How Social Media Helps SEO

Most businesses are very much aware of how important an active social media strategy is for their brand awareness and exposure. Some may think of social media as being a separate entity from other digital marketing forms. However, social media can have a huge impact in just about every area of a digital marketing strategy. Social media is a huge platform that allows users to have conversations, share information (sometimes overshare!) and post content. It is likely that the websites that rank at the top of search engine research pages (SERPs) will have a very strong social media presence and share content across all of their platforms. 

Only Google geniuses really know what the search algorithm does and does not do; everyone else has to rely on public announcements for that. But over the years, it has been reported that Google has social signals that help rank organic results. We can say confidently that social signals do have a relationship with organic rankings, but they do not directly influence those rankings. 

With so much content being published every day, and with so many businesses out there competing for the top spot, it can be very difficult to appear at the top of SERPs. Social media can help with this, it is a missed opportunity if you don’t invest time into having a strong social media presence. 

How Does Social Media Help SEO?

Social media will not directly help your rankings. However, some of the benefits from social media will feed into your SEO. It does have the potential to drive traffic to your website, indirectly having a positive impact on search rankings. Creating and publishing quality content that connects with your target audience will offer your readers something of value. Consequently, they will read and share the content with their friends and followers. The circle continues when their friends and followers also share the content. Your audience sharing your posts will increase visibility, improve traffic and will generate backlinks. These are called social signs. Social signs notify Google that the content on your site is good and strengthens the factors that Google considers when ranking websites. This is how social media and SEO correlate and how good social media content can make your website rank higher. 

Why You Should Invest in Social Media for SEO?

If you are trying to improve your SEO, there are many reasons as to why you should invest in social media:

Bring More Traffic To Your Website
We all know that the ultimate goal of SEO is to drive traffic to your website and increase your brand awareness. A strong social media presence is a great way to bring more traffic to your website. Posting up-to-date engaging content and being active across different platforms that engage with your target audience will direct people to your website. With so many people on social media, it is almost guaranteed that some of your target audience that haven’t been reached can be made aware of your company. Social media is a great way of getting the ball rolling when it comes to driving traffic to your website. SEO is very important (obviously we are going to say this) but it can take a little while to start seeing the results you are after. In the meantime, social media can provide you with a great boost if you are struggling to drive traffic to your website. 

Backlink Opportunities
Alongside more traffic, social media content will mean there is more chance of people linking to it. Backlinks are huge in SEO, as they show search engines that people find your content valuable and the more valuable it is, the higher it can rank. Even if you have a low number of followers, high-quality relatable content can spread easily. More people will see it just from one person linking it back to you.

Trust Building 
Good social media profiles help to build trust with your target audience. There is an overwhelming number of options for consumers these days, but this isn’t always a great thing. Unfortunately there are businesses that are not reliable, which makes consumers cautious of who they choose to engage with. Having a good social media presence can help to legitimise your business. Most people expect companies to have social profiles, if they dont it can raise a red flag. Social media for SEO is a fantastic way to increase the trust your target audience has with you and can help to boost your reputation. 

Boost Content Performance
Social media offers a great opportunity to share any type of content that your business produces. Posting your content online but not taking the extra steps of sharing it elsewhere is a missed opportunity. Social media channels provide you with access to a larger audience than just those that visit your website. The more people that engage with your content and visit your site, the more positive user signals that will benefit your rankings. 

Ranking of Social Profiles
The main purpose of SEO is to get your website ranking on search engines so you may not have put in any thought into how your social media profiles are ranking. However, when someone searches for your company using branded search terms, your social profiles also have a chance to rank alongside your website. This provides you with another opportunity to get your company ranking for your keywords. With the role that social media plays in terms of reputation and reliability, many people searching your brand will want to see your social media, rather than your website. Your social media can provide a different view of your business and could possibly give them the final push to choose you over a competitor.

Contact Active Internet Marketing (UK)

Active Internet Marketing (UK) offers a range of resources for our clients including an excellent social media service. We have a team of highly skilled, experienced professionals that can work with you and create a social media strategy that suits you and your business. There is no “one size fits all” approach when it comes to social media for SEO so we dedicate our time and fully understand the specifics of your company. If you would like to get in touch, please fill out our online contact form. Alternatively, if you would like to speak to someone directly, give us a call on 01604 765796.