If you’re looking for yet another reason to justify the importance of an active, thoughtful social media presence, here’s one: social media can improve your search ranking.
You’ve probably already noticed this correlation—yet it’s probably more widespread than you realized. LinkedIn profiles, for example, tend to appear high in search results, underscoring the importance of creating a complete, keyword-rich profile. Twitter profiles and tweets also tend to have higher search visibility, too. And Google +1s are an effective way to not only improve visibility, but also boost credibility.
An infographic from SEO company WhiteFire takes a deeper dive into the connection between social media and SEO. Not only is the info interesting—it might just prompt you to refine your social media strategy so you can get even more bang for your social buck. Here’s a sampling of WhiteFire’s findings:
- Tweeting content helps it get indexed faster, cutting indexation time by 50%.
- High levels of social activity give search engines important triggers that you’re authentic and valuable—and that makes your domain will rank higher in results.
- Shares help trigger the freshness portion of Google’s search algorithm, which means more shares can bump up your ranking.
One key takeaway? Make your content easy to share. Install sharing buttons on your website and blog. Keep your tweets under 120 characters so that they can be easily retweeted. And while you’re enabling easy sharing of your content (or your client’s), don’t forget to return the favor. Social media is very much a two-way street, so take time to share other blog posts, videos, photos, articles, etc. that you find interesting. After all, simply broadcasting content isn’t engagement, and if you can’t keep your online audience interested and involved, your social presence will suffer—and so will your SEO.
Keep this caveat in mind: effective social media marketing won’t single-handedly make your website an SEO juggernaut. Instead, think of social media as one part of a larger SEO equation—albeit an undoubtedly important one. When combined with tools like an optimized website and regularly updated content, social media can help extend your digital reach and bring even more value to your overall digital marketing strategy.
Have you noticed a correlation between your social activity and SEO? I’d love to hear about your experience.
This post originally appeared on Leaderswest
Image: Phillip Pessar via Compfight cc
Shelly Kramer is the founder and CEO of V3 Broadsuite (V3B), Senior Analyst and one of the founding partners at Futurum Research. A serial entrepreneur with a technology centric focus, she has worked with some of the world’s largest brands to lead them into the digital space, embrace disruption and the reality of the connected customer, and help navigate the process of Digital Transformation. As a brand strategist, she has decades of experience helping global companies with marketing challenges, and driving strategy and growth for B2B brands across multiple verticals.
