The Connection Between Your Social Media And SEO Ranking Results
Are you thinking of how you can leverage social media and even combine it with your content strategy to improve Search Engine Optimization (SEO) rankings? If you want to boost your SEO campaign using social media, then this article is for you! In the following lines, I'll share practical tips on how to use social media and SEO to improve rankings and nail your campaigns.
All content marketers know that improving SEO strategy is critical when you want to increase your search visibility and Google ranking. However, the competition is vast. Thus, showing up on search results becomes an even bigger challenge. Primarily because more and more content gets published every day.
Of course, social media don't directly contribute to your SEO ranking, but every link you share across different social platforms certainly increases your brand exposure. Thus, it adds up and influences Search Engine Optimization in multiple directions. Most importantly, getting shares on social media generates social signals that act as an indication of how helpful your posts are to your target market.
In fact, based on research by CognitiveSEO that analyzed 23 million social media shares on selected platforms, there seems to be an equivocal link between social shares and SEO. What they found out is that the shares, likes, and comments your posts receive are vital signals that search engines, including Google, use to rank your website. If these are not exciting findings, then I don't know what is!
So, let's get a bit deeper into the connection between social media and SEO and how this affects your search engine rankings.
Social Media And SEO: 7 Ways You Can Combine These Powerful Tools To Boost Your Visibility
Social media might not directly contribute to your SEO ranking, but you can increase brand exposure by sharing links to your content across different social platforms. These actions add up and can influence Search Engine Optimization in several ways. For example, you get to have extensive content distribution and a longer lifespan for your posts. While increasing brand recognition and enhancing brand reputation, you'll manage to improve your online visibility and organic traffic. Plus, leveraging social media is also good for boosting local Search Engine Optimization.
So, here are 7 ways to get the most out of social media and SEO.
1. Social Media Mentions And Rankings
According to Google's Gary Illyes, the context in which you engage online, as well as how people talk about you online, can impact what you rank for. As you can understand, Google might use online mentions of a brand to determine which keywords you should get top positions for. Thus, social media success is a factor that can influence your SEO.
However, let's always keep in mind that Google is constantly looking for the right metrics. So, your plan should be to get people to talk about your brand and your unique selling points. Again, content strategy is very important and is highly related to search intent and your target audience. As people visit your website to solve their pain points, they will share interesting information with their peers.
If you need tips on how to find your brand mentions and get backlinks for them, you can ask our SEO link building experts for advice. Also, in case you're interested in guest blogging, make sure to download the guest posting guide on how to become a top content contributor on eLearning Industry.
2. Viral Articles And How They Impact Rankings
Imagine that you publish an article that skyrockets on Facebook. Say, for example, that you get multiple thousands of shares, likes, and comments. Don't you think this would affect your article's performance?
I've seen it happen plenty of times and, usually, the result is that such articles have the potential to go up in rankings. In fact, a viral article can actually get you a #1 position on page one of Google for several keywords. So, it's fair to say that marketers cannot underestimate the power of engaging viral content.
Best of all, content that gets shared a lot can help your post claim the first place for your preferred keyword terms. That's why I love content that gets thousands of shares on social media. What's more, this type of content also has the potential to attract more quality backlinks.
On this note, one good share or retweet can make a huge impact on your article's traffic. So, it's really important to start promoting to the right people. And obviously, niche influencers can make the biggest difference by sharing it. That said, social media and SEO have a meaningful connection.
You might like to read the following for more information:
- Benefits Of Thought Leadership Marketing: Leveraging eLearning Bloggers And Influencers
- How To Become An Influencer: A Beginner's Guide
3. The Best Social Media For SEO
Modern marketers should feel lucky that there are so many social media platforms for SEO! All the apps and sites below make great SEO social media marketing channels, primarily because of their popularity and high ranks in search engines.
Here are some of the social media you can't live without:
- Medium
- YouTube
- Quora
As more and more users seek information about a brand or company directly via their social media profiles, it's safe to say that the official website isn't the only place to be found. What I like most about social networks is that they offer a personal touch and let you use your brand voice. Plus, they allow you to have a faster response time.
Best of all, by utilizing social media, your business can expand its outreach and help you connect with more potential buyers. One thing to keep your eye on here: your target audience uses various ways to get insights into your company. That also means there's a distinct audience hanging out on each social media channel.
4. Social Media Profile Optimization
Let's be honest; most of your potential clients will get a closer look at your social media profiles before they even reach out to you. That means they'll examine several aspects of how you present yourself or your brand to the world. Social media is your digital voice, so potential clients can see all about your brand values and what you stand for.
And because we all know that first impressions matter, there are several parameters and social media KPIs you need to keep in check. For one, you should ask yourself if your profile is compelling. After all, it's your digital identity. So, it has to be visually appealing, right? Not to mention describing what you're known for.
Also, it would be amazing to have all the right hooks on it to attract the right people. Try to search your name on Google. Will it appear? If not, you're doing something wrong. The importance of keywords is also huge here. For example, if you're a SaaS expert or a consultant on a certain topic, you want potential clients to be able to easily find you. Then, you have to add relevant keywords to your profile info.
You see, the lack of profile optimization is one of the many factors that can negatively impact social media for SEO. So, don't neglect to optimize your social media profiles. That is if you don't want to miss out on new sales opportunities by preventing your name or your brand from appearing on searches throughout the web.
Trust me, having a well-optimized social profile will make it easy for your target market to find you online. Make sure to keep it consistent across channels and perfectly aligned with your blog or website and brand message.
Check our LinkedIn profile as an example.
5. Publishing High-Quality Content That Engages Is Key
As SEO continues to evolve, search marketing is also shifting to new dimensions. Here's what content marketers need to understand for success in SEO rankings:
- User intent
- Content relevance
- Quality
The above major factors are what Google uses to evaluate, identify, and offer users the most relevant content. All are based on the respective search query. So, keyword stuffing is a long-forgotten practice. Instead, content marketers should focus on publishing quality content that answers people's questions. If you want to make your blog content perform well on social media and SEO, you must focus on doing thorough research before you start creating your content. Make it a priority to focus on search intent.
Publishing blog posts every day will do you no good if they are not valued by Google and the search queries. Instead, you can spend your time wisely doing in-depth SEO content research. Then start creating material that will help your readers connect with your brand.
So, if you want to create quality content, you must understand your ideal reader. That's why you should consider getting deeper into buyer personas. It will help you to better understand their needs. Only then can you create content that solves their pain points. Another approach you can take is to update old blog content in order to increase its quality and value.
For example, your can gather all your best-performing blog posts and decide where and if you can add more valuable data. Your main goal should be to spike engagement on social media. By utilizing this strategy, you get one more way of increasing social signals to improve your SEO. Are there any underperforming blog posts? Good. Find them and give them a face-lift!
And remember, improving SEO with user personas is key.
6. Making Engaging Content That Gets More Shares
People use social media platforms for many different reasons. But for us marketers, it's the perfect way to reach more customers with our brand message. Who doesn't want to reach more people, grow brand awareness and generate leads, right?
By using social share buttons and compelling calls-to-action (CTAs), you can incentivize readers to share your content with their friends and peers. You see, when you make it easy for users to share your content, you'll start reaching more potential buyers.
So, make it your goal to use all the right components so that your blog encourages social sharing. In the end, it's what will effectively increase your reach. And the same goes for when you post on social media sites. Always make sure to use CTAs to help your followers reshare your posts.
Of course, just crafting catchy copy and using the right CTAs is not enough. You have to write by keeping your audience in mind. How do they think? What do they care about? If you publish content that is not relevant or valuable to them, they have no reason to share it.
Also, you have to ensure that your content is share-worthy. If you make it as appealing and engaging as you can, you'll witness your target market responding and sharing.
Here are some parameters to focus on for more sharable content:
- Craft compelling headlines and/or captions
- Use appealing visuals and appealing CTAs
- Ensure that your social audience finds it useful
If you follow the above approach, your audience will have no choice but to share your posts with friends and followers. That's the power of social media and SEO!
7. Use Active Social Conversations To Build Relationships
If you want to increase engagement on your social accounts, your goal should be to build relationships. Forging a brand-customer alliance can give you so much leverage if you do it right.
By building relationships with your audience, you can foster trust and establish credibility for your brand. Also, you'll have one more way to understand your target buyer and their needs. Hence, utilizing meaningful conversations enables you to discover their pain points and help them to solve them.
That's why I've mentioned plenty of times that you need to have the end user in mind. It's not about your brand. It's about how your brand can show actual interest in their struggles. Trust me; by doing so, you'll make it so much easier for your audience to engage with you!
But why wait for your marketing persona to come to you if you can reach out to them first? This year, focus on taking the initiative and striking up a conversation with your audience. Make it count!
For example, you can ask relevant questions to know what they think about your brand. Or maybe you can ask for their thoughts about your latest blog post. Also, go through your social media and see if there are any questions they might have asked. Then provide helpful answers to show you care. Responding to users' comments is key. Finally, you can create a poll to understand what they would like to read next on your blog.
Having discussions like these with your audience is essential for improving your SEO. Mainly because you offer useful information and also establish your industry expertise. Such a strategy will help you increase engagement and grow your followers. Plus, you'll get to improve other social media signals that Google uses to rank your site.
Summing Up
As you can understand, getting hundreds or even thousands of shares, likes, backlinks, and comments becomes a valuable social signal for search engine algorithms. And that, my friends, is what influences your SEO rankings in the long run. Not to mention that Google actually uses such signals in favor of your site. That is what makes the algorithm push your article up in the rankings. The main takeaway from this is that social media can indeed have a huge impact on your SEO rankings.
I encourage you to take a look at the content below which has brought us plenty of social shares and engagement:
- The Best Learning Management Systems (Top List Ranking)
- The Best Learning Management Systems based on User Experience
- eLearning Trailblazers: Industry Thought Leaders Who Pave The Way
- Top Marketing Leader Awards In The eLearning Industry
Given the above examples, I'm certain you can think of similar ways to keep your audience thirsty for more content!
Please try to do your best and evaluate your social media marketing operations, and check for insights to see which posts seem to engage your audience the most. For example, you might notice that infographics do the trick, or that sparking conversions via thought leadership and emerging trends is another key factor.
Always optimize and evaluate your social media marketing. And, of course, make sure to craft compelling social media post captions so that you engage users and easily lead them to read your content.
