Search engine optimization (SEO) is a must for businesses that want to generate organic web traffic from search engine listings.
Since SEO has been shown to generate 1000x more organic traffic than social media, many are quick to minimize the impact of social media on SEO. However, there are several benefits of connecting your social media and SEO strategies.
In this post, we’ll discuss 5 important ways that social media impacts SEO and helps boost website traffic.
Since social signals do not factor directly in search engine rankings, we’ll be focusing on tactics that boost brand visibility and increase engagement among your target audience.
Social media channels are optimized for sharing and getting your quality content seen by more people pays off in multiple ways.
By developing content marketing strategies that leverage the strengths of social media, you can boost organic traffic and increase the credibility of your brand.
5 Social Media Impacts Your SEO
1. Enhanced Brand Recognition
A variety of marketing materials can be used to spread brand awareness including videos, articles, podcasts, PDFs, and infographics. Content that is posted on social media can be easily shared by other users, helping to spread the word about your brand and offerings.
You can also encourage social media sharing from your website by using a dedicated 1-click share button. Digital marketing experts often suggest focusing on creating quality content that adds value for your target audience. Producing high-quality content helps strengthen your brand’s reputation across all digital channels.
Also, your individual social media profiles can increase in search engine ranking as more people view and share your content.
2. Increased Post Visibility
When more people view your blog posts and pages, it typically leads to an increase in website traffic.
While social media shares do not impact search engine rankings directly, there are some secondary factors that search engines such as Google may consider. It’s not clear exactly how Google ranks its pages, as the search giant closely guards that information, but shares, likes, and engagement drive traffic and help to demonstrate site authority.
These factors also help search engines notice your links and pages, which may increase the speed at which they’re indexed.
Another benefit of increased visibility is the potential for more backlinks as other website owners and influencers see your content and create their own links to your pages.
3. More Organic Traffic
During the early days of a website launch, organic traffic volume will likely be low as you work to create content and search engines analyze your site.
Posting content on social media can help you boost website traffic early on and give you a nice baseline for tracking your future growth. You’re also likely to get more high-quality leads from social media shares, as your audience will be actively sharing your content with other people they know and trust.
The ultimate benefit of social media visibility over time is more organic traffic for your website that can have a positive influence on your SEO performance.
4. Additional Engagement Data
Social media also impacts SEO by giving your team additional data that can inform your content marketing efforts. You can view which posts are getting more engagement and adjust your content mix to focus on the best performing topics and post formats.
This additional data should give you a better understanding of your target audience, which can be valuable information when launching ad campaigns.
When combined, improved audience targeting and content quality can have a strong effect on your ability to gain visibility and increase your page views and site rankings.
5. Improved Local SEO
Many small to mid-size businesses offer products and services to local communities. Examples include hair salons, landscaping companies, and restaurants.
Social media profiles and posts can help boost SEO when all your listings have consistent information. It’s important that your business name, phone number, and address are the same on all profiles.
You can also geotag posts on many social media profiles, which can boost visibility in the local markets that you serve. Brand consistency builds trust and is an excellent way to build credibility with your audience.
Final Thoughts How Social Media Impacts Your SEO
While social media isn’t a direct search ranking factor, it can certainly play a role in boosting your brand visibility. The examples we’ve shared in this post highlight the importance of including social media in your marketing campaigns.
Creating quality content will always be important, and data collected from social media engagement can be used to streamline your approach and focus on the best performing strategies.