Search engine optimization (SEO) is all about organic growth, and to develop an organic marketing plan that works, it’s important to know how content marketing, SEO and social media all work together.
SEO is constantly changing. Google alone has already cycled through several algorithm changes, and one of the biggest changes is the importance of social media in determining SEO rank.
(Algorithm- The formula search engines such as Google use to rank the resulting websites from a user’s query.)
Content and social media play an important role in achieving a high search engine rank. SEO is about much more than where to place your keywords in headlines, meta description and URL.
More than 65% of small businesses are on social media to increase leads, if you don’t have a strong presence on social media, you’re losing out on growing your business.
Social sharing results in more links
One of the benefits of social media is the increased opportunity for links. Social media links are a great way to boost your search engine rank. SEO and social media work well together to give your site the links you need to increase your search engine rank.
Social media activity often leads to increased awareness of website content, which can lead to heightened familiarity and more people linking to your site.
Improve your rank by growing your followers
Social media also provides a great opportunity for you to expand your connections. The number of your social media followers and connections has a rich influence on your search engine rankings. For instance, a real estate company with a million Twitter followers will receive substantially more rankings than a real estate company with a hundred Twitter followers.
It is important to keep in mind that Google only detects the quality of your followers, so make sure you grow your following organically.
Boost your rank with social media influence
Another benefit of social media is the opportunity to add valuable credibility to your content. Google will rank your website higher if it can establish that you are a credible industry source. And one way for you to prove your credibility is through your influence on social media.
Social media is the perfect platform for establishing your value, credibility and influence in the industry. When you post relevant content content that both reaches and resonates with your target audience, search engines take notice.
So what do you need to do?
“Every company or business needs SEO; it’s just a matter of when you decide to make the financial investment or invest in your time”
Hire an SEO expert
There are plenty of guides that teach SEO. However, it can be overwhelming to keep up with the daily changes search engines make. Hiring a company or buying a program that will help with your SEO is a purchase that will pay back over and over. Lets face it, every company or business needs SEO, it’s just a matter of when you decide to make the financial investment or invest in you time.
Use target keywords in title tags
Title tags appear on search engine results pages, identifying the title of the page. Use keywords in the title of the page and ensure the tag is a perfect representation of what the page is about. Title tags display when you share a page on social media, as well.
Answer questions in your meta descriptions
A meta description is a blurb telling what your webpage is about. Search engines, such as Google, pulls keywords used in the meta description to form a search engine results page.
Increase the length of your meta description
Google algorithms made an update that you should know about. Until now, it was suggested that meta descriptions should be around 160 characters. Rand Fishkin, CEO of Moz, came out with a recent whiteboard suggesting meta descriptions should be around 250 to 300 characters, answering questions searchers have.
Conduct regular competitor audits
Keep your competition close! If you do not know who you are competing against, how will you see how you rank compared to others? Check out what, how and when they post, and how good or even how poorly they are doing. This should be your barometer to how you conduct your social media.
Conclusion
Social media is a great way to increase your SEO ranking. Just remember that content is always king, both on your website and on your social media pages.
Keep Posting! Keep Targeting! Keep Growing!
