Using your social media for SEO: Part 1

We’ve all probably heard that our businesses should be using social media to capture the attention of consumers who use social media everyday. It is true that social media is becoming more a part of online marketing, and today we hope to give you some insight specifically about using social media for SEO.

Having and maintaining your social profiles can give you a boost in your SEO and help you rank higher within search engines. In result, more consumers will find your product or service. We were reminded of this after watching one of Moz’s whiteboard Friday episodes and we gathered some great takeaways that are laid out for you below.  

Use your social profiles to create direct links to your website

Using your social media platforms is an excellent way to create direct links to your site. It’s easy – just be sure to have a link in each of your social media profiles (LinkedIn, Google+, Facebook, Twitter, etc.) that can take viewers directly to your website. Having many direct links tells search engines that your site is important. Take advantage of what you already have and use your social media for SEO by easily gaining a few direct links.

Are you dominating the SERPS?

Okay first of all, SERPS is a cool way to say “search engine results page.” Dominate the SERPS by filling up the results page with things you control, like your social media profiles. Be a very active participate within your social media outlets so that it gets popular on the social site. Search engines will recognize the activity and cause your profiles to show up on the results page along with your actual website. That means making sure your profiles for Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, etc. are robust and you are actively participating on each platform. Once you start dominating the SERPS your business is more likely to be seen by people searching for your services.

Create brand awareness with social media

As a business owner, you want people to be very aware of who your company is. You can build up brand awareness using, once again, your company’s social media platforms. There are a few things that you should keep in mind however.

One is that you keep your message consistent. An inconsistent message can lead people away. They’ll question your integrity and you’ll lose their trust. But with a consistent message throughout all of your medias you’re more likely to build and maintain a healthy following and thus increase your bottom line. When your message is consistent throughout all platforms, put links on your website that connect to your social media platforms.

The second thing to keep in mind has to do with spreading this brand awareness. When you’re updating social media, keep in mind what kind of stuff people are more likely to share. In reality, people are more likely to share content that makes them look good. So instead of thinking that you can spread your brand awareness through self-promoting updates, use more educational updates instead. People will look good when they share your educational content, and your brand will be seen through these shares. And in turn, your awesomeness can be realized in a more natural way than if you only had updates that were self-promoting.

Hopefully these points have given you a greater understanding of how you can use social media to strengthen your online marketing and SEO. Be sure to check back later this week to read Part 2 of our series and learn even more ways you can boost your SEO performance.