Does social media marketing affect search engine ranking? It’s one of those questions that has been baffling digital marketers and business owners alike for many years.
Google’s top executives have repeatedly emphasized that social signals aren’t taken into account while evaluating search engine rankings. Instead, they’ve stressed the importance of outstanding content and E-A-T (expertise, authority, and trustworthiness) as key ranking factors.
But various studies conducted by independent agencies have established a positive correlation between social signals and search engine rankings. For instance, an SEO experiment conducted by Hootsuite in 2018 revealed that content pieces with high social shares achieved an average 22% rise in ranking.
Another study by OptinMonster from 2019 establishes a similar link between social popularity and search visibility.
So, how does social media influence search engine optimization, and how can you use it to your advantage? In this blog, we’ll delve deeper into the complex relationship between social media marketing and SEO, and outline effective strategies to up your SEO game. Let’s get started.
Social Media and SEO: Understanding the Link
First things first – publishing great content on social media and garnering plenty of social shares won’t have a direct impact on your website’s search engine rankings. Nor will it boost your website’s inbound link profile.
But considering the immense reach of social media platforms, you can use them to drive organic traffic to your website. Also, these platforms are excellent tools for building brand awareness and audience engagement.
Moreover, search engines crawl Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other social media platforms the same way they crawl other websites. So, when a piece of your content goes viral, it’ll likely catch their attention.
An increased number of social shares, likes, and comments indicates that your content is being well received by your audience. Also, it positions your brand as a trustworthy and authoritative source of information. The combination of all these factors will have a positive impact on your website’s search visibility.
How to Use Social Media Marketing for SEO?
Now that you know about the positive correlation between social media presence and SEO, you must be eager to kickstart your social media marketing campaign. It is, however, important to understand that social media marketing is more than sharing high-quality visuals with witty captions and a bunch of hashtags.
If you’re building your brand from scratch, it’s a good idea to work with a full-service digital marketing agency like Huckleberry Branding. An experienced digital marketing company will help you identify the needs and pain points of your target audience, and choose the right social media channels for your brand.
They’ll even help you measure the impact of your social media efforts on your SEO strategy. This, in turn, makes it easier to calculate the ROI of your marketing strategy and optimize your campaigns.
Additionally, you can use the following tactics to harness the power of social media marketing for SEO:
1. Publish Shareable Content
Whether you’re looking to build your brand on Instagram or Google, there’s no alternative to creating high-quality content. When it comes to content creation for social media, focus on developing content that’s worth sharing.
Identify topics that’ll provide value to your audience and compel them to share your content on their social media profiles. Strengthen your social media posts with clever calls-to-action (CTAs) that’ll compel your audience to visit your website. Don’t forget to include relevant keywords in your social media posts as well.
2. Optimize Your Social Media Profiles
Nothing turns potential customers away from a brand faster than an incomplete social media profile. In addition to search engines, today’s tech-savvy consumers also use social media to evaluate a brand before purchasing from them.
Use that to your advantage by ensuring that all your social media profiles feature accurate and up-to-date information about your brand. Don’t forget to include a link to your company website and blog. Also, optimize your profile description with suitable target keywords.
3. Engage With Your Audience
Social media platforms are an excellent channel for engaging in direct conversations with potential customers. The more you interact with your audience, the higher their chances of sharing your content and checking out your website. This, in turn, fuels your SEO strategy even further.
Respond to comments and messages from your social media followers. Also, it’s a good idea to host AMAs (ask-me-anything) and live Q&A sessions to amplify audience engagement.
Social media marketing campaigns won’t take your website to the top of Google search results. But you can use your social media profiles to build a loyal audience and skyrocket website traffic. That, in turn, will take your SEO strategy to greater heights.
