SEO and Social Media

Like we mentioned before, no one except the developers know the exact factors used in search engine algorithms. That leads to a lot of guessing among the leaders in the industry. SEO and Social Media is one of those areas. Do search engines take into account the number of followers and likes you have? Or do they completely ignore them? We know there is some crossover between the two, but search engine companies are tight-lipped about disclosing exactly how connected they are.

One thing we do know is that SEO and social media marketing are closely related. Both have similar goals and use similar tactics. Both focus on generating high-quality content to engage an audience and promote sharing. Both also rely on reaching an audience organically, as opposed to using paid methods.

With this in mind, here are some tips for integrating social media into your SEO strategy:

1. Don’t rely on social media to boost your search engine ranking.

Do social media profiles help your rank? Some SEO experts say yes, others say no. Google says, “not directly.” 

Search engines view Facebook, Twitter, and others just like any other web page. But do they index everything on all of those pages? Possibly yes, but due to the sheer number of tweets, status updates, and pins that are published every day, the answer is “probably no.” It’s almost impossible for search engines to keep up with the volume. (Case in point: last year, Google indexed only a tiny fraction of the total number of Tweets.

So, if your post went viral and gained millions of likes and thousands of shares on Facebook, would it help your business? Possibly yes. Would you see a boost in your page rank? Probably not.

2. Boost your brand visibility on social media.

Although we don’t know exactly what impact social media has on rankings, we do know that search engines index social media profiles. In other words, when someone searches for your business on Google, your business’ Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, etc. profiles will appear in the search results. Whether they boost your site’s overall rank or not, your social media profiles are an essential way to help customers get to know you and your brand (and an indirect way to drive traffic to your site).

Use this to your advantage. Build a strong social media presence on all of the platforms that are helpful to your brand. Post regularly to build recognition, and interact with your customers to gain recognition. Take a look at our other posts for more social media tips and best practices.

3. Use social media to make connections.

Social media is the perfect arena in which to make connections with others in your industry. As you follow and interact with people, you can build relationships with experts and influencers. Use these relationships to build trust, and leverage them to not only gain mentions on social media but also to build your backlinks.

As we mentioned earlier, backlinks are an important part of SEO. They increase search engines’ perception of your site’s authority. By asking an expert or influencer in your field to post an article or blog you wrote, you will increase your site’s trustworthiness, which is a critical factor for rankings (Just make sure you follow proper etiquette.).

Are you interested in learning more about SEO and social media? Our team would love to help you! Drop us a note to learn more!