How Does Social Media Affect Your SEO?
Social media and SEO go together like peanut butter and jelly. When one has a high profile, the other generally follows suit. Although there are many who say that SEO is destined to go the way of the cassette tape and the floppy disc, the symbiotic relationship between these two items is too strong to disparage. Already, Google is including social media among the many other factors it considers when indexing Internet content. Read on to learn some of the ways that sites like Facebook and Twitter can increase your SEO rankings.
Link Building is Happening Through Social Media Shares
For years, search engines have used the number of links to your website as a criterion to determine your rankings. These days, the best way to get noticed by Google is to write excellent content and share it across social media platforms such as YouTube, Google Plus, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. The search engines regularly crawl these sites to determine websites that are keyword-rich and credible. For example, if raves about your Los Angeles-based restaurant are tweeted many times, the search engines will give it higher visibility. The assumption is that if people shared it, it must be good.
Social Media Exposure Speeds up Indexing
Let’s return to the example of your Los Angeles restaurant that everyone is buzzing about on social media. When the search engines register the fact that it is garnering all of this positive attention, they will assume that its indexing process needs to be speeded up. The Internet is, after all, a creature of the moment. If you are the talk of the town, it is likely that Google will take half the time it usually requires for indexing.
Quality Followers and Friends Make a Difference
It’s not so much about the quantity of the people who follow you, but also their quality. Don’t waste your time accumulating spam friends in the vain attempt to make yourself look popular. Instead, lure reputable companies and other Internet influencers to like your page and follow you on the social media sites. One or two of these is worth hundreds of bogus fans.
Make Your Profile and Content Rich in Keywords
When conducting their rankings, search engines look for content from two places in social media: the content of your posts and your profile. Therefore, it is crucial that you complete all of your business profiles, packing them with relevant keywords about your company in as natural a way as possible. Be sure that your company name, URL and bio are included, as these are what the search engines are seeking. This should also be the case with your content, which should contain as much relevant, sharable information as possible. Does your Los Angeles restaurant serve burritos and other Mexican food? If so, then write content that discusses burrito history, recipes and types as well as anything else you think potential customers might be searching for.
Keep it Local
Be sure your business is listed on location-based networking applications such as Yelp and Foursquare. Periodically check to confirm that all of your contact information is correct, including directions to your place of business. If it is, people searching local business sites such as Google Plus or Yahoo will be more likely to make the correct connection.
In a sprawling but high-energy area like Los Angeles, competition is fierce. If you want to get a leg up on your rivals, you need to learn how to effectively use all of the tools in your kit. Social media is one of the hottest commodities on the Internet scene today. Why not capitalize on its popularity to raise your business to the next level?
