Between SEO (search engine optimisation) and social media there is a mutual relationship. This means that upon creating good and original content that gets enough social shares, one will increase the rankings for that specific URL. Getting social shares demonstrates that it is good content and would be helpful for users when searching on search engines. The more shares your content gets, the greater your authority and SEO value will be.

On social media, content is the fuel that is required to succeed. Like a car, without fuel, it will not run- Conrad Bugeja

On social media, content is the fuel that is constantly required to succeed. Like a car, without fuel, it will not run. The content can then be posted on platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, blogs, amongst others. All of these platforms allow different means to optimise the content to get more SEO value and, essentially, further attention.

Targeting the right keywords is a crucial element to have optimised content and to get further visibility on search engines. Different social platforms allow various elements in optimising the content posted. This could include the following elements: titles, descriptions, tags, hashtags and more. Titles that are keyword focused will aid SEO; however, they still need to look natural so as to grab the user’s attention. Other elements such as the tags on YouTube are primarily focused on including keywords. The more optimised the content is, the greater will its visibility be.

Besides optimising these elements for SEO, they are still important to be found on these sites. The content will be made more discoverable to the search feature on that platform hosting the content such as a YouTube video. For instance, including and optimising all elements provided by the YouTube platform will allow the search algorithm to discover the content further.

If this feature does not concern you, think again. Apart from Google, Bing and other search engines users also tend to make use of social platforms such as YouTube to find information. Social sites are very popular; for instance YouTube is the second largest search engine.

Interaction is a key ingredient on social media so all the content must have the criteria of being sharable or that drives a user to perform a specific interaction on the social platform (such as a “like” or “comment”). The more visibility the content will get the more popular and the more links will it be able to acquire. Thus, all tools to get more social shares must be implemented. The social profile theme could be customised to look more professional to enhance further engagement.

The social media profile should not only contain a link back to your main website but all available fields should be filled out. These will provide further information to the user and at the same time the profile will appear much more professional. You can even encourage the user to continue to explore your company while reading a short company biography. Social media should not only be embarked on social platforms but must be interlinked together with your main website.

Social media buttons must be clearly visible on the website and linked to your main social profiles. Share buttons should also be included, especially on blog posts. These features will facilitate the way users share your content, meanwhile your content will benefit from an increase in shares and likes. Whenever a story or post gets seen on social platforms, your website and company will be gaining from exposure and recognition. The potential of social media as a marketing channel should never be underestimated.

The benefit social media passes to SEO still does not replace the entire ranking factors. Those factors consultants consider when performing “traditional” SEO still apply. However social media is now a new channel to be included during SEO.

www.alertemarketing.com

Mr Bugeja is an SEO consultant at Alert eBusiness internet Marketing team.

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