In today’s business landscape, businesses agree that to reach out to people online, Search Engine Optimization is indispensable. However, businesses overlook the possibilities presented by social media, particularly in the B2B sector.
By disregarding the utilization of social media, businesses are abandoning valuable assets. Embracing social media can significantly amplify SEO efforts and substantially benefit the company.
The fundamental goal of SEO is to optimize the website to appear in search results when potential clients are actively searching for a specific product or service. By successfully achieving this, brands can entice potential customers to visit the website. Similarly, social media operates under the same principle of getting the brand and content in front of potential clients interested in its offers.
Search Engine Optimization and social media were considered separate departments for a long time. A good company has a team of social experts and another team of SEO. And both seldom mingled with each other.
SEO made the business to be found, and social was all about keeping those who have already seen the brand. Search Engine Optimization set the bait, and social media kept them hooked. But today, both are considered inseparable.
Today a customer can easily find a company by searching on Twitter as it is done on Google. And those social media links also help increase any business’s SEO signals. Thus, companies must incorporate social media and SEO, as social media can affect search results.
Social Media Puts People Back in Search
One of the enormous benefits of incorporating social into search is that humans have a say in the search results. People are likelier to click on the links deemed relevant by 10,000 other users than those chosen based on keyword density. The like button allows anyone to vouch for any link publicly.
Before, only content creators and site owners could send in-links to other sites. But with the arrival of social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, anyone with a social media account can share any link. Naturally, in bringing social into SEO, the users have a significant role to play with social media when the business websites try to boost visibility and credibility. Effective Social media optimization brings businesses credibility.
Below are some emerging social factors that can boost the site’s or the brand’s credibility.
Author / Social Authority
Like evaluating a site’s credibility, search engines have already started evaluating the credibility of social media users. Major search engines (Yahoo, Google, and Bing) have admitted that they consider the author’s authority when incorporating social signals into SEO results. When ranking search results also, Google considers a user’s authority. For example, on Twitter, the search engines might consider factors such as:
- Follower to the following ratio
- Number of postings a day
- Number of lists the user appears on
- Number of @mentions a day
The Retweet Factor
Like in-links from an authoritative, established source, retweets from a powerful Twitter user can affect search engine rankings. Search engines also consider a tweet’s retweet rate. A tweet got a 10% of retweet rate if a link that was tweeted to 1000 followers gets 100 retweets. And that link will do better in the search engines than a tweet with a 3% retweet rate.
It’s all about Network
It is not about what you know but who you know. Who brands are engaging with social media is very important. The credibility can be increased if brands interact with influential Twitter users. And it doesn’t mean a blogger on food should start interacting with Lady Gaga or Anderson Cooper on Twitter. As for relevance matters, if that blogger begins interacting with Wolfgang Puck or Robert William Flay, the credibility will boost.
Build Links and Social Media Presence at the Same Time
Companies build their link-building campaigns to increase their credibility and visibility. And the companies do share the links on social media for the same purpose. The links to social media sites and external links from sites are equally important to search engines as they find them useful for users. The more shares brands get; the more people vote for the site. Going viral can boost both SEO signals and credibility.
Also Read: Top Social Media Marketing Trends for Businesses in 2023
Encourage Sharing
Brands must ask for it if they want people to share the content and increase edibility. A simple ‘share if you found this content useful!’ can do the world of sharing well for a website. It will be significantly more accessible for the users to share the website when brands include more sharing options. It will make people share the site easily and instantly with one click that goes to individual social media sites to share it.
In theory, credibility works precisely the same way in the virtual world as in the real world. For search engines to list brands, they have to build trust with the brands. Similarly, customers need to have trust in brands to buy the products. The bright side of building social credibility is that brands are building trust with search engines and future customers simultaneously. But the building up of credibility is a long-term process.
Acknowledging the significance of SEO, most businesses prioritize adhering to Google’s quality guidelines and ranking factors. This prioritization becomes evident, especially when faced with time, resources, and budget limitations. However, it is essential to note that SEO alone cannot serve as the sole facilitator of customer conversations, user-generated content, or establishing connections with potential customers on their preferred platforms.
Ultimately, it is essential to recognize that both SEO and social media have limitations in driving digital strategy goals. Both can only accomplish some of the necessary tasks independently.
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