In a previous article we have considered the relationship between page speed and ranking.
In this post we will look at another two variables and assess how they impact one another.
It tends to be thought that social media presence (e.g. Facebook likes, or sharing content) does not have a direct bearing and effect on SEO. This is at least the traditional view and one which was endorsed by Google amongst others.
You will notice use of the word ‘direct bearing’ above. Whilst Google may not look at likes and re-tweets per se it does indeed draw on social presence to see what is trendy. In this, social and SEO are at least indirectly related and to think they are totally irrelevant is wrong.
To properly answer this question we need to assess what the ethos of searching and search engines are. Generally the aims of search engines are to:
1) Make sure the user views a quality website rather than poor.
2) Ensure good quality content –fresh and well updated.
3) Make sure the site is authoritative and the information provided can be relied upon.
4) Access the reputation of the website – who is drawn to it?
You don’t need to be an expert to see how social media can relate to SEO based on these four points. If a site is good quality, has engaging content, and is trusted, then more people will be drawn to it, and it follows from this that more are liable to tag/like/follow or re-tweet the information.
When looking from this angle, we would say social and SEO are very relevant and highly linked. If people are endorsing something, then how can this be ignored?
It is also worth bearing in mind how this plays a part in local SEO too. The more positive endorsements a website has, the more local search ranking is affected for the better. These positive endorsements can happen in many places but there is a big chance they will happen on social media arenas.
The relationship is clear, perhaps the only question is to what extent this relationship accounts for? To ensure you stand every chance of benefiting from social presence, we recommend the following:
* Take all opportunities to improve business ‘visibility’ (i.e. to get noticed and drive traffic from relevant sources to your site)
* Have a social media strategy if you haven’t already got one. (By doing this, you work towards the first point!)
* Ensure your social media activity is regular, and interact with your audience.
* Ensure all your necessary business details are correct and use social media as a tool to keep people updated of changes and developments in your business.
Please click on the social media strategy link above to find out more on this area.