Before I put up my latest blog on SEO/Social Media post I want to apologize that I’ve been away. We had a death in the family and everything has been a little off and running behind trying to get caught up. I had one of my staff write this so it doesn’t have my usual flare but the points are still valid regarding Social Media and SEO.
The relationship between SEO and social media is a complicated one, and experts in the marketing industry don’t generally agree on how the two are linked. One side of the discussion points to ranking factor reports that clearly show social signals as a primary part of the ranking process. The other side weighs statements by Google officials themselves, which claim that such media is not part of their ranking algorithms. It is a confusing knot.
However, whether or not it is tied directly to the ranking process, there is no denying that there is a lot of overlap between SEO and social media. That’s because a powerful presence on Google+, Facebook, Twitter, and other platforms often supports and improves the factors that feed directly into a site’s rankings. As such, it is an important element of a site’s marketing and should be executed with expert assistance. Otherwise, it will be a lot of wasted energy.
How do SEO and social media affect each other?
As soon as a person goes online, they are bombarded by brand messages, advertisements, and attempts to capture them with viral content. These methods have varying success, and the ones that are executed well will garner additional traffic, be able to build links more effectively, and convince people to search for the company through Google, Bing, and others. This will all encourage Google to push the business’s site up closer to the top of the rankings, as Google considers active brands to be more relevant to consumers and more likely to be the desired object of a search.
Specifically, there are several ways that SEO and social media are connected. The latter can help with:
- Building more effective links. As mentioned, link building can help a site improve its ranking, and is an essential part of the process. When a company offers relevant content through Twitter and other platforms, there is always the possibility that someone will mention it on their own blog or site, and link to the company.
- Producing personalized search results. When people review or “+1” a business through Google+, that business will begin ranking higher among the user’s friends.
- Producing more search queries. If a company regularly updates its Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and other accounts, people will be more likely to become aware of the brand and search for it through Google, naturally bumping up their ranking.
- Improving site traffic. If the company offers interesting content through its online platforms, it will be more likely to attract people to its site, which will then help with rankings.
- Establishing authorship. Though this is a newer feature, Google now considers the “authority” of a content creator when ranking certain search queries. Authority will likely be based on, at least in part, the company’s audience, so if they can secure a strong presence online, there is a better chance they will be considered an authority by Google.
The link between SEO and social media may not always be easy to understand, but it is something a company can take advantage of if they have professional guidance along the way.
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