It’s no secret that digital marketing strategies are all intertwined. SEO and Paid Search (PPC) support each other, content strategy is an integral part of a successful SEO campaign. It should be no surprise that adding social media to the mix is also important.
You may be asking yourself if social media is good for SEO. The short answer is yes. While social media does help support overall SEO efforts, it is an important digital channel in its own right.
Objectives of Social Media
Social media allows you to:
- Build Online Credibility:
Social media profiles allow you to put a face to your company/brand and let audiences know you are a reputable business they can trust. Profiles also help establish credibility by adding a human element to your brand, especially if you publish pictures of your employees and include customer testimonials. - Build & Maintain Customer Loyalty
More than 50% of people who follow their favorite brands on social media are more loyal than those who don’t. Also, 63% look up a product or brand on social media before ever making a purchase. - Connect With Your Audience
Because 70% of the U.S. population has at least one social networking profile, you can use social platforms to visibly address customer concerns and questions and to further establish your credibility - Build a Strong Organic Presence
You can use your social media profiles to enhance your brand visibility in search engines by consistently posting to social platforms. Your social platforms also create another path back to your site, which can potentially increase traffic and conversions. - Stay Ahead of the Competition
Chances are, most of your competitors have already established an effective online presence.Creating an online presence of your own can help make sure you don’t lose more customers to your competitors
How Social Media Helps SEO
Even though social media isn’t a direct Google ranking factor, it is one of the best ways to promote your content and be found online; which is, ultimately, what SEO is all about. Below are just a few ways social media can help your overall SEO efforts:
- Allows You to Promote Your Content
According to the numbers from Wordometers, over 5 million blog posts have been written today, and I’m watching the number grow as I type this (and contribute to it). That is a lot of content. Granted, this is on a global scale, and most of this content is not relevant to your target audience, but it goes give you an idea to the sheer magnitude of how much information is out there, and how easily your blog post or new service page can get lost in the shuffle. If you build a great piece of content that you want your audience to see, share it with them on your social channels. Your social media channels are the perfect way to get your content in front of the people that you most want to see it. - Increases E-A-T
An active, engaged social presence can help increase your E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) three factors that Google considers when determining where to rank a page. If people actively engage with your content, it shows you are a valuable resource. - Social Shares May Boost Search Engine Visibility
It’s true, social shares are not a ranking factor, but, as mentioned about, sharing your content on social does get it in front of the right audience. And, that audience shares it with their friends and family, there is not only the potential to expose yourself to new audiences, but it may help you gain backlinks to your website (which can help with overall SEO performance). - Gain Backlinks
Social shares are not a ranking factor, but sharing your content on social does get it in front of the right audience that can share your content with their friends and family, exposing you to new audiences. - Enhance Brand Visibility
Social media profiles rank in the search engines for your brand name. (On some occasions, I’ve seen Pinterest profiles rank for keywords). If someone performs a Google search for your brand name, while you want your website to rank, you also want to see your social profiles in the mix because these are another touch point for your brand, and a place where you can control the conversation.
In Conclusion
Social media is not just a place to share memes, browse cat pics, post selfies with funny filters, or post dance challenges (I’m looking at you TikTok). Social media lets brands connect and communicate with their target audience, which can help them make a better product or service. Social media can also help boost your website’s organic visibility and search engine performance. In a future post, I will explore how to get started with a social strategy.