How Social Signals Impact Rankings

There are several elements that can impact your business’s rankings on Google, and you must keep up with each of these elements as they change.

One of the new and emerging elements that impact Google rankings comes in the form of social signals. Continue reading this post to learn more about what social signals are, how Google applies them, and how you can use them to your advantage.

What are Social Signals?

Social signals, also referred to as human interaction metrics are a webpage’s collective shares, likes, and overall social media visibility as recognized by search engines like Google.

With the abundance of available social media platforms, visibility can come in the form of likes and shares on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, as votes on Reddit, as pins on Pinterest, or as views on Tiktok and YouTube.

Over the past few years, with the increasing popularity of social media, search engines have adapted their ranking algorithms to include data from various platforms.

While almost every modern business could benefit from having a social media presence, social media is even more beneficial for E-commerce businesses. Many social media platforms have become their own kind of search engine, with users searching for product keywords or for businesses directly.

If increased exposure through social media isn’t enough to convince you to establish a business presence there, continue reading to learn more about how a social media presence can affect your ranking on Google.

Link Building and SEO

One of the fundamental principles of search engine optimization (SEO) has to do with link building. Google’s ranking algorithm looks for sites that contain quality information that is relevant to others.

When a link to your website is embedded on another website, Google will perceive your website as credible. While it is always great to have an abundance of backlinks, sometimes one link from a quality website is better than 10 links from questionable websites.

There are plenty of strategies to employ to build backlinks, one of which is through social media. As most social media platforms are available in both mobile application and webpage format, Google sees social media presence the same way it sees backlinks.

If you are looking to greatly increase your search engine optimization, you should consider link building through more than one strategy. The following strategies are great for link building both on traditional web pages and social media.

• Content Creation:

  Content that is compelling and relevant to internet users will not only invite your audience to visit your site but will also invite others to use your content and site as a reference on their own website.

• Asking for Links:

  Asking for links can be a trickier strategy than others, as it requires you to get in contact with other businesses and personalities in your industry. When trying to find a party to ask for link building help, it is important to stay within your niche or industry but not infringe upon your competitors.

• Guest Blogging:

  One of the best ways to ask another party for a backlink is through guest blogging. Guest blogging will give the other party something in return, in this case, relevant and high-quality written content.

Now that you understand more about why link building is so important to Google, let’s get into how social media plays a part in search engine optimization.

Why Your Business Needs Social Media

With over 2.8 billion monthly active users on Facebook and over 1 billion monthly active users on Instagram, it is likely that at least some of your potential consumers are using these platforms.

Social media is great because on most (if not all) platforms, you can create both organic and paid content. Organic content is a great way to build a trusting relationship with potential and existing customers, strengthening brand loyalty with each post and interaction.

Paid social media content can increase brand awareness and lead to more followers, all while increasing the likelihood of potential sales.

Before you go ahead and start creating social media profiles for your business, you must research the demographics of each platform. While it is great to be on more than one platform, you should devote your time and energy to the platform that most of your target audience uses.

Social Media Engagement and SEO

If you are just getting started in the social media world or already have an established social media presence, you may have heard of the term “engagement” before. Engagement as a whole is used to measure the amount of likes, shares, and comments your posts get. While having a big following is great, search engines are looking for higher engagement when it comes to ranking.

Marketing professionals and SEO experts are constantly learning more about the relationship between social media and Google rankings, especially as new social media platforms are emerging each year and existing platforms are being updated.

So, how can you use social media to increase your ranking on Google? We’ll tell you below.

• Post often:

  Social media users are on their phones and computers a lot throughout the day, which means they are constantly refreshing their feeds. By posting relevant content once a day or a few times a week, you will increase engagement whike staying at the top of people’s minds.

• Post intriguing content:

  If you are choosing to post on a visual platform (Facebook, Instagram), make sure to post intriguing and exciting content. Scrolling on a phone or desktop is too easy, and you want to make sure to capture your audience’s attention.

• Host contests:

  One of the greatest ways to increase your following and engagement is to host a contest. Everyone loves free giveaways, and people are much more likely to enter if all they have to do is share your brand’s profile and give it a follow.

Social media is one of the most powerful tools in the marketing world, so if your business does not already have a social media presence, now is the time to do it.

If you are not too familiar with social media, Paton Marketing’s social media department would love to help you get started by coming up with a strategy that will surely help you meet your business goals!