SEO is a crucial part of your marketing strategy. You should always be aiming to help your brand’s website to organically soar up the search engine rankings, and there are several steps you can take to help achieve this. While social media presence does not constitute a direct cause of improved search engine rankings, it does still hold an important influence. Activities on social media help to get your brand noticed; adding links to your posts helps to drive traffic to your site. This boost in traffic feeds into search engine algorithms, helping your brand to rise up the rankings. Social media is, therefore, a key component of your SEO efforts.
Let’s take a look at 12 ways your social posts help to improve your SEO!
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SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS INCREASES VISIBILITY
Quality content gets noticed, particularly on social media. If your company has a knack for creating beautiful visuals to share on Instagram, insightful posts on Facebook, or useful tweets on Twitter, you’ll help to build a positive impression about your company. Once you’ve successfully created a buzz around your content, it’s an opportune time to draw your audience to your website. Make sure to include direct links that are pertinent to the content you post, as well as the preferences of your audience. On Instagram, there’s a swipe-up feature within stories, that allows a direct link to a specific web page. Make it easy for your audience to convert a social media like into a meaningful engagement on your site.
SOCIAL CONTENT BOOSTS YOUR AUDIENCE
While the size of your social media audience doesn’t have a direct influence on your search engine rankings, there does exist a correlation between popularity on these platforms and interest in the related company’s website. Again, this depends on your brand’s ability to facilitate the transformation of social media engagement into visits to your website.
Even if they are impressed with high-quality social media content, busy people are unlikely to spend time searching for the creator independently. Use direct links in posts and company bios to make it straightforward for your audience. This simple action helps to convert social media impressions into clicks on your website. Harness the power of your audience to boost your search engine rankings.
POSTING ON YOUR CHANNELS IMPROVES BRAND AWARENESS
Visibility is good, but if people don’t make a connection with your brand, it’s a wasted opportunity. A viral hit is useless if it doesn’t facilitate that elusive meaningful engagement. Good social media content will always include a clear reference to the creator. Make sure to use watermarks as far as is appropriate, just in case your content is shared by a third party seeking to cash in on the buzz. It’s also worthwhile to pursue any third party accounts you notice sharing your content. There’s no need to be aggressive, but an assertive request to have your work properly credited and linked is beneficial for both parties; they’ll be able to continue sharing it, and you’ll receive the recognition you deserve – possibly from a more abundant audience than your usual posts. By improving awareness of your brand, and using that awareness to create further engagement with your brand, your comprehensive online presence, including search engine rankings, will receive a boost.
SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT ENCOURAGES BACKLINKS
When it comes to SEO, backlinks are revered almost as a holy grail. When another website links back to yours, it’s taken as validation that your content is worth noticing. Search engine algorithms pick up these interactions and adjust rankings based upon them. In short; the more backlinks you can secure, the further up the search engine rankings your website will soar. How can social media posts help to influence this relationship? It’s all about the quality of what you post. Well-written articles, insightful infographics, engaging visuals, and pertinent video content all make a contribution, as long as you are including links to everything you post.
On Facebook, simply copy and paste a link to expanded or relevant content. On Instagram, regularly update your bio link, and use the direct link and swipe up function within posts and stories. Tweet a dazzling headline, graphic, or video, and make sure to include a link back to your website. Don’t forget; when other brands or individuals share your social media posts, they will also be sharing your links. A retweet or share is tantamount to an approval of the content it contains. The traffic generated has a tangible impact on your search engine rankings. Although it happens in a roundabout way, social media posts certainly do have an impact on your SEO efforts.
SOCIAL POSTS ENCOURAGES TRAFFIC VIA SHARING
As we’ve discussed in some of the points above, the key to making social media content work for your SEO is to encourage meaningful traffic to your website. What do we mean by that? Essentially, you don’t want visitors to pop in for a few seconds, then move onto something else. You want to grab their attention and inspire them to spend time browsing more of your online offering. Keeping your audience engaged is certainly a challenge, but it’s perfectly doable. The most important aspect of this endeavour is to create content that is pertinent, useful, and versatile. You may have visitors who don’t wish to read a wall of text; in that case, you can transform your blog posts into infographics. You might also have visitors who are commuting and don’t have the time to watch an entire video; a bullet list of the key points gives the information in a snappy and convenient format. Cater to a wide range of people, and you open yourself to an audience that will consistently deliver traffic to your website. This, in turn, helps your site to rise up the search rankings. Every interaction matters.
FOCUSING ON LOCAL SOCIAL CONTENT IMPROVES ENGAGEMENT
Don’t forget that there’s an important location element to search engine rankings. Think about the last time you searched for a restaurant, shop, or sports facility; what did your search engine deliver? Local results first and foremost. A good search engine won’t send you to a hardware store thousands of miles away, even if it gets great traffic! It’s crucial, therefore, to focus on content that is pertinent and engaging to your local market. If you operate from one area, this is straightforward. Demonstrate that you have the local knowledge; celebrate your sports teams’ success, acknowledge high-profile events, be present at pertinent shows and fairs, and make reference to in-jokes that only the local community will know! Taking a location-focused approach to your social media content can help to drive local traffic to your website. This feeds into search engine algorithms, helping your website to climb the ranks in your area. Even if you have a national or international customer base, this doesn’t prevent you from making waves at a local level. Utilise your local teams, and be engaged with what’s happening where your customers and visitors live. Create content that demonstrates your identification with, and appreciation of, their lifestyles. This will encourage them to continue engaging with your brand, make regular visits, and help to drive your website up the search engine rankings, even if your HQ is on the other side of the world!
DIVERSE SOCIAL CONTENT MAXIMIZES ENGAGEMENT
Don’t get stuck making just one kind of content. The beauty of social media is that it offers a completely blank canvas. You’re not lumbered with producing bland, written articles. Create a visual impact with relevant images embedded within the text of an article, use beautiful flat lays or product demonstrations on Instagram, and create video content that packs a punch for YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Make everything you create shareable, and deliver it at a high quality that encourages your visitors to share with their friends. Tap into the exponential potential of your network’s network. You might not feel confident creating content in an unfamiliar format. That’s absolutely fine. We’d encourage you to experiment in your own time and finesse new skills, or enlist the help of a freelance expert. If, for example, you’d love to produce video content for your brand, but you don’t think your skills are up to speed, there are some fabulous tutorials to be found on YouTube and creator blogs. You may also be able to find online courses that you can complete from any location or local classes that help you to benefit from face-to-face learning.
Once you have the skills down (or, at least, you can find your way around video editing software), you’ll have the tools to start creating. Don’t forget; learning is a lifelong skill. If you don’t know how to apply a green screen effect in Final Cut Pro; no problem! Just type what you want to go into YouTube and there’ll be dozens of videos from editing experts. And don’t forget; they too had to start somewhere! When you diversify your content, you encourage interaction with a wider audience. As we mentioned previously, reading a wall of text might not be convenient for some visitors. The more you switch up your formats, the better your chances of making that elusive connection. Once a visitor has your content in mind, they’re more likely to come back. Convert social media interaction into website visits, and you’ll soon be moving up the rankings.
SOCIAL FOLLOWERS MAY BECOME VISITORS
Think about the brands you follow on social media. Let’s say you follow one news broadcaster; their tweets are on your timeline, their video clips show up when you open Facebook, and their images are present on your Instagram feed. If you want to make a more thorough check of the news headlines, where are you most likely to go? Of course, to the broadcaster, you follow on social media. The connection is firm in your mind, between social media interaction and the decision to visit their website. The more of an impact you make on your social media audience, the higher their likelihood to seek out your website. The boost in traffic helps to enhance your search engine standing.
A SOCIAL COMMUNITY FORMS AROUND A BRAND
Foster a community spirit around your brand. Inspire your followers to not only interact with you, but with one another. Making people feel included and appreciated within your community encourages them to continue engaging with your brand, and ultimately, choosing you first.
It’s also a good idea to reward your community with exclusive deals and special offers. Promote them on your social media, with direct links to the relevant products or services, and you’ll notice a boost in traffic. Do this on a regular basis and your website’s standing will rise up the search rankings.
SOCIAL INTERACTION BREEDS ENGAGEMENT
Don’t forget to interact with your followers on social media! It’s all well and good putting out content for your audience to consume, but the deeper connection comes from positive interaction. Make sure to reply to comments, answer questions, and respond professionally to feedback – good or bad. Demonstrate that you value and respect your social media followers and you’ll leave a lasting impression upon them. This will, in turn, prompt your social media community to choose you first when searching for brands in your sector. The more this happens, the better your search engine standing.
GROW YOUR BUSINESS TODAY
As you can see, social media presence and SEO are not distant entities, but partners that help to keep your brand competitive. To learn more about social media marketing and how it can strengthen your digital marketing campaign, contact us today. We work with budgets of different sizes to get your business the results it needs.
