Digital marketers, Content specialists, and SEO specialists from around the world always try to make sure that their SEO strategy stays on point. All web elements seem to have a connection with a site’s SEO performance. Since social media is all the rage these days, it would be fair to say that social media does have an impact on your site’s SEO. However, this has been debated for quite a long time now that if or not social signals were being utilized by search engines to help rank pages within their results.
So, if you have been spending your time and resources on your social media channels with an underlying intention that it would boost your search engine rankings, you are not entirely wrong. There is definitely some relationship between social media and SEO. So, you may rejoice now at the thought that the right social media tactics can definitely help you improve your organization-wide SEO efforts as well. However, there is more to this fact that people think they know.
As we move ahead in this blog post, we will help you understand how exactly does Social media help in your SEO strategy.
Social Media Is NOT a Direct Ranking Factor
It is true that the Google Algorithm is mysterious. It works in strange ways that we do not know of. However, this is an established fact that social signals aren’t a direct ranking factor, as often told by Google. Also, be informed that every time someone shares your links on their Facebook or other social media accounts, it is being used as a ranking signal.
Also, your social media pages are treated as web pages by the search engines. Hence, it would be fair to say that social media isn’t a direct ranking factor.
How Does Social Media Actually Help Boost Your Site’s SEO?
Now that we have established the fact that social media signals don’t have a direct impact on search rankings, it’s time to learn about the true ways that social media impacts your SEO. There are primarily five ways in which Social signals impact and boost your site’s SEO./span>
- Branded keyword search:
One way in which your social media channels help you with your SEO is by placing your brand keyword higher against similar keyword phrases. This happens in a way that when users Google your brand name along with the relevant keyword phrase, your brand eventually starts to rank for similar keyword phrases. For example, if your audience is searching “[Your Brand Name] Web host” and conclude the search, Google will help your overall website rank well. The more the search queries and the positive consumer interactions, the better will be the ranking for the keyword phrase.
- Exposure to a new set of audience brings online visibility and traffic to your website:
Social Media has made a way into the lives of almost everyone. As a brand, social media brings these people closer to you. If they are even mildly interested in your offering, and if you have a great product/service lined up for them, you can exploit this competitive marketplace and have the social media channel work for you.
Being a blogger, building awareness around your brand and earning a loyal set of the audience are the action points of a good SEO strategy. Social media can help you have these as well. When your brand becomes a known name on social media, people start trusting you and are more likely to click on your brand’s search engine results. The number of clicks in Google, the higher your brand will start to rank.
- Link potential:
Social media works on the basis of shares. The more your content is shared by your audience, the better will be the chance of new people coming across it. This will eventually hike the rankings for keyword phrases. You will be surprised to know that it is not the shares that work, it is all about the links that you earn for these shares. Having popular content will help you attract potential links.
- Brand’s social media recognition:
SEO works to enhance the recognition of your brand. This is what Social media can also help you with. You can definitely craft an effective social media strategy that can influence your SEO performance. By using social media to promote your content to your audience, you can easily gain high-quality backlinks, which will boost your SEO efforts.
Your brand’s social media recognition will work in your favor only when your target audience is on social media and when they are already in touch with you and go through your content. Hence, it is equally important to make sure that your target audience is aware of all your active social media channels. As a social media brand, it will be your duty to keep your audience hooked by posting relevant content on a regular basis.
- Improved local SEO:
Social media can highly help you with the local SEO of your brand. Local SEO is geographic. A brand can benefit from maximum visibility when they promote their products and services to local customers at exactly the time they’re looking for such offerings. With social media content aimed at your local customers, you can easily boost your SEO results for the local target audience.
Tips to Boost Your SEO Using Social Media
Here are certain tips that you must follow in order to boost your SEO efforts using your brand’s social media:
- Create high-quality social media content
- Use appropriate Keywords and CTAs in your social media content
- Optimize your presence for maximum visibility
- Post regular social media updates
- Engage your social media audience by replying to their queries and comments
- Make your social media game effective by crafting viral headlines, using high-resolution and original images
- Encourage your social media audience to share your posts
Conclusion
By now, it’s very clear that social media has its own ways that can influence your brand’s overall SEO. It might not be a direct ranking factor for Google, but it can certainly help you amplify the ranking factors that Google actually considers. Hence, as a webmaster for your brand, you must pay keen attention and ensure that you get the maximum SEO benefits from your social media presence by engaging with your social audience. This will eventually help you amplify the success of your existing SEO strategy.