SEO (Search Engine Optimization) has changed dramatically over the years. Some changes have made life easier, while others pose a challenge.
Social media is a powerful tool available to you for moving up in search engine rankings. Here’s a few tips on leveraging it to your advantage.
1. Followers (real ones) matter.
It seems like a no-brainer – the more people liking and following you on Twitter, Facebook, etc., the more clout you’ll have as a search result. Keep in mind, however, that you must grow your follower pool organically: search engines have gotten good at sniffing out “filler” profiles and accounts.
Produce good content, and link to it from multiple social media accounts. Not only will this increase your page views, but it’s a sign that makes a search engine sit up and pay attention.
2. Covet those “likes” and “shares.”
Lots of clicks on a link is great, but if you can get your followers to share that content with someone else, you’ve got a good recipe for going beyond merely clicking on a link. Sharing it with someone really ups the visibility of a site online. How do you encourage this? Be direct. Ask people to “like” something if they share your opinion about something, or would like to vote “yes” in answer to a question. Offer a prize/reward for “liking” a page, and/or inviting others to like it too. Be intentional.
3. Put some heft into the material you publish.
Search engines like Google can recognize thin, cheap content that exists merely for the sake of existing. So length matters. Make sure you’ve got something to say, and then aim to publish at least 400 words in your article.
4. Become locally relevant.
You’re not a free-floating entity (or, at least, you shouldn’t be). You’re embedded in a specific community, around real people who you can connect with more personally than those far away. So make it important to join online discussions about local issues and start talking to leaders and point people. If you attend an event, highlight that with photos and words.
5. Spend extra time on Twitter. Google performs initial quick scans of web content in order to index it for users. Tweets are easy and quick to process, and if they receive some attention and traffic, it’s a natural driver for increased online relevancy.
If you’re ever in question about doing one thing or another on social media, forget about Google for a moment and ask yourself this: If I were a stranger, would I enjoy reading this? Would I click on it in the first place (and why)? Basically, good content = satisfied, loyal followers = higher search engine rankings. At Transformation Marketing, we keep up with the latest news on Social Media, SEO and every other media we use to help increase our clients’ bottom line and we’d be more than happy to show you how we can do the same for you!