561-429-2585
Email Us
Map Location

Does Social Media Play a Role in SEO?

Search Optimization

Did you know that marketers publish over five million blog posts each day? Given the volume of content published and shared daily, your chances of appearing on search results are very slim.

Fortunately, social media can increase your chances of getting found. With the right strategy, social media can not only increase your brand exposure but also help boost your SEO and Google search rankings.

However, we just want to clarify that social media does NOT directly influence your SEO rankings. Nonetheless, it still plays an important role in your content marketing strategy and SEO.  

So, how exactly can social media contribute to your SEO ranking?

As your go-to digital marketing in Miami, we will share with you the different ways social media can increase your search visibility and Google ranking.  

Without any more delays, let’s get started.

Relationship Between Social Media and SEO

keyboard with facebook and google icons

Boost Your Content’s Visibility Online

82% of marketers today are actively using content marketing to boost their digital marketing efforts. That’s a 70% increase from last year. This means that more and more content is being published online than ever before.

No wonder many marketers and business owners are struggling to get their content in front of their target audience.

If you’re going through the same dilemma, don’t fret just yet. Social media might just be the solution to your problem.

Social media is one of the best platforms to spread your content and reach your target audience. Why? Because it’s where most people spend their time online, including your customers and target audience!

By sharing what you publish on your site on social media, you’re already putting your content in front of your followers. And, if they like it and find it valuable, they're more likely to engage with your content and share it with their network of friends and family.

Sharing your content on social media also provides these benefits:

  • You get an idea of what your target audience want to see more from you. The more likes or shares your posts get is a validation that your target audience finds your content useful, which can provide you an insight on what type of content you should produce more often.
  • It helps build trust and authority in your industry. As your followers continue to spread your content, it will generate more social signals over time. This is very important because social signals such as the number of followers, likes, shares, or pins  demonstrate the authority and trustworthiness of your profile.
  • It brings in more organic traffic. Sharing your content on social media drives more visitors on your website. If they like what they see, it sends positive user signals to Google, which will boost your search rankings.

By the way, if you're concerned that you don't have many followers, just know that all it takes is for one person to see your content and share it.

Social Signals Are Trust Signals

Although Google claims that social signals have no bearing on your ranking Although Google claims that social signals have no bearing on your ranking on search results, internet research proves otherwise.on search results, research proves otherwise.

According to a study published by Optinmonster in 2019, social popularity boosts your ranking in Google, coinciding with the findings of Hootsuite in 2018. Searchmetrics also reported that there is indeed a strong correlation between social signals and a site’s ranking position.

As one of the best digital marketing firms in Miami, we believe that this has something to do with how sharing your content on social media generates social signals that express your posts' significance and usefulness to your target audience. Thus, urging Google to rank you higher.

Additionally, social signals, such as your number of followers, likes, and comments, also convey your profile's authority and trustworthiness. The more followers you have, the more people engage with your posts and share them, proving that you’re legit.

Also, the links you publish on social media could be considered as credible backlinks by Google, which then influences your page’s ranking.

Social Profiles Rank for Search Terms

Social media profiles often appear among the top results for branded search.

When people want to know more about a company, they usually make a branded search query. This is where your business's social media profile comes in handy.

People don’t just go to your website to know more about your business; they also check out your social media profiles. They do this because want to get a sense of your business's personality. They want to know if you engage with your audience in the comment section, how you handle complaints, what your service is like, etc.

In short, they want social proof.

So, you want to optimize your social profiles and website for branded queries to make sure you appear when users look for you online.

Here are some tips on how to optimize for branded search:

  • Establish your branded keywords
  • Use a branded hashtag in your posts
  • Strengthen your local SEO strategy
  • Use your company name as your name on all social media profiles

Just remember that when people conduct a branded search, it means that they’re already interested in what you have to offer - they just want to know more about you and validate their choice to do business with you.

People Treat Social Media Channels like Search Engines

Nowadays, people don’t just use search engines to look stuff up online; they also use Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and other social channels to find what they’re looking for.

By being active on social media and sharing the kind of content your audience wants to see on different channels, you can put your business in front of your ideal customers and allow more people to discover about you.

Social media can also boost your local SEO. How?

Well, customer feedback and reviews influence your local ranking, and Google prioritizes showing the business that has a high rating and a lot of reviews. By encouraging your customers to leave a review on your Facebook profile or post about you on social media, you’re more likely going to appear for local searches.

Social Media Attracts Visitors Faster Than Search Engines

woman using facebook on ipad

SEO can take a while before you start seeing results. While it’s worth the wait, you also cannot afford not to do anything when you know you need to generate leads and make sales NOW.

So, what can you do to attract traffic to your site sooner while waiting for your SEO to work? Be active on social media and post highly engaging content that your target audience loves.

Instagram and Facebook are two of the most widely used platforms to search for local business. In fact, 54% of people use social media to research products or services.

By posting the right content, optimizing your profile for search, and being active on social platforms where most of your target audience are, you can put your business in front of the right people and drive them to your site.

Well-Optimized Social Profile Builds Trust

As more and more players enter the market, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for consumers to make a final purchase decision given the unlimited options available to them.

While having more businesses to choose from can be a great thing for consumers, it’s making it difficult for sellers to position themselves uniquely in the market so they stand out and attract the right audience.

So, what can you do to set yourself apart and attract the right customers? Is it to give bigger discounts? Provide better product offerings?

As your go-to digital marketing in Miami, we can say that building trust among your audience is the secret.

Consumers today are very cautious when buying online. They always do their research first and look for trust signals, especially when buying expensive items or big purchases.

What you want to do is communicate that you’re legit to your target audience. How do you do this?

First things first, develop a professional-looking website and fill it with high-quality, relevant content.

Second, use social proof. You want to leverage reviews, ratings, and feedback, and feature them on your website to show people that you are reliable and trustworthy.

Lastly, optimize your social media profiles. Make sure that you post regularly, feature user-generated content, share behind-the-scenes clips, post social proof, engage with your audience in the comments, and let your business’ personality shine in your posts.

The more personable your business is on social media, the more your target audience will find your business relatable and authentic.

Inactive social media profiles, poor content, and tacky websites are all red flags to potential customers.

There are so many businesses out there that can’t be trusted. Be sure to use social media to build trust with your audience and boost your online reputation by being active, posting relevant content, replying to messages promptly, and engaging with users.

At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how many other businesses you’re competing with or how many options your target audience has. What matters is that you’re able to establish trust and build a solid relationship with your target audience, enough to make them choose you over others.

Bing Considers Social Signals as a Direct Ranking Factor

Bing actually considers social signals as a direct ranking factor. Bing loves social media engagements!

Although Bing only accounts for 24% of all internet searches, that percentage still translates to millions of people who use Bing every day.  In fact, 1/3 of online queries in America are powered by Bing.

If you’re targeting an American audience, then you should definitely work on optimizing your social media profile. It’s one of the surefire ways to bring in a significant amount of traffic to your site.

Looking for Digital Marketing Miami?

laptop with digital marketing concept

Social signals may not directly influence your SEO ranking, but they affect other factors that directly impact your rankings on search results.

Sharing content on social media can put your business in front of a wider audience, lengthen the lifespan of your posts, increase your online visibility and reputation, drive organic traffic, enhance your brand recognition, and boost your local search optimization.

If you need help with SEO, social media, online reputation, and everything that has to do with digital marketing in Miami, we can help! We at Digital Resource can create a custom social plan that will put you on top of search results AND ahead of the competition.

Check out our customer testimonials to see how we’ve helped others achieve success online through effective SEO.

Back to blogs

Related Blogs

Want to work for us?

Think you've got what it takes to hang with the pros at Digital Resource? Check out our Careers page to browse current job openings!

apply Today
Digital Resource Awards