Within the world of inbound marketing there are two components that have long been considered distinct: social media and search engine optimization (SEO.) 
While both of these types of marketing help drive interested consumers to your website, many marketing professionals tend to isolate them as independent platforms. Many marketers believe SEO helps consumers find your company through search, while social media facilitates inbound traffic by providing organic links and word of mouth.
This is actually not the case. Here are some important ways that social media can affect SEO:
- Personalized search—While many consumers don’t recognize it, Google’s search engine actually customizes the results of searches depending on their activities on Google+. Any +1 designations from your Google+ account or activity among friends will likely produce unique search results. And, while you are probably most concerned with how the world’s most important search engine treats your company, you may be surprised to learn the Facebook’s new search engine, Graph Search, uses similar methods to provide results tailored to your Facebook activity.
- Portal to websites—According to a recent study, almost 18 percent of time spent online is devoted to social media. This enormous investment in sites like Twitter and Facebook has changed the way many people find companies. Instead of immediately heading to a search engine, they use the integrated search features on social media platforms. Visitors find your company’s social media site first and use that to link to your landing page.
- Likes and shares—The major search engines utilize positive responses to sites including Likes and +1s to signify greater value or influence upon visitors. Naturally, a blog or video that is receiving a substantially higher approval from visitors receives an elevated position on search results pages. Articles, pictures and videos that are more shared also help to elevate the search rankings of its original site.
- Keywords—Culture is constantly undergoing change, and the companies that keep pace with these shifts are likely to find continued success. One of the key advantages of social media is the insights it provides into the minds of consumers. Using key themes gleaned from social media helps you identify the most popular and important keywords on the minds of consumers. You can then apply these to your SEO strategy, focusing efforts on the phrases most relevant to your target audience.
- Reputable links—Integrating useful and compelling links from your social media site to your e-commerce site will also help you reach more consumers through enhanced rankings. Google rewards links that are most often clicked, so if more visitors are utilizing the links on your social pages to visit your website, Google will elevate your rankings because you are providing worthwhile content to visitors.
The purpose of inbound marketing is to find consumers who are interested in your products and attract them to your website. Social media and SEO are important components that provide synergistic efficacy when combined.
Enhancing your presence on the major social sites will provide key benefits to your SEO initiatives. If you are looking for help with your SEO and social media efforts, you may want to download our hiring guide to help you with your search for assistance. Click the link below:
