Search engine optimisation when heard opens your mind to the sight of a SERP-search engine results page with multiple websites ranked one after another. The SEO practices are complex and diverse as you never know what may work the best for your website.
But do social media strategies help SEO? This debate has been running in a loop since long. The reason being Google’s clear statements regarding social media that it does not affect search engine rankings. But soon after Hootsuite carried out research to analyse whether this was true or not, and to everyone’s surprise, websites having active social media presence had better ranking in one way or the other.
Whether or not social media strategies help SEO, we never know when search engines upgrade their policies, especially Google. Thus, one cannot just sit back and relax without digitally marketing itself on social media platforms.
As per generic researches and Google’s ranking activity, social media strategies help search engine optimisation in the following ways:
Link Building
It was seen that websites having greater social media outreach had better backlinks in terms of quality and quantity. Active content sharing helps link building in the most effective ways as more audience gets to know about the website. When the content has a higher number of shares and engagement it gets noticed. The aim is to create engaging content that motivates people to share links and add value to the website.
Social Media Profiles Get Ranked
Ever found a social media link on the SERPs while making a brand search? You would’ve come across a few, this makes it clear that social media profiles or pages also get ranked according to the search query that they match to. Thus, ignoring social media for better search engine rankings can be bad for the brand and website.
Helps Boost Website Traffic
Conversion via social media is one common aspect these days. Gone are the days when social media was only about posting content no matter what it is, today, the conversion is all that matters. Social media platforms help users to reach out to the website, this consequently increases website traffic. An active website has way more chances of getting ranked on Google and other search engines.
Google is Not the Only Search Engine
Google is not the only search engine in the online world, instead, social media platforms themselves are search engines and work on algorithm basis and active social media practices can help boost followers. Social media strategies might not help a website rank on Google but will surely help it rank over other search engines like Bing etc. Hence, the results are clear, social media strategies do help rank websites.
Local Search Rankings
Social media somehow helps rank a business or service in the local searches on search engines. This means that these are beneficial for local SEO. With updates NAP citations – name, address and phone number, you can do magic via social media. The social signals will help search engines to rank you accordingly.
But what social media strategies can benefit SEO practices? Here is what you need to remember!
Best Social Media Strategies for SEO
Evergreen Content
Create content that stays for longer. This means that the content must enlighten social media users in the best possible ways even after it is viewed sometime later of being published online. Similarly, the content must be of high quality so that it goes well with the user intent.
Use Graphical Elements and Optimise them
Create graphical elements to support the textual content. Graphical elements help users to retain information way more than the text. Use high-quality images and graphics to support your message. Moreover, each post must be created by optimising it according to the social media platform that it needs to be posted on keeping in mind the image size and resolutions.
Keep Information Updated
The contact information on social media platforms play a vital role in local searches as search engines do tally information to create authentic results. The NAP citations play a very vital role here as not just social media users, but others get relevant knowledge about the brand or company. With authentic and matching information on social media and the website, search engines do sense you as an authentic label.
Maintain an Active Social Media Presence
An active social media presence leads to better outreach and awareness. This not just helps a brand grow but also lets people recognise it and conduct organic researches. Organic searches later signal search engines about the importance and demand of the website which helps in ranking.
Social media strategies are not the only important thing that helps SEO, thus do not waste your time and energy by solely working on these. Improve your website! That is how it is all majorly done. Optimise the website with the best search engine optimisation practices to improve rankings but do keep following the social media strategies because you never know when the next search engine update comes out.
