Keeping up with SEO-like methods within social media networks

For years we’ve attempted to improve traffic to our website by using SEO methods. It’s impossible to not link SEO with Google as it’s almost synonymous with each other. However social media networks are taking a significant place when it comes to searching for information. Google and Bing are not the only platforms considered as search engines. It’s important to have a look at how the rise of social media has slightly impacted the chances to rank higher on search engine results.

Contrary to what Matt Cutts (former head of search quality at Google) told us in 2014, that Google SEO rankings are not affected by engagement metrics such as likes and followers, we know better. Granted, this might still be the case for the most part but it is undeniable that Facebook,Youtube, Instagram and more contribute to the vital social signals that lead to better rankings. Some interesting findings were made when CognitiveSEO analyzed 23 million social media shares.

Social SEO is the future?

We can argue that it can be since social networks themselves function as powerful and widely-used search engines in their own right.Social media pages are not only more personal and interactive but in certain cases it gives you a better look and feel of the company than their website. Evoking emotional bands is what makes your marketing work.

The time spent on Facebook and Youtube are not comparable to the time spent on Google. Once you have found what you’re looking for, there’s not much that triggers you to stick around. Search engines were not made for that, but this point is being made to highlight how these other platforms can steal Google’s market share as they combine social interactions with the possibility to find what you’re looking for without leaving the app or social platform. Not to mention that every platform has its own sets of analytics that can be consulted by users with business accounts. Besides, posting content on social media is one of the quickest ways to get indexed faster by Google.

Improve today’s SEO within social platforms

Nowadays we’re getting the latest news from Twitter through trending hashtags, the best product/company reviews from Youtube and LinkedIn and inspirational quotes and fashion tips from Instagram or Pinterest. So why not implement optimalise to better the content interaction on these platforms? If you’re a company that blogs to attract leads, don’t just share it on your website but post it on Linked In and Twitter as well. If you’re a webshop, take high-quality photos with captivating captions and calculated hashtags on Instagram or Pinterest. All these different actions will lead to better traffic to your website and this will obviously lead to Google crawling these new findings.

Marketeers should no longer neglect what social shares can do for their overall business and take that into account in their creation of a strategic digital marketing plans. Some evident tips were mentioned above like using the right copy and key words, hashtags and quality visuals but for more tips on how to enhance your search engine visibility, take a look at this comprehensive list of tips written by Moss Clement for SEMRush.