SEO and social media: What you need to know NOW
Adam Houlahan
Want qualified leads weekly on LinkedIn? ? Check out the “Visit My Website” link below and see how we can 10x your results together within 30 days. We have 10 years of experience in doing just that!
DID YOU KNOW: Social media represents not only a valuable marketing tool for businesses and brands of all sizes; it is also a powerful tool which can immeasurably enhance search engine optimisation, or SEO.
SEO and social media marketing go hand in hand in any brand building strategy. A good SEO strategy will incorporate social media optimisation into its overall SEO effort, and social media is very connected to SEO.
Social media marketing that is executed in a smart way is a brilliant strategy for SEO.
?
What you need to know about SEO and social media?
Social media is a great place to add links to your website and onsite blog. These links can have a significant impact on your overall search engine rankings.
When quality, unique content is shared via social media, search engines perceive the website to be credible and active, and specific targeted keyword rankings will follow. The more a link is clicked on or shared, the website gains higher authority with Google and other search engines.
Expert marketers believe that it’s not the authority of a social media profile that impacts on SEO, but the links that are published in said social media profiles.
What social media profiles do influence is the content of search engine results. Social media can, for many searches, be incorporated into the top search engine results for some brand names. This can be valuable because, not only do social profiles have links to websites, they also reflect the brand identity of a business. This personalises the brand, making it more engaging for consumers.
?
Social media as a search engine
Social media is increasingly being used as a search engine in and of itself. Facebook, Twitter and Instagram in particular are fantastic tools for discovery.
With correct and clever use of hashtags, visual content, and blog links, brands can direct and capture the attention of consumers and funnel them to their business websites.
Many consumers explore a company first and foremost via its Facebook or Twitter profile. Google+, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube are also search engines. Hence, social media optimisation is a valid entity.
?
Note that:
(Source: Kissmetrics.com)
?
As such, business marketers need to include not only traditional search engine optimisation practices into their strategy, but must also expand into social media for search optimisation.
It’s very important for business social profiles to count – and users need to be able to quickly identify and locate the page they are seeking. General brand pages must be distinct from press or HR pages, and duplicate accounts should be deleted to maximise the reach of social media as a search engine.
?
The benefits of social media in SEO?
?
How to improve SEO with your social media
1.Links on social media are considered to be of high quality. This is thanks to the high authority of social media platforms from the outset. Due to this feature, your Facebook page, for example, could rank more highly with search engines than does your business website.?
领英推荐
For this reason, it’s imperative that you include an easy to find, working link to your website from every social profile you use. This will be effective for link building and will also increase traffic to your website.
You can also build links within your content, for example posting new product content or blog posts with links on your social profiles. When these are highly shareable, search engines will sit up and take notice.
2. Social media is also great for building your base of followers. When these followers are targeted and of high quality, they engage and interact with your page and will seek you out when you offer something they want.
Retweets, likes, comments, shares, etc are social signals that search engines take note of when providing ranks. Be very aware that fake likes and followers are easily identified by search engines – and they are frowned upon.
They will do your business no good. A steadily growing base of real interactive followers is what you need to aim for.
3. Make sure that all social accounts for business are listed and set as public. This makes them searchable in search engines and easy to share.
4. Use keywords in your posts! An active SEO campaign will be working on ranking your website for a targeted list of keywords and keyword phrases. These should be used in your social media content as well. If using Twitter or Instagram, use hashtags with your keywords.
5. Local listings can be very useful on social media for business. This is especially important if you are a small business seeking local patronage, for example a plumber or electrician.
Social media optimisation should be an intrinsic aspect of your overall SEO strategy. Social media sharing of a website or brand is a great way for consumers to, in a sense, vote in favour of your business online.
This is what search engines pay attention to when using their algorithms for ranking purposes. Not all links are considered to be equal, and not all social media platforms are given as much traction as others. Choose your platform wisely and create a single, authentic account.
One of the best ways to optimise your content is to use LinkedIn as a promotion and blogging tool.
Not only do we share a bunch of valuable, relative and useful info on our blogs, but we’ve got a free LinkedIn eCourse to help you get the most out of this platform especially for B2B enterprises. If LinkedIn is your preferred social media channel, take a look at this course to raise your profile, generate leads and boost your business – so LinkedIn can start working for you.
The top 3 blogs on social media you need to feast your eyeballs on today:
BIZ CHALLENGE: As a new business or start-up enterprise, it can be a challenge to navigate the array of things you need to set in place for effective marketing.
This is particularly true when you don’t have vast amounts of capital behind you with which to pay for marketing, and revenue is still building – which is the case in the beginning stages of any business.
About Adam
His second book The LinkedIn Playbook is available now.
His newly released training courses Linkedin2Success and Mentor2Success are receiving rave reviews world-wide as the most innovative approaches to social media and on-line marketing.
Adam Houlahan is an International Keynote Speaker specialising in Social Media for business, and CEO of the highly successful boutique agency, Web Traffic That Works. He lives in Australia's famous tourist destination the Gold Coast Queensland, and is considered to be one of Australia's leading experts in harnessing the power of LinkedIn for business. Over 12,200 people globally have sought his skill and insights to leverage the power of LinkedIn for their businesses.
Adam is also an Australian Brand Ambassador for Microsoft. He consults on Social Media to private clients in Australia, New Zealand, North America, The Middle East and Singapore. His work as CEO and owner of 6 successful companies has given him the hands-on experience to understand business from the inside.
Adam believes real and meaningful change comes through the world’s entrepreneurs. His purpose is to provide their businesses with powerful tools to grow and accelerate their global footprint. And that together we make a huge impact!Through his Lifetime Partnership with the Global Giving Initiative B1G1 www.B1G1.com he is well on track to positively impact the lives of more than 1 million people in need.