How Does Social Media Affect SEO?
The impact social media has on SEO is and always will be one of the most talked about topics in the entire industry.
People wonder whether social media affects SEO and chances are you’re here to find out the same.
The truth is, Google’s algorithm is so secretly guarded that no one can tell you for sure what type of impact social media has on SEO.
According to Gary Illyes, a webmaster trend analyst at Google, the search engine doesn’t take into account social media.
However, this doesn’t mean that social media doesn’t affect SEO at all.
You’d be surprised by how big of an impact it has on SEO. Moreover, if you want to find out more, here’s how social media affects SEO.
More potential for links
There’s one thing we know for sure – links impact search engine ranking and the more of these you have, the better you’re going to rank.
Also, according to Google, social media posts don’t count as links.
Still, that doesn’t mean they don’t play their part in the world of SEO.
If you’re running your own company and you want to take your SEO efforts to a new level, using social media is a good idea.
Why? Well, having social media content that receives much engagement helps attract potential links which is always a huge plus.
No matter if you’re using Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter, the better your content is, the more links you’ll get from other websites.
Reaching your audience
You probably already know that social media is a perfect place to promote your product or service.
Even if social media posts don’t help you improve your search engine ranking, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use it at all.
Having in mind how many people use social media and how easy it is to reach them, embracing social media can help your SEO efforts.
All you need to do is share your content more often on social media and people will remember your brand.
The result? More people will click on your links and help you improve your click-through-rates.
With that said, the better your social media content is, the better you’ll do when it comes to SEO.
Increasing organic traffic
This one is a bit obvious, but it had to find its place on this list.
Social media is, without a doubt, the best place for sharing content.
All you need to do is write an article or shoot a video and post it on your page.
If your content is quality enough, people will click on it and access your website.
There’s no need to say that the more people do that, the better your site will rank.
The way it works is that if many people enter your website, your company gains value and is considered trustworthy by search engines.
Just have in mind that it’s all about coming up with content other people will love. Also, know when to share your content, and you’ll be good to go.
Social media and influencers
There’s no doubt that quality content helps your SEO efforts.
Well, creating engaging and unique content isn’t easy and having influencers in your team can help a lot.
The purpose of most influencers is to create purposeful content, and if you have them promote your brand, search engines will notice your efforts.
Not to mention that the content influencers create usually gets more engagement as it sends a message to a broad audience.
Just bear in mind that if you plan to turn to work with influencers, you need to know which of them have reached the audience you’re targeting.
The good news is, there are experts in social media monitoring who can help you find the most popular influencers in your industry.
Social media and local SEO
Local businesses rely heavily on SEO and using social media helps them as well.
According to some reports, 80% of people who own smartphones use their mobile devices to search for businesses near them.
This is something search engines recognise and do take into account when it comes to ranking.
The more people review your business on Yelp or Facebook, the better you’ll rank among local companies.
This means you need to pay much attention to geographic information when using social media.
It’s imperative that your geographic information matches across all platforms you use if you want search engines to favour your business.
The same goes for information such as phone numbers and email addresses.
Domain ranking
Social media content that mentions your company’s website can have a significant impact on your SEO ranking.
Over time, the more mentions you get, search engines will recognise that your website is relevant and give it credibility.
However, for this to work, you need to make sure your website is updated regularly.
The same goes for social media pages the website is connected with.
The more talk there is about your website, the better.
Moreover, there’s hardly a better way to get there other than sharing useful content with your followers.
Content that helps them resolve an issue or find out something new is more likely to get shared and makes your website more likely to get mentioned.
Just bear in mind that the credibility your website gets on social media is accumulated score you get overtime on platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
Getting your content indexed
The development of technology has made the business world gain some pace, and every business is looking to get quick results from their efforts, including SEO.
Once you share the content you’ve created, the time it takes for that content to get indexed is essential for the way you rank.
When social media users share your content, it indicates that the content you’ve created offers quality information and the search engine recognises this.
With that said, sharing any content you create as soon as you finish it is a great idea.
Encouraging your followers to share your content with their friends and family can also do your business a huge favour.
Branding
Believe it or not, using social media for branding can improve your SEO ranking.
There is no doubt that platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are an excellent place for building a powerful brand, and there are plenty of ways you can do it.
The more you invest in social media branding, the better you’ll rank for audiences who search for industry-related content on social media.
So, even if you don’t rank first or second, your audience will still see you as one of the thought leaders on the topic.
Moreover, all popular platforms give you a chance to write your company’s bio and share it with your followers.
This is a perfect place to sneak in your keywords and make it easier for Google to understand what your business is about.
Quality connections
Another factor that can contribute to your SEO ranking is the quality of social media profiles you pages are connected with.
This shouldn’t be confused with the mere number of followers as not all followers rank the same.
Instead, it’s the type of your followers that can give your content a ranking boost. For instance, if you’re connected with other popular brands and influencers, your content will rank better.
This is the case because the more quality accounts you’re connected with, the more credibility your content will gain.
So, when trying to up your social media game, don’t only focus on attracting new followers but give your best to connect with other popular profiles as well.
If you want to take your SEO game to a new level, it’s critical that your content gets as many shares as possible.
Even if the number of shares doesn’t affect your SEO ranking directly, it helps to grow your company’s blog which paves the way for future SEO efforts.
So the best thing about it is that social media platforms make it a lot easier for you to encourage your followers to share your content.
When you upload a blog post to your website, you can also include social share buttons right next to it.
Moreover, you can also have share numbers neatly organised within the post, as significant numbers often demonstrate that you upload quality content other people find useful.
As we’ve mentioned earlier, the connection between social media and SEO is a topic that has generated much buzz, and it will continue to do the same in the future.
However, one thing’s for sure – if you want to rank well on search engines, having a strong social media presence is a must.
Moreover, it doesn’t matter whether it helps you rank better or supports your SEO efforts; there’s no reason why you shouldn’t come up with an excellent social media strategy for your business.
If you decide to do it, bear in mind that there are certain elements you just can’t ignore.
This includes posting quality content, connecting with influencers and being active across all platforms you use.