Social Media and SEO Rankings

In the past, backlinks were a top focus for boosting SEO rankings. Your position in the search engines was highly dependent on the quality of your backlinks. Today, social media signals are critical to SEO rankings. In fact, according to a Searchmetrics study, 7 out of the top 8 factors that influence SEO ranking are social. This is encouraging if you’re putting time and effort into your social media accounts.

Here are some of the most important factors in SEO ranking, according to the Searchmetrics study:

Google+1
Facebook shares
Backlinks
Facebook total
Facebook comments
Facebook likes
Pinterest
Tweets

So what does this mean? Basically, it means that having more Google+1s, shares, likes, tweets and comments won’t just get you more attention on the social media platforms you use. Social media love can also translate into higher rankings in the search engines and more traffic to your URL. However, it is important to understand that likes, shares and plus ones aren’t all there is to high SEO rankings. Instead, these things are a major part of the overall picture.

The following are some of the other parts of the package:

Quality content: If you create good content, people will share it, comment on it, and link to it. Focus on creating the type of content you know your readers will want to share. Thinking compelling copy, eye-catching images, and captivating video.
On-page SEO: Make sure you get all the technical stuff right. Doing well with social doesn’t mean you can ignore this altogether. It’s still important to choose and include keywords on your page and in your title, create good tags, etc.
Analyze results: One of the biggest mistakes you can make is assuming that your efforts are working or guessing at which efforts are having the most positive effects. Instead, it’s important to analyze activity to see who is visiting your pages, where they are coming from, how long they are staying on your site, who is linking to you, etc. This information will give you insight into what you should do more and what is falling flat.
Be original. Duplicating content won’t get you very far with the search engines or your audience. Remember, you have to give people a reason to share and link to your content. If they are seeing your content all over the Internet, you’ve missed the mark.
Optimize your images and video content too. Use relevant titles, captions, descriptions and tags. Include carefully chosen keywords in a natural manner. Avoid keyword stuffing at all costs.