Understanding Social Media SEO

Social media SEO is all about aligning your social media and search engine optimization (SEO) efforts to improve your online marketing results. It may be hard to believe but social media and SEO go hand in hand.

In the past, SEO best practices mainly consisted of link building and using target keywords on website content. However, as Google’s algorithm becomes smarter and more intuitive, other factors like social media links and interaction play a larger role in the content displayed on search engine results pages. These can greatly influence your website’s search performance and rankings.

Social Media SEO Benefits

All of your social media pages, whether LinkedIn, Google+, Twitter, Facebook or another channel, link back to your website and increase your visibility on search engines, making it easier for potential customers and your target audience to find your company.

Google rewards companies that are experts in their industry by ranking them higher on relevant search results. And the way to position your brand as an authority in Google’s eyes is by creating engaging content across channels, including social media. More importantly, social media can drive significant amounts of website traffic, even for business-to-business and technology brands.

For example, our client ThreatMetrix, a leading cybersecurity platform provider, increased website traffic from social media by 181 percent in one year thanks to our dynamic and targeted social media program. In fact, according to our research, social media can produce almost double the marketing leads of trade shows, telemarketing, direct mail and pay-per-click campaigns. Additionally, social media lead conversion rates are 13 percent higher than the average lead conversion rate.

Tips for Getting Started With Social Media SEO

Now that you understand the benefits of social media SEO, here are some tips to start improving your SEO performance with social media:

• Don’t Spread Yourself Too Thin: With so many social media outlets to choose from, it’s important to focus your efforts on the channels that are most relevant and worthwhile for your specific business. To determine which outlets you should focus on, you must have a strong understanding of your target audience and industry influencers. There are a few social media outlets that are must-haves for any company. This includes a Google+ business page and local Google+ page. Be sure to make your profile as complete and descriptive as possible, using links and keywords throughout the “About” sections and posting pertinent content regularly.
• Include All Relevant Business Information on Social Profiles: Similar to Google+, it’s best to be very descriptive in your social media profiles, fill out all of the available categories and create a customized URL featuring your company name. Include related target keywords or phrases in your profiles that potential customers would use to search for your company, as well as your address, city, state and zip code when applicable. Additionally, include links back to your website and blog in your social media profiles to improve your social media SEO.
• Make Content Shareable: High-quality, relevant content is at the core of a successful SEO program. This holds true for website content, blog posts and social media. When people share your interesting content on their social media channels, you will improve your SEO value and results.

Social media is an effective tool to help companies improve their SEO performance and drive traffic to their websites. Walker Sands helps leading business-to-business and technology companies build compelling social media presences that drive meaningful business results and improve existing PR and marketing programs. To find more about our programs, give us a call today.