In today’s market, social media is no longer just a part of our everyday routine. It can be a great foundation to boost your website’s SEO.
At some stage you’ve probably heard some version of these statements before: “Social media and SEO go hand in hand”. “Social media can boost your SEO”. “A better social presence makes for better rankings”. But what’s missing from these statements is the “How?”.
Let’s look at five quick tips for using your social media platforms to boost your SEO.
Search engines recognise the use of external inbound links to determine if your website is a reputable online source. An advantage of links connected to social media is that they are considered of higher quality, this is because Social Media platforms are regarded of a “high web authority”.
Start by creating a regular content schedule via your social media profiles. Engage with others in your social community to get your name known.
By using your social media to create engaging and valuable content, you are giving yourself the opportunity to be noticed and shared amongst the online community. Doing so increases the number of inbound links that are connected back to your website. Be sure to link every piece of content you publish on your social media platforms. Provide your readers with a reason to follow the links within your content. By linking your site from a high authority, social media platform, it will assist in improving your rankings.
The higher authority links you have, the more Google likes you. Simple!
The higher quality and amount of followers you have, the more credibility you have. High-quality followers are those who engage with your posts by commenting, starting conversations with other users and just general interaction with your account. Whether that be through liking an Instagram picture, retweeting your tweet or commenting on your Facebook posts.
These are called “social signals”, search engines review your socials to determine how often you are posting, as well as how others are interacting with your posts and if you have social sharing capabilities for your visitors.
However, don’t try to cheat the system with fake likes and followers. These are considered to be low-quality followers and won’t be of any benefit to you anyway. If Google discovers them, you’ll be penalised with lower rankings. Increase your base followers over time and provide ways for them to both share and interact with you.
This is something that Pinterest does quite well; the media site encourages sharing. When a user posts a picture and includes a link to the rest of their content, both then get shared with other users. When searching for a particular image, you will also find Pinterest profiles showing up in a Google search, therefore making audience reach more significant.
Many social media platforms give you the option of keeping your content public, private or something in between. For example, on YouTube, a creator can adjust a video setting so it can only be viewed if the user has a direct URL link. Twitter allows account holders to keep their profile private, and Pinterest even allows secret boards.
But for those of you that are trying to use social media as a form of brand development, it’s best to keep your media profiles left public. You'll want all of your lead generating content to be completely available because, the more views your content has, the greater opportunities it has for shares.
Keywords have a high importance for your website and blog, so it should come as no surprise you that the same importance applies when it comes to your social media content, too.
Pinterest uses keywords in your ‘pins’ or ‘boards’. Similar to this is YouTube. Videos can increase traffic not only to your channel but also any website or blog if they’re listed in your profile. Even using keywords in your Facebook posts can pay off. All of these things come back to your content being searchable. This way, when people search for the keywords you’ve listed your content under, your content pops up!
By creating an online listing for your business on Google + and including all the important things including things like a phone number and address. Customers can give you a review on Google, and Google always ranks business with the highest reviews first.
On your company's Facebook page include a map. Not only will your customers be able to locate you quickly, but they can also ‘check in’, promoting your business to their friends and followers, Improving your local SEO rankings.
There’s no doubt that the importance of social media for marketing is vital. But using as a tool to increase your SEO will turn out to be even more valuable to your business. The ever-changing algorithms may prove to be a challenge at times, but it’s worth it.
For any further advice, get in contact with our expert staff. Give SEO Marketer a call today!
SEO Marketer | SEO Adelaide
