How to leverage social media to improve your SEO

Introduction

If you want to get found online and increase market share, you need to do all you can to boost your SEO. However, many brands don’t realise that alongside keyword targeting and website optimisation, social media can also help significantly improve search engine rankings and online visibility.

If you aren’t sure how to get started, you’re in the right place. Read on to discover the top five methods to leverage social media to improve SEO and which social media platforms you should prioritise for the best results. 

Does social media affect Google rankings? 

Let’s start with a bit of background. While social media itself is not a direct ranking factor for SEO, it has a strong correlation with elements that do impact search engine rankings. Social signals like shares and engagement on social media platforms contribute to the factors Google considers when determining website rankings. 

By consistently sharing valuable content across social media channels, you can increase the likelihood of your posts being shared by your target audience, leading to more backlinks and improved visibility. Currently, Google values these quality links and includes them as part of its ranking factors. So, while social media may not directly influence SEO, its connection and impact should not be ignored.

What are the top five methods for leveraging social media for SEO? 

Let’s take a look at some proven methods of boosting SEO through social media.

1. Publish high-quality content: Today’s customers want exceptional, unique and useful content that solves their problems and makes their life easier and/or better. Creating engaging, shareable content drives more high-quality website traffic which, in turn, improves your search engine rankings. We recommend regularly sharing original articles, infographics, photos and videos related to your business and your industry. Tackle your audience’s pain points, offer them solutions and, most importantly, entertain them. 

2. Build backlinks: Start by creating link-worthy content such as blog articles and videos. Then, you can promote your website content on social media and encourage followers to share it. When others link back to your content, it enhances its value and improves SEO.

Top tip: Reach new heights with the Skyscraper Technique

Implementing the Skyscraper Technique yields multiple benefits, including producing helpful content, enhancing blog engagement and boosting social media shares. It also adds high-quality backlinks, boosts brand recognition and establishes industry authority. What’s not to like? Both the team at Contentoo and a number of our clients are huge fans of the Skyscraper Technique, a content creation strategy that involves creating highly valuable and comprehensive blog posts to outperform competitors and attract quality backlinks. For instance, if you come across a successful blog post titled "Top 10 Tips for Healthy Eating," you can apply the Skyscraper Technique by creating a more extensive guide like "The Ultimate Guide to Healthy Eating: 20 Science-Backed Tips for a Balanced Lifestyle."

By making your content longer, more thorough and up to date, you provide greater value to readers and stand a chance of catching the attention of marketers who linked to the original post. Reaching out to these marketers with your superior content increases the chances of them linking to your updated version, resulting in more backlinks and improved SEO.

3. Optimise social media profiles: Optimise your social media profiles for search by using relevant keywords in your descriptions and posts. You should also include links to your website and keep all profiles up to date and utilise platform-specific features like hashtags and geotags to improve visibility.

4. Amplify content: Social media can significantly amplify your website's content by encouraging sharing and spreading the word. Schedule posts across different platforms and make sure you tailor them to suit each platform's format. Engage with your audience, collaborate with influencers and promote your content to expand its reach.

5. Track key metrics: Monitoring your performance is key to success in all aspects of digital marketing and social media is no exception. Analyse metrics such as follower growth, engagement rates, clicks, likes, shares, and comments. This will help you identify opportunities and refine your overall strategy. 

Which social media sites should I use for SEO? 

Great question. Let’s take a look. 

LinkedIn: The powerhouse of lead generation

As you’ll doubtless know, LinkedIn is a professional networking platform that is a goldmine for lead generation. But did you know that it is also a powerful tool for enhancing SEO? By optimising your brand’s LinkedIn profile with relevant keywords and posting high-quality, original content on a regular basis, you increase your chances of ranking higher in search results. Leveraging LinkedIn's publishing feature and sharing valuable content within relevant professional groups can help to further establish your expertise and drive high-quality organic traffic to your website.

Medium: Expanding your reach and visibility

Medium is a popular blogging platform which helps brands reach a broader audience and improve rankings on search engine results pages (SERPs). Publishing well-crafted articles with optimised headlines, meta tags and keyword-rich content on Medium can attract new readers, generate the aforementioned backlinks and ultimately improve your website's SEO.

Facebook: Amplifying reviews and social signals

Facebook's influence extends beyond social connections — it also holds SEO value. By allowing Google to crawl and index its pages, Facebook can contribute to your website's search engine visibility. Additionally, generating positive reviews on your Facebook business page enhances your online reputation, builds trust and encourages potential customers to visit your website. The social signals generated through likes, shares and comments on Facebook posts can positively impact your website's rankings.

Twitter: Driving engagement and boosting SEO

Twitter's real-time nature and social signals make it a valuable platform for SEO. Engaging with your target audience through informative and shareable tweets creates a ripple effect. In turn, this generates social signals that show search engines that your content is relevant and is hitting the right notes with your target audience. Consistent interactions, retweets and mentions on Twitter can also contribute to better organic website rankings.

Pinterest: A powerful visual search engine

Pinterest is not only a social media platform but also a visual search engine. Optimising your Pinterest profile and pins with keyword-rich descriptions, relevant hashtags and captivating visuals can drive high-quality traffic to your website. By creating informative and visually appealing boards that align with your target audience's interests, you can enhance the visibility of your brand and attract users who are actively seeking your solutions.

Quora: The hidden gem for SEO success

Quora, a question-and-answer platform, is not usually a go-to when it comes to SEO. However, answering industry-related questions on Quora and including relevant links to your website can generate traffic and contribute to your website's brand reputation as well as your domain authority. By becoming an active participant in relevant topics and providing insightful comments and answers, you can establish yourself as an industry expert or thought leader and drive targeted organic traffic to your website.

Your next steps to leveraging social media to boost SEO

In today's digital landscape, leveraging social media for SEO is no longer an option but a necessity for brands striving to thrive online. Platforms like LinkedIn, Medium, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Quora hold the key to attracting new customers and retaining your loyal community. 

By optimising your presence on these platforms, you not only improve your search engine rankings but also amplify your brand's visibility, establish your company as thought leaders, engage effectively with your audience and build brand loyalty. Plus, you stand a far higher chance of boosting those all-important search rankings and getting the competitive edge. 

If you’d like to find out more about how Contentoo can help you create and distribute content that gets found by search engines and delights readers, please contact us today.