SEO Benefits from Social Media Shares and Signals?
In today's digital landscape, social media and SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) are two essential components that businesses must master to thrive online. Here's a breakdown of how they intersect and how you can leverage social media to boost your SEO efforts.
Firstly, it's worth noting that working with professional social media teams and SEO experts can help align your social media and SEO strategies, ensuring a harmonious approach to online visibility.
One platform that stands out for its SEO potential is Quora, boasting an authority score of 79 and 900 million+ visits a month.
In a study of 23 million social shares, CognitiveSEO found a correlation between a strong social media presence and better rankings. However, Google, according to Matt Cutts' 2014 statement, does not use social signals to rank pages for SEO. Yet, many SEO professionals observe a correlation between higher social shares and organic rankings.
So, while Google may not directly use social signals for ranking, they can indirectly influence SEO. For instance, social media links count as backlinks towards a website, according to Matt Cutts' statement. Off-page signals like backlinks have a significant impact on organic ranking, and social media can help in distributing content to earn backlinks from reputable websites.
The social platforms with the greatest impact on SEO are Instagram and TikTok (for visual content and short videos), Pinterest (for inspiration and product visuals), LinkedIn (for B2B communication and expert positioning), YouTube (for detailed video content and tutorials), and Facebook (for local visibility and community building, especially among older demographics). These platforms effectively contribute to SEO by increasing content reach, driving traffic via links, acting as search engines themselves, and building brand authority through consistent, relevant posting.
To use them effectively in SEO strategy, companies should regularly post a diverse content mix (entertaining, informative, inspiring), employ trends like Reels and Stories, utilise hashtags and keywords suited to each platform and audience, time posts strategically, show authenticity, and actively engage users. Twitter, being a hub of trending conversations, makes it an excellent platform for improving social signals.
Social media also helps drive high-quality traffic to a website, improving user behavior signals and potentially boosting indexing and rankings. Sharing content on social media can boost credibility and authority, helping to determine topic authority and improve user behavior signals.
It's also worth mentioning that Facebook currently ranks #3 globally and provides visibility in relevant search results. YouTube is the #2 ranking site globally and gets a lot of visibility in search results. Google is working with Instagram and TikTok to effectively index content on the two apps. However, Instagram links may not currently function as backlinks due to the heavy reliance on JavaScript.
Lastly, social signals are among the 15 ranking factors, according to the State of SEO 2021 survey from Search Engine Journal. On Bing, social signals are one of the key ranking factors. Google treats Facebook and Twitter pages like any other page.
In conclusion, while Google may not directly use social signals for ranking, they play a crucial role in indirectly influencing SEO. A solid content strategy that consistently publishes high-quality content and shares it on social media is crucial for better visibility. Platforms like Quora, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and YouTube, when used effectively, can significantly boost your SEO efforts.
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