Search Engine Optimization is one of the most competitive digital marketing channels that reaps the rewards worth the effort and the investment. SEO is also the marketing channel that baffles many business owners trying to reach the top rankings for popular keywords related to their business on search engines like Google but keeps falling short.
According to Google, there are over 200 signals they look for in the website when ranking. The businesses that succeed in getting high rankings don’t leave any stone unturned and pay attention to and optimize for all factors, even the ones that may seem least important or unrelated to SEO.
Social Media Marketing is a great way to increase brand awareness and generate leads, but it could come across as unrelated or least important to your SEO efforts. Yet, it could also be the factor that, if utilized effectively, can complement and support your SEO strategy and give you the much needed edge over your competition.
This article will discuss the relationship between social media marketing and SEO and how it could help your SEO strategy.
Let’s first explore Google’s official take on Social Media as a Ranking Factor.
Google has officially stated that social media signals, such as likes, shares, and comments, are not direct ranking factors in its search algorithm. In other words, social media activity does not directly impact search engine rankings.
However, Google has also acknowledged that social media can indirectly impact search engine rankings by influencing other factors, such as backlinks and website traffic. In a Google Webmaster Central Hangout, John Mueller stated that social media links are treated like any other links and that the impact of social media activity on search engine rankings depends on the quality and relevance of the content being shared.
So there we have it Google’s official take on the matter.
Our take and the majority of the marketing experts have the same stance:
While social media marketing may not directly affect SEO, it is still a powerful tool for reaching your target audience and promoting your business. By sharing engaging and valuable content, you can increase traffic to your website and earn backlinks which are factors that search engines like Google tend to favor. The more shares and likes your social media post gets, the more chances it will get seen by your potential buyers and other content creators who will want to link back to your content in theirs.
Also, having a social media presence allows businesses to provide real-time customer support, build trust and loyalty, and improves their overall reputation. As Wendy Piersall famously said, “Google only loves you when everyone else loves you first.”
The Science behind it is the more value you provide, the more popular your business becomes, and the more backlinks, positive reviews, and traffic your business earns.
A comprehensive study conducted by CognitiveSEO in 2017 concludes that receiving high social signals such as likes, shares, and comments positively correlates with higher search engine rankings, likely due to increased traffic, backlinks, and perceived content quality.
Therefore, utilizing social media marketing not only helps your business’s overall performance but also positively helps your SEO strategy.
Here’s how you can get the best out of your social media marketing:
Promoting Your Valuable Content On Social Media The Right Way!
The Content is The Key
We are all now familiar with the popular term content is the king. The term may be old and out of fashion, but it remains a fundamental truth. Creating great content before sharing is significant. To create value for your target audience, you must first know what they find valuable. Therefore researching the topics with the help of a keyword research tool, you can create content that your target audience finds valuable and helpful.
Diversify Your Content
Don’t restrict yourself to creating blog posts only; instead, diversify your content by creating videos, podcasts, Infographics, case studies
& Q&As. Diversifying your content will help you reach a wider audience on several platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Pinterest. Remember, reaching a wider audience interested in your content is the main goal of sharing your content on social media.
Make It Accessible
One of the most important points when creating your content is to make it accessible for people with disability. Up to 1 in 4 people in the United States has some type of disability. Making your content accessible is not only the right thing to do but will also earn you more valuable audiences and enhance your user experience, which we have established is an indirect ranking factor.
Once you have created valuable content, it’s time to share it on social media to reach your target audience and increase engagement with your brand. However, simply sharing your content may not be enough to reach a wider audience, especially if you don’t have many followers. This is where the use of relevant hashtags and paid promotion comes in.
Using popular and relevant hashtags can help your content get discovered by a wider audience, while paid promotion can help you reach people outside of your current followers. With the right promotion strategy, you can effectively share valuable content and connect with your target audience on social media.
Using Relevant Hashtags When Creating Your Social Media Post
Using relevant hashtags on social media makes it easier for your target audience to find your content and increase visibility and engagement. Hashtags also categorize your content, making it more searchable and increasing your online presence.
To effectively use hashtags for promoting shared content on social media, use relevant and targeted hashtags, research trending and popular hashtags, and avoid overusing or using irrelevant hashtags; otherwise, it can make your content appear spammy and decrease its visibility and engagement.
Paid Social Media
Paid promotion involves investing money to boost the visibility of your content on social media platforms. By using paid promotions, you can target specific demographics, interests, and behaviors, which can help you reach your desired audience more effectively. This can result in increased engagement, more followers, high traffic, increasing chances of earning backlinks, and ultimately more conversions for your business.
Using Social Media To Gain Backlinks
You have created valuable content in the form of a blog post, a video, or a case study, published it on your website, and are now ready to share it on your social media platforms to reach a wider audience and hoping some from the audience will add a link to your content in theirs. Instead of relying only on hope, you can take these steps to increase the chances of getting backlinks:
- Ensure all your social media accounts are optimized with correct information about your business and that you are active on them. This builds trust and authority in your business.
- Create a compelling post that captures your audience’s attention and encourages them to read and share your content.
- Engage with your audience by responding to their questions and comments, which can increase the likelihood of them sharing your content and potentially linking to it.
- Collect reviews on social media from your clients, as positive reviews can help increase the credibility and trust of your business, which may encourage others to link to your content.
- Build relationships with potential prospects that would link your content by following and engaging with them on social media, sharing their content, and offering to collaborate with them on future content projects.
- Continuously track your progress and adjust your strategy to improve your results. Use analytics tools to see the performance of your content.
Keep in mind getting backlinks through social media is a long-term strategy and requires continuous effort. Also, besides backlinks, being active on social media platforms enhances your overall business performance. It is a win, win strategy.
Conclusion
Optimizing your social media marketing efforts can have a significant positive impact on your overall SEO strategy. By creating valuable and diverse content, effectively promoting and engaging on social media, collaborating with influencers and industry experts, and continuously monitoring and adjusting your strategy, you can boost your online presence, gain backlinks, drive more traffic to your website, and ultimately improve your search engine rankings. Remember, while social media may not directly influence SEO, it is a powerful tool to enhance your brand’s visibility, reputation, and reach, indirectly supporting your SEO goals.
