Social Media and SEO

Like it or not, social media is a necessary part of almost any marketing strategy; more importantly, it is a critical part of any good SEO strategy. Social media continues to grow in popularity, which means Google and other search engines can’t ignore them. That being the case, you probably shouldn’t either. We have even seen recent tweets coming up in search results!

Potential customers are looking for you

Having your business found online is the reason for SEO. Having a website and having one that shows up on Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) is the only reason to have a website. People that have heard about you might look for your company, your brand, on Google, or even on a social media platform. As a reputable business, they expect to find you there. If they cannot find you, they will certainly find another business with a similar name, or worse yet, a competitor. This is why it is crucial that you claim your profiles on the major Social Media Platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc. Even if you do not expect to use it right now, claim the profile to protect your brand.

If it is not in your plans to use a social media channel right away, at a minimum, set up the profile with your logo and your contact info. If you can pin a post or a tweet to the page, use that post or tweet to let them know why you are not active and let them know they did find the right brand and how to reach you via email or phone. Social media is ever-changing, so you decide to start using it later; this way, you are all set.

Setting up your social media accounts

When you set up an account with social media platforms, treat it like it is a representation of your company. Make sure the logo looks good and clean; make sure you provide all the information you are asked for and, if appropriate, input your business hours and location(s). Having a Google My Business account is crucially valuable for this! Once it looks professional, carry the same look and information across all of the business accounts. Most importantly, use your brand name consistently so that Google and other search engines can make the connection between them.

Social accounts showing in search results

Did you know that your social accounts can show up when people search for your brand name in search engines? Here is what our Google Knowledge Panel looks like:

The professional look adds trust because users can be confident that if they click the link it will go to our profile.

More traffic to your website

So how does this impact your SEO efforts? It is fairly simple, if people are talking about you, you are seen as relevant, and that is what the search engines are looking for to rank you. What is SEO? And How It Works for Small Businesses? Their goal is to present search results that they know will be of interest to the person searching. If you have great content on your site, why not spread it even further by referring to it in other places, like on Facebook? This helps people find you! Providing relevant content with headlines that attract people in your social media posts and urge them to read more your social media could help significantly increase the traffic to your website.

Brand awareness through social media

Success in social media also increases brand awareness. The other advantage of posting on social media is that people may like it or share it, which can help you reach a new audience. If you can get each employee to share the information on each platform every time you make a post, it will continue to help that exposure, and increase your audience. Maybe ten of their friends see it, and just one likes or shares it, the network will continue to grow.