We live in an era of vanity contrived by likes, comments, shares, followers and more. But how do they impact your Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) efforts? To be honest, the consensus is tough to nail down. That’s where we turn to the experts.
Everyone seems to have their opinions and various studies have resulted in their own conclusions. But, according to experts, the answer is as simple as they don’t, not ‘directly’ anyways. And here’s where the confusion lies.
By sharing on social media, you increase eyeballs. Which in turn, enables other websites to not only see your content but link to it from their websites – aka the golden ticket, ‘backlinks’. But where backlinks are most valuable is from trusted, or other high ranking pages. But obtaining high-quality backlinks isn’t as easy as sharing on social media. It takes an investment – an investment in your audience. Your knowledge of who they are and what they find valuable is key.
But that should be a given… the harder concept for brands to grasp is that what you do on social media isn’t anywhere near as important to SEO as the actions that follow.
So the three takeaways to harnessing the power of social media to benefit and NOT directly improve your ranking are as follows:
Create Link-Worthy Content
Just so we are clear, I’m not talking about standout social media content (such as a killer picture or high-def video) although, admittedly one or both would help.
What you as a brand should be focused on is crafting content on your website that you can link to from social media (for awareness purposes) that focused on inspiration or information – not self-promotion.
It needs to be share-worthy and valuable to your consumer. So consider tutorials, tips/tricks, infographics and etc. Something either visually or mentally stimulating that YOU yourself would share if you were your consumer. Always think from their perspective and map it out.
The more regular, original content you have on your website the better your SEO game. Not to mention, it should go without saying videos should you have the time and money are especially link/share-worthy if done with your audience and their interests in mind.
Avoid Link Building Directly On Social
Don’t treat social media websites like Facebook or Twitter as valuable link sources. Why? Because while they themselves (www.Facebook.com and etc.) come highly ranked, their individual profiles often do not. Simply because, they do not undergo the same ‘reputation’ ranking as a website and are often labelled ‘no-follow’ aka non-authoritative – with the minor exceptions surrounding highly influential profiles.
And the final OBVIOUS bit: the saturation of content. Links on websites have are much more reliable in terms of visibility, because like all the lovely content we share daily, links on social too will play the disappearing act due the sheer mass of content shared every minute.
Invest In Your Audience
I think we’ve pretty much covered this above, but here it goes: shouting at crowd can only accomplish something if someone listens and shouts with you. The same is true with posting on social media. Not the shouting bit of course. We’ve all seen our fair share of that.
All in all, your audience is EVERYTHING – big or small. But, rather than focusing on quantity, hone in on quality. Who are they? And what impact do they have? And what content or messaging do they find value in?
After all, if you have just 100 people following your SEO might be better off than with 10,000 if it includes the top 5 influencers in your industry who are avid publishers. And even if it doesn’t, really dive in to understand who your audience is, because it is their sharing that is the ultimate value add that drives more eyeballs to you.
In conclusion, if you truly know your audience, how to engage them and the type of content they look to share, and create that content… backlinks will come. But do know, it is a long game. And when you do gain the backlinks needed to improve your ranking, the above will enable you to also raise your brand awareness and secure a strong position in your niche, get new visitors, and develop a higher-quality social presence.
More from Experts Talk
12 Questions With Alyssa Satara
Please welcome this week’s 12 Questions Expert Spotlight guest, humanitarian, writer, podcast host and Junior Director at Amnesty International, Alyssa …
The Top 5 Social Media Stories Of This Week
Welcome to this week’s top social media stories! Facebook rolls out quoted replies for Messenger, Instagram finally introduced “checkout” and …
How To Get Started With Facebook Mobile App Installs Campaigns
Getting your app downloaded can be a challenge. Here’s how to use Facebook ads to effectively promote and increase your …