living out our lives, keeping the needs of others on a back burner somewhere.

But there are people who live the challenge day-by-day of dealing with need or injustice. We admire them for their dedication, their hard work, and the changes they help bring about in the lives of many. And we feel some of the pain they experienced through the losses they suffered, losses which inevitably drove them to take some action.

While I cannot support every cause, every now and then I pick one and just use my sites to say something about them. There is no search engine optimization benefit in supporting a family that has lost a loved one or an organization that cares for wounded veterans, but I know I can help make a difference by using my SEO powers to help other people who are in turn helping others.

Just putting a link on your site or sites to one organization a year is better than doing nothing. And this year I suppose I’ve found myself thinking of ways to help other people more than once. This article is not just about charitable organizations, however. I want to talk about how families are making use of social media resources to share their experiences and ask people for help.

I am sure there must be many sites like this one, but this is the site I found not so long ago. It’s called Peace 4 The Missing. This is a social network someone started on Ning, which many of you are aware of. I’m not trying to shame people who use social media sites for link building, but I want to point out that someone is making a legitimate effort to use social media for a higher purpose.

I stumbled across a page about a missing girl who has now been returned home. I don’t know the whole story but I chose her to be the poster child on my network for the Peace4TheMissing network. I started running banners there a few weeks ago.

I also blogged about Celeste on two of my personal blogs, and I have shared the link to Peace4 The Missing freely. I’m glad this young lady has been restored to her family but Peace4 The Missing is still helping other families look for lost loved ones. You may know of other sites that don’t receive national media attention which could use your help. Please give it some thought. Spread the word.

You may help save a life.

Another site I have been supporting since 2006 is The Wounded Warrior Project. I actually began linking to a different Web site but the two projects had very similar goals and they merged. Although many people in the United States have opposed our wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, I feel we should never forget the sacrifices our soldiers make on our behalf. Many of them come home in need of medical treatment, special prosthetics, and an understanding from friends and strangers alike.

When I first learned about the Wounded Warriors initiative I vowed I would link to the site from my personal network until our work in Iraq was done. I have continued to promote the initiative through the past three years and will not forget the service these brave men and women provide us.

It really doesn’t take much effort to remember those sites that could use your support a few times a year. Nor does it take much effort to write a post about their services and what they do. If nothing else, you’ll get a quick and easy blog post out of the effort.

Someday you may be asked to help set up a social media site for one of these causes. When that day comes, you may want to call upon your colleagues in the SEO community to help you promote the site. Or they may call upon you. Don’t hold back when that day comes. It’s worth the effort. It really is.